Verses 38–52
This passage of the Qur’an again assails the idolaters with arguments for God’s oneness in lordship (rubūbiyya) and against Him having any associates and that the intercession they claim for these associates in fact belongs solely to God. These verses also contain admonitions, warnings, and glad tidings related to their call to monotheism.
Commentary
وَلَئِنْ سَأَلْتَهُمْ مَنْ خَلَقَ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضَ لَيَقُولُنَّ اللَّهُ ۚ قُلْ أَفَرَأَيْتُمْ مَا تَدْعُونَ مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ إِنْ أَرَادَنِيَ اللَّهُ بِضُرٍّ هَلْ هُنَّ كَاشِفَاتُ ضُرِّهِ أَوْ أَرَادَنِي بِرَحْمَةٍ هَلْ هُنَّ مُمْسِكَاتُ رَحْمَتِهِ ۚ قُلْ حَسْبِيَ اللَّهُ ۖ عَلَيْهِ يَتَوَكَّلُ الْمُتَوَكِّلُونَ ٣٨
(39:38) If you ask them, ‘Who created the heavens and the earth?’ they will surely say, ‘Allah.’ Say, ‘Have you considered what you invoke besides Allah? Should Allah desire some distress for me, can they remove the distress visited by Him? Or should He desire some mercy for me, can they withhold His mercy?’ Say, ‘Allah is sufficient for me. In Him let all the trusters put their trust.’
This verse presents another argument that builds on a premise that has already been established and agreed upon by both parties, namely that the creator of the cosmos is God. Even the Qur’an’s opponents agree that God alone is the Creator, and that He has no partner in this. They only claim that He has partners in the governance of the cosmos, not in its creation.
Now, if creation belongs exclusively to God, then there is no entity in the heavens or the earth and no effect, save that its existence depends upon Him. Therefore, whatever good or ill befalls anything in the cosmos, its existence is from God. No one can withhold any good that God wills or remove any ill that He wills, because this belongs to the realm of creation and origination, and God has no associate in these affairs. Therefore, there is no one who can interfere with Him creating something, prevent Him from creating it, or create it before He does. Now, governing the affairs of the cosmos and arranging them in relation to one another also falls within the scope of creation and origination. Therefore, if God is the creator of all things, that means He suffices to govern the affairs of the cosmos as well. After all, He is the creator of everything and there is nothing beyond His creation that would lead someone to think that it depended upon someone other than God. So, He is God, the Lord of all things and the Deity of all things—there is no lord other than Him and no god besides Him.
Therefore, when God tells the Prophet, Say, ‘Have you considered what you invoke besides Allah?’ this builds upon the premise the idolaters have already accepted, namely that God is the creator of everything. Therefore, based on this, ask them about what they worship besides God. Notice that the Qur’an uses the relative pronoun mā (what) rather than man (whom) to refer to their deities, which includes their idols and lords altogether. This is because their learned elite claimed to worship not the idols but the deities they represented, some of whom they said were the angels or other spirits, while the idols were merely objects of worship and a means of reaching those lords. However, the majority of idol worshippers at the Prophet’s time appear to have identified the idols themselves as gods and worshipped them as lords. In conclusion, by using the relative pronoun ‘what’ this argument includes both groups.
Should Allah desire some distress for me, can they remove the distress visited by Him? Or should He desire some mercy for me, can they withhold His mercy? Ḍurr (distress) commonly denotes sickness, hardship, or the like thereof. However, because it is juxtaposed with raḥma (mercy), this suggests that it includes every kind of misfortune. This distress and mercy are described as belonging to Him when the Qur’an asks, can they remove the distress visited by Him? and can they withhold His mercy? to illustrate that the reason they cannot remove this distress or withhold this mercy is because it is His.
Also, the fact that the Prophet speaks about himself in relation to this distress and mercy is part of the argument’s rhetorical form, as he is the original person with whom they are disputing, and they threatened him with their deities besides God.
At the same time, the use of the third-person plural feminine pronoun hunna (they) to refer to what they invoke besides God is to place the emphasis on the unintelligent aspect of these deities, namely the idols themselves. This supports what we have already said regarding the verse, Say, ‘Have you considered what you invoke besides Allah?’, namely that the use of the relative pronoun mā (what) is to include both the idols and the beings to which they correspond.
