Verses 1–12
بِسۡمِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ
In the name of Allah, the most Merciful, the most Compassionate
This sūrah explains the three fundamental principles of religion (uṣūl al-dīn). It begins with prophethood and describes the condition of the people in accepting or rejecting the prophetic call. It explains that the goal of the true prophetic call is reviving a people through bringing them onto the path of happiness and proving true the word against others. In other words, it hastens people in completing their journey—towards ultimate happiness or ultimate despair, whichever path they choose.
Then the sūrah proceeds to a discussion of the oneness of God and enumerates the entirety of the signs of God’s oneness. Then it proceeds to a reminder of the hereafter and the resurrection for the sake of granting people their just recompense and sifting out the criminals from the God-conscious on that day. It describes what it will be like for both groups.
Then it returns to what it began with and summarizes and proves the three usūl al-dīn. With that, the sūrah finishes. Among the marvels of the sūrah are the verses:
Whenever He wills something, he says to it “Be!” and it is. So glory be to the one in whose hands is dominion over all things, and to whom you shall return. ()
The sūrah has a lofty status. It fuses the root principles of truth with the things that branch from them. Both Sunni and Shiʿi narrations say: “Everything has a heart, and the heart of the Qur’an is [Sūrah] Yā Sīn.”
The content of the verses indicates that the sūrah is Meccan.
Commentary
يس ١ وَالْقُرْآنِ الْحَكِيمِ ٢ إِنَّكَ لَمِنَ الْمُرْسَلِينَ ٣ عَلَى صِرَاطٍ مُّسْتَقِيمٍ ٤ تَنزِيلَ الْعَزِيزِ الرَّحِيمِ ٥ لِتُنذِرَ قَوْمًا مَّا أُنذِرَ آبَاؤُهُمْ فَهُمْ غَافِلُونَ ٦
(36:1–6) Yā Sīn. By the wise Qur’an, you are one of the messengers upon a straight path. [This is] a revelation from the Mighty, the Merciful, so that you may warn a people whose fathers had not been warned; therefore, they are unmindful.
Here, God swears by the wise Qur’an that the Prophet is actually a prophet. The Qur’an is described as wise (ḥakīm) because in it lies wisdom—namely, deep truths and what springs from them in terms of religious laws, signs and stories to ponder, and moral exhortations.
You are one of the messengers: This is what is being sworn, as mentioned previously.
Upon a straight path: This is a second predicate to you are. According to exegetes, path (ṣirāṭ) is left indefinite [that is, it does not say “upon the straight path”] to express the enormity of that path. It is described as straight (mustaqīm) for clarification: that is, it is a path which is clear and straight. It is a road which delivers its wayfarers to God—meaning, to human happiness. On it lie the perfection of servitude to God and nearness to God. Some of its benefits were mentioned in the exegesis of Sūrah al-Fātiḥa.
[This is] a revelation from the Mighty, the Merciful: This phrase describes the Qur’an. It is separate from what it is describing [the Qur’an, which is back in verse 2] and is in the accusative case because it is a form of praise. Grammatically, it is a verbal noun acting as an object. In other words, it explains the “Qur’an” as “that which has been revealed by God, the Mighty, the Merciful; in it lie mercy and grandeur.”
It ends with two descriptive adjectives to show that God is powerful and never overpowered, victorious and invincible. Those who shy away from worshipping Him do not weaken Him, nor do the lies of the liars or the deniers disgrace Him. He is still full of an expansive mercy for whoever follows the reminder and fears Him unseen. He does not benefit from their faith; rather, it is so that it may guide them to happiness and perfection. In His might and mercy, He sent messengers and revealed the wise Qur’an, in order to warn people. Thus, some have earned punishment; He envelops others with His mercy.
So that you may warn a people (qawman) whose fathers had not been warned (mā undhira abāʾuhum); therefore, they are unmindful: This explains why the messengers and revelation were sent. Mā here means “not”. The entire clause describes qawman. It means: “He sent you and revealed the Qur’an to you so that you might warn and put the fear of God into a people whose fathers were not warned; hence, they are oblivious.”
