Verses 22–31
39. Az-Zumar · The Groups
Makkan75 verses
أَفَمَن شَرَحَ ٱللَّهُ صَدْرَهُۥ لِلْإِسْلَٰمِ فَهُوَ عَلَىٰ نُورٍۢ مِّن رَّبِّهِۦ ۚ فَوَيْلٌۭ لِّلْقَٰسِيَةِ قُلُوبُهُم مِّن ذِكْرِ ٱللَّهِ ۚ أُو۟لَٰٓئِكَ فِى ضَلَٰلٍۢ مُّبِينٍ
39:22Is someone whose breast Allah has opened to Islam so that he follows a light from His Lord…? So woe to those whose hearts have been hardened to the remembrance of Allah. They are in manifest error.1
ٱللَّهُ نَزَّلَ أَحْسَنَ ٱلْحَدِيثِ كِتَٰبًۭا مُّتَشَٰبِهًۭا مَّثَانِىَ تَقْشَعِرُّ مِنْهُ جُلُودُ ٱلَّذِينَ يَخْشَوْنَ رَبَّهُمْ ثُمَّ تَلِينُ جُلُودُهُمْ وَقُلُوبُهُمْ إِلَىٰ ذِكْرِ ٱللَّهِ ۚ ذَٰلِكَ هُدَى ٱللَّهِ يَهْدِى بِهِۦ مَن يَشَآءُ ۚ وَمَن يُضْلِلِ ٱللَّهُ فَمَا لَهُۥ مِنْ هَادٍ
39:23Allah has sent down the best of discourses, a scripture [composed] of similar motifs, whereat shiver the skins of those who fear their Lord, then their skins and hearts relax at Allah’s remembrance. That is Allah’s guidance, by which He guides whomever He wishes; and whomever Allah leads astray, has no guide.
أَفَمَن يَتَّقِى بِوَجْهِهِۦ سُوٓءَ ٱلْعَذَابِ يَوْمَ ٱلْقِيَٰمَةِ ۚ وَقِيلَ لِلظَّٰلِمِينَ ذُوقُوا۟ مَا كُنتُمْ تَكْسِبُونَ
39:24What! Is someone who fends off with his face the terrible punishment [meted out to him] on the Day of Resurrection…? And the wrongdoers will be told, ‘Taste what you used to earn.’2
كَذَّبَ ٱلَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِهِمْ فَأَتَىٰهُمُ ٱلْعَذَابُ مِنْ حَيْثُ لَا يَشْعُرُونَ
39:25Those who were before them impugned [the apostles], whereat the punishment overtook them whence they were not aware.
فَأَذَاقَهُمُ ٱللَّهُ ٱلْخِزْىَ فِى ٱلْحَيَوٰةِ ٱلدُّنْيَا ۖ وَلَعَذَابُ ٱلْءَاخِرَةِ أَكْبَرُ ۚ لَوْ كَانُوا۟ يَعْلَمُونَ
39:26So Allah made them taste disgrace in the life of the world, and the punishment of the Hereafter will surely be greater, if they knew.
وَلَقَدْ ضَرَبْنَا لِلنَّاسِ فِى هَٰذَا ٱلْقُرْءَانِ مِن كُلِّ مَثَلٍۢ لَّعَلَّهُمْ يَتَذَكَّرُونَ
39:27We have drawn for mankind in this Quran every [kind of] example, so that they may take admonition:
قُرْءَانًا عَرَبِيًّا غَيْرَ ذِى عِوَجٍۢ لَّعَلَّهُمْ يَتَّقُونَ
39:28an Arabic Quran, without any deviousness, so that they may be Godwary.
ضَرَبَ ٱللَّهُ مَثَلًۭا رَّجُلًۭا فِيهِ شُرَكَآءُ مُتَشَٰكِسُونَ وَرَجُلًۭا سَلَمًۭا لِّرَجُلٍ هَلْ يَسْتَوِيَانِ مَثَلًا ۚ ٱلْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ ۚ بَلْ أَكْثَرُهُمْ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ
39:29Allah draws an example: a man jointly owned by several contending masters, and a man belonging entirely to one man: are the two equal in comparison? All praise belongs to Allah! But most of them do not know.
إِنَّكَ مَيِّتٌۭ وَإِنَّهُم مَّيِّتُونَ
39:30You will die, and they [too] will die.
ثُمَّ إِنَّكُمْ يَوْمَ ٱلْقِيَٰمَةِ عِندَ رَبِّكُمْ تَخْتَصِمُونَ
39:31Then on the Day of Resurrection you will contend before your Lord.
Tafsir
Commentary on this passage
Verse 22
1.Hafiz Muhammad Bin Kalbi has narrated in his book Al Tashil that large-hearted people means Ali (a.s.) and Hamza (a.s.) and hard hearted and cruel people means Abu Lahab and his children.
Verse 28
2.Arabic language is the Divine language of the world and the Holy Quran is a miracle of this language. Besides, what can be more unfortunate than listening to this language and feeling that it does not affect the heart of people and does not create the fear of Allah in the mind? Be it known that original Quran is in Arabic so will it remain and its laws have been laid down in the same language and if a man translates the laws to a language of his choice he is free in this endeavour but it will certainly not have the weightage of the original Holy Quran and it is a peculiarity of only the name of Allah that even if it is written in another languages it is unlawful to touch without ablution.
Verse 29
3.This is the best example of unity of God and polytheism that believer in oneness of Allah is infact the godly human and Polytheist carries a heavy load of different kinds of slavery on his head and it is clear that it is possible to practice on demands of Unity but to practice on demands of Polytheists is impossible and the life moves in opposite paths.
Footnotes
Explanations of words and phrases in these verses
Benefit
In Islamic traditions among the causes of hardening of the heart is leaving of remembrance of Allah and excessive sins are the most important. Therefore everyone should avoid these two things. The Holy Quran is the ‘best discourse’ (Ahsanul Hadith) and also a book that is ambiguous and oft-repeated. That is, its verses, in spite of being of similar hue and repetitive are the best sayings and they do not cause any sort of consternation.
- 1
Sharhe-Sadr (expansion of breast) denotes the accepting of a statement. That is for this thing one can find space in the heart. Hardening of heart is a condition opposed to this and Islam. Ahsanul Hadith is the Holy Quran. Ambiguous - whose verses are similar in eloquence and meaning. Masani - which has two types of things like commands and prohibitions, lawful and unlawful. Promise and warnings etc. Or that in which something is repeated a number of times.
- 2
In all these ayats predicate is dropped. And it denotes its opposite that is oath. That this oath cannot be like that. Its status is much higher. What a terrible thing it is that the face to protect which one makes his whole body a shield; on the day of Qiyamat he will have to make it the shield, after which there is no chance of defence.