Say, ‘Allah is sufficient for me…’: This is a command to place his trust in God (tawakkul), as also indicated by the following phrase, ‘In Him let all the trusting put their trust.’ And this serves as a conclusion to the aforementioned argument, as if the Prophet is being told: ‘Say to them: “I have placed my trust in God, because He governs over my life as surely as He created me.”’ To put this in another format: ‘The proof demonstrates His lordship, and I have confirmed this in practice by placing my trust in Him in all my affairs.’
‘In Him let all the trusters put their trust’: The prepositional phrase ʿalayhi (In Him) is placed before yatawakkal al-mutawakkilūn (let all the trusting put their trust) to show that this is meant exclusively. In other words: ‘Let everyone place their trust in Him and not in anything else.’ The subject of the verb (mutawakkilūn, ‘the trusters’) in this sentence is derived from the same root as the verb itself (yatawakkal, ‘to place one’s trust in something’). This shows that what is meant are those who place their trust in something in the most authentic meaning of tawakkul. Hence, this passage praises God for being the only one worthy of people placing their trust in Him; the ones who place their trust in God are people of insight and none can blame them for trusting in Him and saying: Allah is sufficient for me.
قُلْ يَا قَوْمِ اعْمَلُوا عَلَىٰ مَكَانَتِكُمْ إِنِّي عَامِلٌ ۖ فَسَوْفَ تَعْلَمُونَ ٣٩ مَنْ يَأْتِيهِ عَذَابٌ يُخْزِيهِ وَيَحِلُّ عَلَيْهِ عَذَابٌ مُقِيمٌ ٤٠
(39:39-40) Say, ‘O my people! Act according to your ability. I too am acting. Soon you will know who will be overtaken by a punishment that will disgrace him, and on whom a lasting punishment will descend.’
Makāna (ability) means a person’s station and capacity, and it is to intelligible entities in the same way makān (place) is to sensible ones. Therefore, when God commands His Prophet to tell them to act according to their ability, this means that they should remain in their state of disbelief and obstinacy and continue to bar others from the Way of God.
Soon you will know who will be overtaken by a punishment that will disgrace him…: It appears that the [Ar.] word man (who) is being used as an interrogative particle here rather than as a relative pronoun, as the verse does not mean they will know each individual person who is overtaken by this punishment, only in general who will be overtaken by it.
…and on whom a lasting punishment will descend: In other words, an everlasting punishment—as befits the verb ḥulūl (descend). The distinction drawn between the two punishments shows that the first refers to the punishment of this world, while the second refers to the punishment of the Hereafter, and this statement is the most severe kind of threat.
Therefore, the meaning of this verse is: ‘Speak to the idolaters of your people, and tell them: “O my people, continue to act as you are on the path of disbelief and obstinacy, I too am acting—as I have been commanded by God, and I will not turn aside from this—and soon you will know, who will be overtaken by a punishment that humiliates and abases him—this is the punishment of this world, as happened in the Battle of Badr—and upon whom will descend an everlasting punishment that will never leave him? This is the punishment of the Hereafter.”’
إِنَّا أَنْزَلْنَا عَلَيْكَ الْكِتَابَ لِلنَّاسِ بِالْحَقِّ ۖ فَمَنِ اهْتَدَىٰ فَلِنَفْسِهِ ۖ وَمَنْ ضَلَّ فَإِنَّمَا يَضِلُّ عَلَيْهَا ۖ وَمَا أَنْتَ عَلَيْهِمْ بِوَكِيلٍ ٤١
(39:41) Indeed We have sent down the Book to you for mankind with the truth. So whoever is guided is guided for his own sake, and whoever goes astray goes astray to his own detriment, and it is not your duty to watch over them.
This verse explains the command from the previous one, and the preposition lām (for) in li al-nās (for mankind) means ‘for the sake of mankind, so that you will recite it to them and convey its contents to them.’ Meanwhile, the proposition bāʾ (with) in bi al-ḥaqq (with the truth) signifies accompaniment, meaning that He sent down the Book accompanied by the truth and unsullied by falsehood.
So whoever is guided is guided for his own sake, and whoever goes astray goes astray to his own detriment: Meaning that, since We have sent down the Book with the truth, whoever is guided only benefits himself through obtaining happiness in this world and the reward of the abode of the Hereafter. Conversely, whoever goes astray and is not guided, the misery in this life and consequent punishment in the hereafter are also his alone. God is too exalted and glorified to benefit from any person being guided or harmed by any person going astray.