People (qawm) here may refer to (a) the Quraysh and those linked to them. “Their fathers” would refer to either their recent forefathers, for their distant forefathers included the prophet Ishmael (whom God ordered Abraham to sacrifice), and other messengers, like Hūd, Ṣāliḥ, and Shuʿayb, were also sent to the Arabs. It may also refer to (b) all people at the time of the Prophet, given that the Prophet’s message was universal. For the last prophet who is known to have come before the final Prophet was Jesus, and there was a long time between the two.
Know that what we have said regarding these verses is what first comes to mind. Other views have also been put forward; however, since they require some mental wrangling to arrive at, they have been omitted here. Those who are interested in them can consult the relevant sources.
لَقَدْ حَقَّ الْقَوْلُ عَلَى أَكْثَرِهِمْ فَهُمْ لا يُؤْمِنُونَ ٧
(36:7) The word has been proven true (laqad ḥaqq al-qawl) for most of them, so they do not believe.
The al- denotes an oath, meaning, “I swear, most of them have merited the decree of punishment [lit. ‘the word has been proven true against them’].” “The word being proven true” means “they have become instances or examples of how the decree is passed against them [lit. ‘how the word has been proven true against them’].”
“Word” here refers to the decree of punishment. A similar use is found in the following verse, in an account of the beginning of creation, when God says to Iblīs [Satan]:
He said, The truth is that—and I speak the truth—I shall fill hell with you and your followers, all of them. ()
Here, the intent behind “following Iblīs” means obeying the whispers and suggestions that he casts into the hearts of men to tempt them. He makes these ideas take root into people’s souls, as this verse—in which God also speaks to Iblīs—also says:
You shall not have any authority over My servants, except over the perverse who follow you, and hellfire awaits all of you. ()
The consequence of that is rebellion and arrogance against the truth as it is alluded to in what God reports from the conversation of the leaders and their followers in the fire:
And we had no authority over you; you were a rebellious people. So the sentence of our Lord has come to pass against us; we shall taste it. We led you astray; we ourselves were straying. ()
The decree [lit. “word”] of punishment has been passed upon the rejectors. It will be said: “Enter the gates of hell to abide therein forever, and what a wretched abode it is for the arrogant.” ()
The consequences of devoting one’s self wholly towards this worldly life and turning away from the hereafter, and of that inclination becoming firmly entrenched in one’s soul, are described in:
But such as open their breast to unbelief, on them is wrath from Allah, and theirs will be a dreadful penalty. This because they love the life of this world better than the hereafter, and Allah will not guide those who reject faith. Those are they whose hearts, ears, and eyes Allah has sealed up, and they take no heed. ()
God seals their hearts, and, one of the consequences of this is that they can no longer find a path back to faith. God says:
Those upon whom the word of your Lord has come to pass shall not believe. ()
Thus, the conjunction fa- in they shall not believe (fa-hum lā yuʾminūn) serves to express the natural of consequence of things, not—as some exegetes have speculated—to provide a specific reason.
إِنَّا جَعَلْنَا فِي أَعْنَاقِهِمْ أَغْلالاً فَهِيَ إِلَى الأَذْقَانِ فَهُم مُّقْمَحُونَ ٨
(36:8) We have placed chains (aghlāl) on their necks (aʿnāq), and these reach up to their chins, so their heads are forced up (muqmaḥūn).
Aʿnāq is the plural of ʿunuq, meaning “neck”. Aghlāl is the plural of ghill and—according to lexicologists—refers to the shackles used to bind a person’s hand to their neck during torture. Muqmaḥūn is a participle derived from the root q-m-ḥ, and it means “raising the head”. It is as if their chests to their chins are criss-crossed with chains, so their heads are affixed, forced aloft to the sky. They do not let them see the path in front of them so they can understand what is on it or distinguish it from anything else.
Chains (aghlāl) is indefinite so that it comes across as immense and frightening.
The verse itself acts as an explanation of the clause, they do not believe.