…and it is not your duty to watch over them: Meaning, you are not responsible for looking after their affairs to ensure that the guidance of the Qur’an will reach their hearts.
Therefore, the meaning of the verse is that you should warn them with what We have said, because We have sent down the Book to you with the truth only in order that you might recite it to mankind. So, whoever of them is guided is only guided for his own benefit and whoever goes astray and is not guided only goes astray to his own detriment. We have not made you responsible for them or for ensuring that guidance enters their hearts, for you have no control over this.
اللَّهُ يَتَوَفَّى الْأَنْفُسَ حِينَ مَوْتِهَا وَالَّتِي لَمْ تَمُتْ فِي مَنَامِهَا ۖ فَيُمْسِكُ الَّتِي قَضَىٰ عَلَيْهَا الْمَوْتَ وَيُرْسِلُ الْأُخْرَىٰ إِلَىٰ أَجَلٍ مُسَمًّى ۚ إِنَّ فِي ذَٰلِكَ لَآيَاتٍ لِقَوْمٍ يَتَفَكَّرُونَ ٤٢
(39:42) Allah takes the souls at the time of their death, and those who have not died in their sleep. Then He retains those for whom He has ordained death and releases the others until a specified time. There are indeed signs in that for a people who reflect.
In Majmaʿ al-bayān, al-Ṭabrisī writes:
Tawaffā (to take) means to receive something completely and in full. One might say: “I have taken my right from so-and-so (tawaffaytu ḥaqqī min fulān)” or “I have received it in full (istawfaytuhu).”’
The subject of the verb (Allah) is placed before the verb in this verse in order to signify exclusivity, namely that God alone is the one who takes the souls and no other.
When we read this alongside other verses such as Say, ‘You will be taken away by the angel of death, who has been charged with you…’ () and When death approaches anyone of you, Our messengers take him away (), we perceive that God is the one who truly receives the souls, while the angel of death and the angels who are his assistants are intermediaries who act on His command.
Allah takes the souls at the time of their death…: The term anfus (souls, sing. nafs) refers to the spirits that are connected to the bodies, not the spirits and the bodies together. This is because the spirits and bodies are not taken together at the time of death; the soul is taken from the body in the sense that its connection with the body is severed such that it no longer is able to interact with or control it. However, their death refers to the death of the bodies—whether because we read this as meaning ‘at the time of their bodies’ death’ or as a figure of speech.
… and those who have not died in their sleep: The conjunction and joins this phrase to souls; manām (sleep) here appears to be a noun of time (ism zamān); fī manāmihā (in their sleep) is a prepositional phrase connected to tawaffā; the meaning of this passage is: ‘And He takes those souls who did not die while they were asleep.’
Then God draws a distinction about those souls who die while they are asleep, saying: Then He retains those for whom He has ordained death and releases the others until a specified time. This means that He retains the soul for whom He has decreed to die in their sleep in the same manner as He retains the soul that He takes at the time of its death, rather than returning it to its body. As for the other soul—for whom He has not decreed to die—God sends this back to its body until a specified time, whereat its life will end.
The verse makes the specified time the duration of the soul’s release. This is in order to show that the meaning of releases here is that God sends some souls back once more and he sends others back time and again until they reach that specified time.
From this verse, we can deduce:
First, that the soul is an entity that is distinct from the body, in the sense that it can be separated from it and exist independently of it while still retaining its own being.
Second, that death and sleep both involve God taking the soul, but they differ in that death means that God takes the soul and does not return it, while sleep means that God takes the soul and might yet return it to its body.
The verse closes with the coda: There are indeed signs in that for a people who reflect and, in doing so, they will remember that God is the one who governs their affairs and that they will return to Him so that He can hold them to account for their deeds.
أَمِ اتَّخَذُوا مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ شُفَعَاءَ ۚ قُلْ أَوَلَوْ كَانُوا لَا يَمْلِكُونَ شَيْئًا وَلَا يَعْقِلُونَ ٤٣
(39:43) Or have they taken intercessors besides Allah? Say, ‘What! Even though they have no control over anything and cannot apply reason?’
The particle am (or) at the beginning of this verse is truncated, with the same meaning as bal (rather). Therefore, it means: ‘Rather they have taken intercessors besides God, and these are the deities they worship in order that they intercede for them with God.’ Recall, at the beginning of this chapter, we read their claim: We only worship them so that they may bring us near to Allah (), and elsewhere we read: These are our intercessors with Allah ().
Say, ‘What! Even though they have no control over anything and cannot apply reason?’ God commands His Prophet to respond to them by disputing their claim, for it is self-evident that intercession depends upon the intercessor having knowledge, namely what is wanted, from whom, and for whom. Therefore, it is meaningless to suggest that an inanimate object can intercede on someone’s behalf. Equally, intercession depends upon the intercessor actually having the ability and the right to intercede. Now, there is nothing that anyone besides God possesses save that it belongs to God, and God has permitted them to make use of it. Therefore, while the idolaters claim that their deities can intercede with God on their behalf, their deities do not possess any such power, nor do they have any knowledge to the effect that God has permitted these deities to intercede with Him. It is pure fabrication.
The question What! Even though…? is rhetorical and conveys a denial of its proposition. In other words, the passage means: ‘Tell them: “Will you take these deities as intercessors even if they do not have control over anything by virtue of their own selves—like the angels—or if they do not even have the power to comprehend anything—like the idols? For this is foolishness!”’
قُلْ لِلَّهِ الشَّفَاعَةُ جَمِيعًا ۖ لَهُ مُلْكُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ ۖ ثُمَّ إِلَيْهِ تُرْجَعُونَ٤٤
(39:44) Say, ‘All intercession rests with Allah. To Him belongs the kingdom of the heavens and the earth; then you will be brought back to Him.’
This reinforces the meaning of the previous verse, What! Even though they have no control over anything…?
The lām in lillāh (translated as ‘rests with Allah’) signifies ownership, while the sentence To Him belongs the kingdom of the heavens and the earth explains why it is that All intercession rests with Allah. In other words, all intercession belongs to God alone, for He is the owner of all things. However, He can permit someone to possess something and thereby endow him with its ownership. As for the idea that some of His servants, such as the angels, could lay claim to intercession without restriction as the idolaters claim, this is impossible. God says: ‘There is no intercessor, except by His leave’ ().
Note that this verse conveys another subtler meaning when we place it besides verses such as besides Whom they shall have neither any guardian nor any intercessor (), namely that the true intercessor is God and any other intercessor only has the power to intercede because God has permitted them to do so. As we have mentioned in our discussion on intercession (shafāʿa) earlier on in this commentary, intercession is really the mediation of some of His divine attributes between Himself and between the one being interceded for in order to rectify his state, such as the mediation of mercy and forgiveness between Him and between His sinful servant in order to save him from the burden of his sins and release him from punishment.
The difference between this kind of mastery or ownership and the one previously mentioned is that in the previous variety, the property does not share any qualities of the master, meaning that he is not described as an intercessor, as when a person owns a house, for example. On the other hand, in this case the property does share in the qualities of the master, and he is considered its intercessor. For example, imagine that Zayd becomes brave because his master is brave.
… then you will be brought back to Him: This sentence provides another rationale for the fact that God alone is the rightful possessor of all intercession. This is because someone only has the power of intercession when the one receiving intercession is completely dependent upon him; if he wishes, he can accept the intercession and set right the affairs of the recipient. However, no one else has the power of intercession unless He grants it to them and permits them to exercise it. God, after all, is the one to whom all the servants must return, and not those whom they invoke besides Him. God is the master of all intercession and, therefore, their claim that their deities will intercede for them unconditionally and their worship of these deities based on this are completely without foundation.
Some have said then you will be brought back to Him is intended as a threat against them, as if to say: ‘Then you will be brought back to Him, whereat you will realize that they are not going to intercede for you, and all of your efforts to worship them have come to naught.’
Others have said that it could be intended as an explicit statement that God is the master of the Hereafter, which is where intercession is most beneficial, and a reminder that while others besides God may believe themselves to have some mastery or ownership of their own, there will come a day when everything will be cut off besides God. However, the correct reading of the verse is the one we have already presented above.
وَإِذَا ذُكِرَ اللَّهُ وَحْدَهُ اشْمَأَزَّتْ قُلُوبُ الَّذِينَ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ بِالْآخِرَةِ ۖ وَإِذَا ذُكِرَ الَّذِينَ مِنْ دُونِهِ إِذَا هُمْ يَسْتَبْشِرُونَ ٤٥
(39:45) When Allah is mentioned alone, the hearts of those who do not believe in the Hereafter shrink away, but when others are mentioned besides Him, behold, they rejoice!