وَجَعَلْنَا مِن بَيْنِ أَيْدِيهِمْ سَدًّا وَمِنْ خَلْفِهِمْ سَدًّا فَأَغْشَيْنَاهُمْ فَهُمْ لاَ يُبْصِرُونَ ٩
(36:9) And We set before them and behind them a barrier (saddan), and have covered them (aghshaynāhum) so they do not see.
Sadd means “a barrier between two things”. Before them and behind them is a figure of speech meaning “from all sides”. Aghshaynāhum comes from a root meaning “to cover”. It is used for a thing (that is, physically covering an object) or a matter (that is, a cover-up). The verse as a whole offers an explanation for the previous one. The verb set (jaʿalnā) is linked by a conjunction to the verb jaʿalnā (rendered here as we placed) in the previous verse.
Tafsīr al-Rāzī explains the metaphor of blindness in these two verses by dividing people into two categories. Some people are unable to see themselves; that is likened to shackles constricting the head and forcing it upright, such that a person could not look at himself or herself. Others are unable to behold the wider horizons, and that is likened to being surrounded by a barrier such that one could not see the skyline, thereby depriving the person of the ability to see the signs of God. A person who is tried with the loss of both forms of sight (or insight) is deprived of vision completely.
Together, the two verses mean that they do not believe, for God has shackled their hands to their necks with chains, and the chains are such that their heads are perpetually locked in place. He has surrounded them on all sides with a barrier and covered them with it. As a result, they can neither see, nor are they guided.
The two verses are a metaphor showing how they are deprived of guidance towards faith. God has deprived them of it due to their ingratitude, wilful disbelief, perverseness, and rebellion. Something similar was discussed with respect to the following verse in the first volume of this book:
Allah is not ashamed to set forth any parable—(that of) a gnat or anything above that. Those who believe know that it is the truth from their Lord, and those disbelieve say, “What does Allah mean by this parable?” He causes many to err with it and many He leads aright with it! But He only causes the transgressors to err with it. ()
Descriptions like this are used in the Qur’an to describe the believers and the disbelievers to reveal something about the hidden inner life of the human being. In this worldly life, it is hidden from the material senses but becomes apparent—along with other realities—upon death and the resurrection. Descriptions like this are not just figurative, like some exegetes say; rather, they have a real form.
وَسَوَاء عَلَيْهِمْ أَأَنذَرْتَهُمْ أَمْ لَمْ تُنذِرْهُمْ لاَ يُؤْمِنُونَ ١٠
(36:10) It makes no difference whether you warn them or do not warn them; they will not believe.
This verse either (a) explains and emphasizes the three preceding verses. It sums up their main point and paves the way for the next verse (you can only warn those who follow the reminder…), or (b) may be part of the same construction as they do not see, in which case, it would mean, “Since they do not see, it is the same whether or not you warn them; they will not believe.” However, when reading the verses, the first view springs to mind first.
إِنَّمَا تُنذِرُ مَنِ اتَّبَعَ الذِّكْرَ وَخَشِيَ الرَّحْمَن بِالْغَيْبِ فَبَشِّرْهُ بِمَغْفِرَةٍ وَأَجْرٍ كَرِيمٍ ١١
(36:11) You can only warn those who follow the reminder and fear the Merciful unseen; give glad tidings to them of forgiveness and a generous reward.
The grammatical particle innamā which begins the verse (here, translated as “only”) indicates restriction. [That is, only some people who can be warned, not everyone.] Warn here denotes a warning which has an effect. The reminder (dhikr) refers to the Qur’an—following it, believing in it, and inclining towards it when it is recited. Follow and fear are [in Arabic, not in the translation] in the past tense to show that these things are certain [that is, whoever fears God will follow the message]. “Fearing the Merciful unseen” means having awe towards God when He is unseen, before the lifting of the veil from reality upon death and the resurrection.
Some exegetes maintain that unseen means fearing God in private (as opposed to being a hypocrite), but this is farfetched.
“The Merciful” is used with “fearing” to show how mercy attracts hope; when people fear, that fear is tinged with hope. This is the ideal situation of the servant [of God]—to neither feel secure from God’s wrath, nor despair of His mercy.
Forgiveness and a generous reward are both in the indefinite form for emphasis, meaning, “Grant him glad tidings of great forgiveness from God, and an immeasurably generous reward—namely, the garden.” (This meaning is indicated by the verses that came before.)