The meaning of God being mentioned alone is that He is invoked without their gods. An example of this is the phrase lā ilāha ill Allāh (there is no god but God). To shrink away means to withdraw from and be averse to something.
This verse singles out their lack of belief in the Hereafter for mention because this is the root of their aversion. If they believed in the Hereafter and that they were going to return to God and that He was going to recompense them for their deeds, they would have served Him alone rather than their false gods and they would not have been averse to invoking Him alone.
…but when others are mentioned besides Him, behold, they rejoice! The phrase others… besides Him refers to their deities, and istibshār (to rejoice) means to be so happy in one’s heart that its traces are visible on one’s face.
قُلِ اللَّهُمَّ فَاطِرَ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ عَالِمَ الْغَيْبِ وَالشَّهَادَةِ أَنْتَ تَحْكُمُ بَيْنَ عِبَادِكَ فِي مَا كَانُوا فِيهِ يَخْتَلِفُونَ ٤٦
(39:46) Say, ‘O Allah! Originator of the heavens and the earth, Knower of the sensible and the Unseen, You will judge between Your servants concerning that about which they used to differ.’
This verse shows that the debate with the idolaters has reached the point where there is no hope of any good coming from them, because they have forgotten about the Hereafter and deny that they will ever return to God. This is to the extent that they were averse to even hearing the name of God alone being invoked. Therefore, God commands His Prophet to invoke Him alone and to remind them of the fact that He will judge between His servants concerning those things they differ about. This invocation takes the form of taking recourse to God while also affirming the Resurrection. It describes God as the Originator of the heavens and the earth—meaning the one who brought them forth from the obscurity of non-existence and into the light of existence—and the Knower of the visible and the unseen, for whom nothing is hidden. The logical corollary of this is that He will judge by the truth and that His verdict will be carried out.
وَلَوْ أَنَّ لِلَّذِينَ ظَلَمُوا مَا فِي الْأَرْضِ جَمِيعًا وَمِثْلَهُ مَعَهُ لَافْتَدَوْا بِهِ مِنْ سُوءِ الْعَذَابِ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ ۚ وَبَدَا لَهُمْ مِنَ اللَّهِ مَا لَمْ يَكُونُوا يَحْتَسِبُونَ٤٧
(39:47) Even if the wrongdoers possessed all that is on the earth, and as much of it besides, they would surely offer it to redeem themselves with it from a terrible punishment on the Day of Resurrection, and there will appear to them from Allah what they had never reckoned.
The phrase alladhīna ẓalamū (the wrongdoers) refers to those who do wrong in this world, as the verb is used here adjectivally. These wrongdoers are those who deny the Hereafter, as God says: May Allah’s curse be on the wrongdoers! Those who bar from the way of Allah, and seek to make it crooked, and disbelieve in the Hereafter ().
Therefore, the meaning of the verse is: ‘If those who deny the Hereafter had all the wealth and treasure that the earth contains and more, they would have offered it as a ransom to escape the terrible punishment that awaits them.’
…and there will appear (badāʾ) to them from Allah what they had never reckoned: Badāʾ (to appear) means for something to come into sight, while iḥtisāb (to reckon) means to count on something in the sense of making plans based on it. Some have said that the term iḥtisāb and its cognate ḥisāb are both frequently used in the sense of ẓann (to think), as in the phrase ‘what they had never reckoned’ [mā lam yakūnū yaḥtasibūn], meaning ‘what they never thought would happen.’ However, according to al-Rāghib al-Iṣfahānī, the difference between ḥisāb and ẓann is to adopt one of two contrary propositions without considering the other, even while there is an equal possibility of either proposition coming to pass. On the other hand, while ẓann is similar in meaning, it means that the person has considered both propositions but deemed one to be more likely than the other.
Based on the context of the verse, this passage means that, on the Day of Resurrection, the deniers will confront things that are far beyond what they expected and far more terrible and frightening than they had imagined. It does not mean they will witness things that they did not believe in or were not convinced about. For example, they will have heard that God has a scale that He will set up to weigh their deeds, that He will judge between them, and that there is a hell containing all manner of punishments. However, when they heard these things, they compared them—while denying them—to the things they were accustomed to in this world. This means that when they do come face-to-face with the realities of the Day of Judgment, they will find them far greater and more terrible than what they had previously conceived. Therefore, this verse on the description of the punishment that awaits the wrongdoers is similar to the verse that describes the blessings that await the inhabitants of Paradise: No one knows what has been kept hidden for them of comfort as a reward for what they used to do ().
The context also indicates that when the verse says things will appear to them, this is in the sense of these things becoming visible and being revealed after being previously kept hidden, as alluded to by the verse You were certainly oblivious of this. We have removed your veil from you, and so your sight is acute today ().
وَبَدَا لَهُمْ سَيِّئَاتُ مَا كَسَبُوا وَحَاقَ بِهِمْ مَا كَانُوا بِهِ يَسْتَهْزِئُونَ ٤٨
(39:48) The evils of what they had earned will appear to them, and they will be besieged by what they used to deride.
In other words, their evil deeds will appear to them after being hidden from them. This is akin to the verse The day when every soul will find present whatever good it has done; and as to whatever evil it has done ().
…and they will be besieged by what they used to deride: Meaning, they will be surrounded and afflicted by the things they used to mock when they heard them from the upholders of religion in this world, such as the hardships and terrors of the Day of Judgment and the different kinds of punishment it contains.
فَإِذَا مَسَّ الْإِنْسَانَ ضُرٌّ دَعَانَا ثُمَّ إِذَا خَوَّلْنَاهُ نِعْمَةً مِنَّا قَالَ إِنَّمَا أُوتِيتُهُ عَلَىٰ عِلْمٍ ۚ بَلْ هِيَ فِتْنَةٌ وَلَٰكِنَّ أَكْثَرَهُمْ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ ٤٩
(39:49) When distress befalls man, he supplicates Us. Then, when We grant him a blessing from Us, he says, ‘I was given it by virtue of knowledge.’ Rather it is a test, but most of them do not know.
This verse offers a rationale for the reason for the wrongdoers’ condition in the previous verse. That is why it begins with the particle fāʾ, which signifies that it follows on from the previous verse and explains it.
In the previous verses, God portrayed the disbelievers as turning aside from every sign that might guide them to the truth, closing their ears to the proofs presented to them, disregarding admonitions, refusing to reflect, denying His lordship, and rejecting the Resurrection and Final Judgment. This was to the point that their hearts recoiled at the mention of God alone.
In the present verse, He explains that this stems from the human being’s inclination to follow the whims of his low self (nafs) and be misled by the decorous-seeming pleasures of this world and the apparent causes of things that surround him. Therefore, the human being tends to forget until he is afflicted by some distress, whereat he turns to his Lord devotedly and invokes Him. Then, when his Lord bestows some blessings upon him, he credits this to his own knowledge and expertise while forgetting his Lord, ignorant of the fact that this was a trial through which he was being tested.
When distress befalls man—some illness or hardship—he supplicates Us—he directs his prayers only to Us and turns away from all others.
Then, when We grant him a blessing from Us, he says, ‘I was given it by virtue of knowledge’: Takhwīl (to grant) meant to give something as a gift, and the word blessing is qualified by from Us to show that this blessing appears as an actual blessing to the person receiving it, as opposed to being a blessing that they cannot perceive directly.
The pronoun ‘it’ (hu) in ‘I was given it’ (ūtītuhu) refers to the blessing, even though the pronoun (hu) is masculine and its referent (niʿma) is feminine insofar as it takes the form of a thing (shayʾ) or wealth (māl). This is also to show that the speaker does not acknowledge it as a blessing from God, but rather detaches it from Him and calls it something else. He does not refer to it as a blessing as that would entail him acknowledging its Bestower, which he also avoids doing by adopting the passive voice in I was given it. In other words, he omits the agent of the verb given. The contrast between a blessing from Us and I was given it is an example of the Qur’an’s sublime eloquence. Some commentators have offered alternative explanations of the use of the pronoun hu in I was given it, but these are generally without basis, and interested readers can refer to other works of commentary for these discussions.
The context of the verse indicates that the phrase ʿalā ʿilm (by virtue of knowledge) should be understood as meaning ‘by virtue of my knowledge.’ In other words, I was given what I was given because of my own knowledge and cleverness regarding the ways of earning a living and amassing wealth.
Some have said it means: ‘I was given it by virtue of God’s knowledge of my own goodness, which made me worthy of being granted such a blessing.’ Others have said it means: ‘…by virtue of my knowledge that God is pleased with me.’ However, the reader will see that the wording of the passage Then, when We grant him a blessing from Us, he says, ‘I was given it by virtue of knowledge’ does not admit either of these readings.