Altogether, it means, “Your warnings will only be effective for people who heed the Qur’an when its verses are recited to them—for people who incline towards it and fear the Merciful with a fear tinged with hope. Give them glad tidings of immense forgiveness and a generous, immeasurable reward.”
إِنَّا نَحْنُ نُحْيِي الْمَوْتَى وَنَكْتُبُ مَا قَدَّمُوا وَآثَارَهُمْ وَكُلَّ شَيْءٍ أَحْصَيْنَاهُ فِي إِمَامٍ مُبِينٍ١٢
(36:12) We give life to the dead and record what they have sent forth and what they have left behind. And we have kept an account of all things in a clear registry (imām).
“Giving life to the dead” means “resurrecting them for recompense”. “What they sent forth” refers to their deeds during their lifetimes, which they sent forward into death. “What they have left behind” refers to the legacies they leave behind after death. These legacies may be good—such as teaching beneficial knowledge, building a mosque that people pray in, or constructing a fountain for ablutions—or evil, such as establishing a heretic practice that persists, or building a house of ill repute.
Some might imagine that “what they have sent forth” refers to their intentions, and “what they have left behind” refers to the consequences of their deeds. However, this is somewhat distant from what the verses actually say.
“Accounting for” (or “writing”, kitāba) what they have sent before and left behind refers to how the divine scribes (who are angels) record their deeds on their scrolls of deeds. However, these divine angelic scribes are not the same beings who inscribe and account for all deeds in the clear registry (imām mubīn), which is the protected tablet (al-lawḥ al-maḥfūẓ). This is despite the fact that some exegetes are under the illusion that “writing what they have sent before and what they have left behind” is the same thing as “recording them in a clear registry” (as described at the end of ). This is because God affirms in the Qur’an the existence of a book that records everything. Then there are other books in which the deeds of each nation are recorded, and then individual books in which each person’s deeds are recorded:
There is nothing wet or dry that is not in a clear book. ()
Every nation shall be summoned, along with its book. ()
We have affixed every person’s fate to his neck, and, on the day of resurrection, We shall bring forth for him a wide-open book. ()
These verses also indicate that the book of deeds and the “clear registry” (imām mubīn) are two separate things, in that they differ with respect to being comprehensive [encompassing all things] and specific [pertaining to individual human beings]; furthermore, different verbs are used for “writing” [kitāba, lit. “to write”, versus aḥṣāʾ, lit. “to enumerate” or “to account for”].
We have kept an account of all things in a clear registry: This is the tablet which is protected from being changed (al-lawḥ al-maḥfūẓ). On it are the details of the divine decree for His creation. Therefore, on it, all things are accounted for. It is mentioned in the Qur’an by various names, such as the “protected tablet” (al-lawḥ al-maḥfūẓ), the “mother book” (umm al-kitāb), the “clear book” (kitāb mubīn), and the “clear registry” (imām mubīn). Each of these expressions has its own overtones.
Perhaps, it is called a “clear registry” (imām mubīn) to show that it contains all of the firmly fixed decrees for creation as well as the scrolls of deeds, as will be explained in the exegesis of Sūrah al-Jāthiya—a selection of which reads:
This is Our book which speaks truly to you. We were duplicating in it what you used to do. ()
Some say that clear registry (imām mubīn) refers to people’s books scrolls of deeds. However, this is unfounded. Some also say that it refers to God’s knowledge. This view is more or less unfounded like the previous one, unless one considers “God’s knowledge” to mean “his active knowledge” (ʿilmuhu al-fiʿlī) [that is, the way that He wills His decree, which is part of His knowledge, into existence], in which case it might have a basis.
One of the more bizarre exegetical views is that the protected tablet (al-lawḥ al-maḥfūẓ) contains what has happened and what shall be only until the day of resurrection, not for all eternity. This is because [some] Muslims held that the tablet has a physical form but contains a record of all things, and a physical object must have finite dimensions. The premise that a finite object cannot contain infinite things is sound. However, the assumption that all things only includes things until the day of judgment is arbitrary and unfounded, as we will show.