Rather it is a test, but most of them do not know: In other words, the blessing that God has granted is actually a test (fitna) or trial from God for the recipient, but most people do not know this.
Some have said it means that this blessing is actually a punishment for them. Others have said it means that this statement is a tribulation for them, as it means they will be punished. However, both of these readings are far-fetched, especially the latter.
قَدْ قَالَهَا الَّذِينَ مِنْ قَبْلِهِمْ فَمَا أَغْنَىٰ عَنْهُمْ مَا كَانُوا يَكْسِبُونَ ٥٠
(39:50) Those who were before them said that, but what they used to earn did not avail them.
The demonstrative pronoun that in said that refers to the previous utterance.
This verse refutes their claim ‘I was given it by virtue of knowledge’ because it is a trial by which they are being tested; in other words, if they were given it because of their own cleverness or because they had earned it through their own strength and efforts, then their own cleverness and efforts would suffice them and they would never suffer any misfortunes or losses as a result. Instead, they would retain these blessings and enjoy them, and they would never perish. Of course, this was not what happened to those who came before them and made exactly the same claim. What they used to earn did not avail them and they were stricken by the evil that they used to earn.
It appears that the phrase Those who were before them said that is a reference to Korah and others like him, as the Qur’an quotes him as saying ‘I have indeed been given this because of the knowledge that I have’ ().
فَأَصَابَهُمْ سَيِّئَاتُ مَا كَسَبُوا ۚ وَالَّذِينَ ظَلَمُوا مِنْ هَٰؤُلَاءِ سَيُصِيبُهُمْ سَيِّئَاتُ مَا كَسَبُوا وَمَا هُمْ بِمُعْجِزِينَ ٥١
(39:51) So the evils of what they had earned visited them, and as for the wrongdoers among these, the evils of what they earn shall be visited on them and they will not thwart [Allah’s might].
The demonstrative pronoun these in the wrongdoers among these refers to the Prophet’s people, meaning: ‘the path of those who act wrongly from among your people shall be the same as those who came before them; they will suffer the evils of what they earned and the consequences of their deeds, and they will not thwart God in the least.’
أَوَلَمْ يَعْلَمُوا أَنَّ اللَّهَ يَبْسُطُ الرِّزْقَ لِمَنْ يَشَاءُ وَيَقْدِرُ ۚ إِنَّ فِي ذَٰلِكَ لَآيَاتٍ لِقَوْمٍ يُؤْمِنُونَ ٥٢
(39:52) Do they not know that Allah expands the provision for whomever He wishes and tightens it? There are indeed signs in that for a people who have faith.
This is another response to the claim ‘I was given it by virtue of knowledge’ (); the first response was Those who were before them said that (). However, while the first response refuted their claim by exposing its logical invalidity, this verse refutes it through establishing the countervailing argument that God alone expands and tightens people’s provision.
To explain further: The mere fact that a person strives to obtain provision on the basis of his own knowledge and volition does not in of itself constitute a sufficient cause for them to obtain their provision, or else no one would fail to obtain provision. However, in reality this is plainly not the case, for how many seekers of provision return empty-handed and despondent.
So, there are innumerable causes and conditions in terms of both time and place, along with a variety of potential impediments dependent on external circumstances, whose convergence determines whether a person is able to obtain provision through their efforts or not.
However, the convergence of these causes and conditions—in spite of their manifold variety (including being in the right place at the right time with all the necessary material requirements present) and the innumerable prerequisites that they depend upon—should not be seen as coincidental. After all, what is coincidental neither happens consistently or often. On the contrary, the law that governs the provision of those seeking provision encompasses all living beings. In fact, it covers the furthest reaches of the visible world, and it can be clearly seen in the universal order of the cosmos, for were this law to be suspended for even a moment, everything would perish.
Now, this order that governs the cosmos, by virtue of its unity and the harmony of its constituent parts, points to the unity of its originator and the singularity of its director and sustainer, who must be outside the constituent parts of the world that this order maintains. And this originator is none other than God.
Furthermore, since this system is part of the divine governance of the cosmos, and the governance of the cosmos is an extension of its creation—as we have already mentioned on numerous occasions—then the creator of the cosmos is also its governor, and the governor of the cosmos is its provider, and that provider is God.