The verse itself acts as an explanation for what came before it. It is as if God is saying: “We have told you about the situation of those people who brought punishment upon themselves. We have also told you about the situation of those people who follow the reminder and fear their Lord although He is hidden. All life is in Our hands. Their deeds, and the legacies of those deeds, are all preserved with Us. We know them, and we know what each group will receive on account of them.”
Examining Narrations
- Tafsīr al-Qummī, regarding their heads are forced up (), says:
Their heads are raised.
- In Tafsīr al-Qummī, regarding And We set before them and behind them a barrier, and have covered them so they do not see (), a narration from Abū al-Jārūd from Imām al-Bāqir says:
This is regarding guidance. God has taken away their powers of hearing, seeing, and perceiving; therefore their acts contradict [the dictates of] guidance. This was revealed about Abū Jahl ibn Hishām and some of his family. This is because Abū Jahl—may God curse him!—had sworn that when he saw the Prophet praying, he would brain him. So when the Prophet started praying, Abū Jahl came to him, stone in hand. However, whenever he raised the stone to throw it at the Prophet, God, the Mighty and Glorious, bound his hand to his neck, so he could not use his hand to throw the stone, and the stone would not take flight from his hand. When he returned to his people, the stone fell from his hand. Then one of his clansmen stood up and told him, “I will kill him.” However, when he came close to the Prophet, he heard the Prophet reciting [the Qur’an] was struck with fear. So he returned to his people and said that a fearsome form, like a stallion threatening him with its tail, had come between him and the Prophet, and so he took fright and left. This is the explanation of this verse: It makes no difference whether you warn them or do not warn them; they will not believe ()—that is, none of the Banū Makhzūm tribe believed.
Author’s comments: Something similar is related in al-Durr al-Manthūr, from al-Bayhaqī in al-Dalāʾil from Ibn ʿAbbās. Among what is said in that narration is:
Some of the Banū Makhzūm tribe plotted to kill the Prophet; among them were Abū Jahl and al-Walīd ibn al-Mughīra. And so when the Prophet was standing in prayer and they heard him reciting, they sent al-Walīd to kill him. So he hurried over until he came to the place where the Prophet was praying. He could hear him reciting but could not see him. So he hurried back and told them that. So they all went, and when they arrived at the place where the Prophet was praying, they heard him reciting and went in that direction. Then they heard him reciting behind them and turned around, but they could not find him. This is the meaning of: And We set before them and behind them a barrier, and have covered them so they do not see ().
- In al-Durr al-Manthūr, it is related from Ibn Mardawayh and Abū Nuʿaym [al-Iṣfahānī] in al-Dalāʾil from Ibn ʿAbbās:
The Prophet was reciting [the Qur’an] loudly in the mosque so that it would irk the Quraysh. But when they resolved to accost him, their hands were stuck to their necks, and they could not see. So they came to the Prophet and said, “We appeal to you by God and our bonds of kinship, O Muhammad”—and there was not a single clan of the Quraysh related to the Prophet that was not represented there—so the Prophet prayed until their affliction was removed. Then, verses were revealed. However, none of them ever believed.
Author’s comments: This story is also related in different forms. Some say that the Prophet was reciting certain verses, upon which he disappeared from sight and they could not find him, and thus God protected him from their evil schemes. Some say that verses were revealed with respect to this story, and that the next two verses speak of the way that God defended the Prophet from these people by hiding him from their eyes. The next verse (it makes no difference whether you warn them or do not warn them) predicts that none of them would ever believe.
However, you can tell that the verses themselves do not concord with these stories. The verses themselves match what was said earlier about two groups of people—those upon whom the word has been decreed, thus they do not believe; and those who follow the reminder and fear their Lord unseen.
This can be specified if one considers the verse the word has been proven true for most of them to apply to all people who were warned, whereas the verses we have placed chains on their necks and we have set before them and behind them a barrier as specifically applying to the story of Abū Jahl and his clansman. Then, it makes no difference whether you warn them or do not worn them would refer to his clansman. Furthermore, [we] record what they have sent forth and what they have left behind could relate to a story (which will be discussed subsequently) about some of the Anṣār in Medina. However, this really butchers the apparent meaning and unity of the verses.