The verse highlights this argument with the phrase for whomever He wishes, as if the expansion and contraction of provision (rizq) is dependent upon God’s will, then it is not dependent upon the will of the human being. It is obvious that the human being cannot produce, by virtue of his own knowledge, effort, or will, any of the necessary means or causes for his own provision. Neither is provision a matter of chance or coincidence. On the contrary, it is governed by the cosmic order that follows the will of its creator and sustainer, which is God Almighty.
We have already discussed the meaning of rizq (provision, sustenance) in our commentary on the verse and You provide for whomever You wish without any reckoning (), and we will elaborate further in our discussion of the verse By the Lord of the sky and the earth, it is indeed the truth, just as you speak ().
Examining Narrations
- In al-Tawḥīd, al-Ṣadūq narrates in a tradition that a man asked ʿAlī about verses whose meaning was not clear to him, to which he said:
As for the verse You will be taken away by the angel of death, who has been charged with you (), and the verse Allah takes the souls at the time of their death (), and the verse Our messengers take him away and they do not neglect (), and the verse Those whom the angels take away while they are wronging themselves (), and the verse those whom the angels take away while they are pure (), God governs the matter however He pleases and charges whoever He wishes of His creatures with whatever mission He wishes. As for the angel of death, God has charged him specifically with whoever He wills of His creatures, and He has charged His messenger angels specifically with whoever He wishes.
The possessor of knowledge cannot always explain all of his knowledge to all people, for some of them are more capable of receiving it, while others are less so, and there is some knowledge that can be borne by anyone and some knowledge that cannot be borne unless God makes it possible for a person to do so and grants him assistance, and this is reserved for His awliyāʾ.
It will suffice you to know only that God is the giver of life and the bringer of death and that He receives people’s souls in the hands of whomsoever He wishes of His creatures, whether angels or others.
- In al-Khiṣāl, al-Ṣadūq also narrates from ʿAlī in a tradition on the number four-hundred: ‘No Muslim sleeps while in a state of ritual impurity (junub), nor does he sleep except in a state of ritual purity (ṭahūr). And if he does not find water, then let him purify himself with dust (tayammum bi al-ṣaʿīd). For the spirit of the believer ascends to God, who receives it and blesses it, and if it has reached its appointed time, then He places it in the treasury of His mercy. And if it has not reached its appointed time then He sends it with His trusted angels who return it to its body.’
- In Majmaʿ al-bayān, al-Ṭabrisī narrates from al-ʿAyyāshī via his chain of narrators, from al-Ḥasan b. Maḥbūb, from ʿAmr b. Thābit, from Abū al-Miqdām, from his father, from Imam al-Bāqir: ‘No one sleeps save that their soul ascends to the heavens while his spirit remains in his body, and there extends between them a rope that is like the ray of the sun. If God permits that the spirit be taken, then the spirit responds to the call of the soul and ascends; and if God permits that the spirit should return to the world, then the soul responds to the call of the spirit and descends. This is God’s saying Allah takes the souls at the time of their death (). So, whatever visions the soul sees in the dominions of the heavens are meaningful, but whatever it sees while it is between the heavens and the earth are the illusions of Satan, and they have no meaning.’
- In al-Durr al-manthūr, al-Suyūṭī narrates from Ibn Abī Ḥātim and Ibn Mardawayh from Salīm b. ʿĀmir that ʿUmar b. al-Khaṭṭāb said: ‘Dreams are strange indeed. One man falls asleep and sees things which had never occurred to him before. His dream is like being taken by the hand. Another man has a dream and it is meaningless.’
Then ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib said to him: ‘Shall I not inform you of the reason for this, O Commander of the Faithful? God says Allah takes the souls at the time of their death, and those who have not died in their sleep. Then He retains those for whom He has ordained death and releases the others until a specified time (). So, it is God who takes all of the souls, and whatever these souls behold while they are with Him in the heavens are true dreams. However, what they see when He returns them to their bodies are naught but the insinuations of the devils in their air; they lie and tell them falsehoods.’ Whereat ʿUmar was astounded by what ʿAlī had said.
Author’s comments: We have already discussed the significance of dreams and visions at length in our commentary on Sūrah Yūsuf, and referring back to this will assist the reader in understanding the meaning of these traditions. Note that these traditions use the term ‘heavens’ (samāʾ) to denote what is commonly called ‘the superior realm of images’ (ʿālam al-mithāl al-akbar), while they use ‘what is between the heavens and the earth’ (mā bayn al-samāʾ wa al-arḍ) to denote what is commonly called ‘the inferior realm of images’ (ʿālam al-mithāl al-aṣghar).