The truth is, the verses were all revealed at one time for one purpose. They describe the human condition and the way, upon hearing the warning, people bifurcate into two groups. This has no bearing on whether or not the stories actually happened and whether or not God miraculously protected the Prophet from his enemies.
- In al-Durr al-Manthūr, it is related that Abū Saʿīd al-Khudrī said:
The Banū Salamah tribe were [settled] in the outskirts of Medina and decided to move near the mosque. So God revealed: [We] record what they have sent forth and what they have left behind (or “their footprints”, ). So the Messenger of God called them and said, “God records your footprints,” then recited the verse to them, and they changed their mind.
- In al-Durr al-Manthūr, it is related that Ibn ʿAbbās said:
The Anṣār lived far from the mosque and wanted to move closer. So it was revealed: [We] record what they have sent forth and their footprints (), and they said, “We will stay where we are.”
Author’s comments: What was said above [about narration number 3] is also applicable to these two narrations [numbers 4 and 5].
- In al-Durr al-Manthūr, it is related that Ibn Abī Ḥātim said that Jarīr ibn ʿAbd Allāh al-Bajalī said:
The Messenger of God said: “Whoever establishes a good practice (sunnah) will have the reward of establishing it as well as a reward for whoever practices it after him, and this will not diminish any of the reward granted to those enacting it. And whoever establishes an evil practice (sunnah) will bear its burden, and a burden for every person after him who practices it, although this will not diminish any of the burden borne by those enacting it.”
Then he recited the verse: [We] record what they have sent forth and what they have left behind ().
- In Tafsīr al-Qummī, regarding And we have kept an account of all things in a clear registry (imāmin mubīn) (), it says:
This means the “clear book” (kitāb mubīn) which is inalterable. Ibn ʿAbbās relates that the Commander of the Faithful said: “I, by God, am the imām mubīn. I distinguish between the truth and the falsehood and have inherited this from the Messenger of God.”
- In Maʿānī al-Akhbār, it is related via a chain of narration from Abū al-Jārūd from Imām al-Bāqir from his father from his grandfather that the Prophet said about ʿAlī:
He is the imām in whom God, the Blessed and Exalted, has recorded the knowledge of all things.
Author’s comments: If these two narrations are correct, they do not act as exegesis. Rather, they explain the inner meaning of the Qur’an or its implications. There is nothing stopping God from granting one of His sincere servants knowledge of the clear book—and this would be the Commander of the Monotheists [Imām ʿAlī] after the Prophet.
The discussion on abbreviated or disjointed letters takes place in the exegesis of Ch. 42 (see Eng. Vol. 35). [Pub.] ↩︎
See the discussion beginning on page 92 of Volume 1 of the English translation by late Sayyid Saeed Akhtar Rizvi (Tawheed Inst., 2020). ↩︎
That is, in order for the tablet to contain a record of all things for an infinite span of time, the tablet would have to be infinitely large, but a physical object cannot be infinitely large. Therefore, they argue that it only contains a record of all things for a finite length of time. [Trans.] ↩︎
It is related from ʿAbd al-Razzāq; al-Tirmidhī, who considered it acceptable (ḥasan); al-Bazzār; Ibn Jarīr; Ibn Mundhir; Ibn Abī Ḥātim; al-Ḥākim, who considered it authentic (ṣaḥīḥ); Ibn Mardawayh; and al-Bayhaqī in Shuʿb al-Īmān. ↩︎
Footprints is a literal translation of āthārahum. Āthār can be translated as “footprints”, “archaeological ruins”, “vestiges”, or “traces”. Generally, in this verse, it is understood to mean what people leave behind (hence what they have left behind), but, here, it is being taken literally. [Trans.] ↩︎
It is related from al-Faryābi, Aḥmad in al-Zuhd, ʿAbd ibn Ḥamīd, Ibn Mājah, Ibn Jarīr, Ibn Mundhir, al-Ṭabarānī, and Ibn Mardawayh. ↩︎