Anwar Al-Quran

Verses 41–47

39. Az-Zumar · The Groups

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إِنَّآ أَنزَلْنَا عَلَيْكَ ٱلْكِتَٰبَ لِلنَّاسِ بِٱلْحَقِّ ۖ فَمَنِ ٱهْتَدَىٰ فَلِنَفْسِهِۦ ۖ وَمَن ضَلَّ فَإِنَّمَا يَضِلُّ عَلَيْهَا ۖ وَمَآ أَنتَ عَلَيْهِم بِوَكِيلٍ

39:41Indeed We have sent down the Book to you with the truth for [the deliverance of] mankind. 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.

ٱللَّهُ يَتَوَفَّى ٱلْأَنفُسَ حِينَ مَوْتِهَا وَٱلَّتِى لَمْ تَمُتْ فِى مَنَامِهَا ۖ فَيُمْسِكُ ٱلَّتِى قَضَىٰ عَلَيْهَا ٱلْمَوْتَ وَيُرْسِلُ ٱلْأُخْرَىٰٓ إِلَىٰٓ أَجَلٍۢ مُّسَمًّى ۚ إِنَّ فِى ذَٰلِكَ لَءَايَٰتٍۢ لِّقَوْمٍۢ يَتَفَكَّرُونَ

39:42Allah 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.1

أَمِ ٱتَّخَذُوا۟ مِن دُونِ ٱللَّهِ شُفَعَآءَ ۚ قُلْ أَوَلَوْ كَانُوا۟ لَا يَمْلِكُونَ شَيْـًۭٔا وَلَا يَعْقِلُونَ

39:43Have they taken intercessors besides Allah? Say, ‘What! Even though they do not control anything, and cannot reason?!’

قُل لِّلَّهِ ٱلشَّفَٰعَةُ جَمِيعًۭا ۖ لَّهُۥ مُلْكُ ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ ۖ ثُمَّ إِلَيْهِ تُرْجَعُونَ

39:44Say, ‘All intercession rests with Allah. To Him belongs the kingdom of the heavens and the earth; then you will be brought back to Him.’2

وَإِذَا ذُكِرَ ٱللَّهُ وَحْدَهُ ٱشْمَأَزَّتْ قُلُوبُ ٱلَّذِينَ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ بِٱلْءَاخِرَةِ ۖ وَإِذَا ذُكِرَ ٱلَّذِينَ مِن دُونِهِۦٓ إِذَا هُمْ يَسْتَبْشِرُونَ

39:45When Allah is mentioned alone, [thereat] shrink away the hearts of those who do not believe in the Hereafter, but when others are mentioned besides Him, behold, they rejoice!

قُلِ ٱللَّهُمَّ فَاطِرَ ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ عَٰلِمَ ٱلْغَيْبِ وَٱلشَّهَٰدَةِ أَنتَ تَحْكُمُ بَيْنَ عِبَادِكَ فِى مَا كَانُوا۟ فِيهِ يَخْتَلِفُونَ

39:46Say, ‘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.’

وَلَوْ أَنَّ لِلَّذِينَ ظَلَمُوا۟ مَا فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ جَمِيعًۭا وَمِثْلَهُۥ مَعَهُۥ لَٱفْتَدَوْا۟ بِهِۦ مِن سُوٓءِ ٱلْعَذَابِ يَوْمَ ٱلْقِيَٰمَةِ ۚ وَبَدَا لَهُم مِّنَ ٱللَّهِ مَا لَمْ يَكُونُوا۟ يَحْتَسِبُونَ

39:47Even if the wrongdoers possessed all that is on the earth, and as much of it besides, they would offer it on the Day of Resurrection to redeem themselves with it from a terrible punishment, and there will appear to them from Allah what they had never reckoned.

Tafsir

Commentary on this passage

Verse 42

1.Allah has been kept a strange expediency in the creation of universe that He has rewarded human being with two kinds of bounties. Material and non-material and made it a philosophy of life and has made material dependent on non-material but not vice versa. Though it is a sign that dependence of humanity rests on spirituality and assistance. There is no truth of materialism and this is clarified from here that Allah has not made dependent the invisible life on present life, on the contrary present life is made dependent on invisible that as long as the relation of present body would be continued with invisible soul, man would remain alive and when the connection is broken he would die. This is a sign that as long as life is connected with soul, and akin to this is the life of faith is related with the faith of invisible and faith is not worthy of life without it. The wise should consider this point and expediency and should estimate the greatness of invisible faith.

Footnotes

Explanations of words and phrases in these verses

  1. Benefit

    Sleep is one of the secret worlds of human beings which explains the following things: (1) Man is a compound of body and soul (2) The relationship between body and soul becomes weak during sleep. (3) Wakefulness is a new life. (4) Sleep is an example of death and death is the completion (perfection) of sleep. (5) Every life of man is the result of the beneficence of the Lord.

  2. 1

    This ayat indicates that man is not the physical body alone. Rather it is a material part with it. Now what this part is no one knows. This much is known that a part of it separates at the time of death and one part separates during sleep and the only difference between the two is that at the time of separation of soul the respiration continues, only perception is weakened and after the expulsion of the soul the respiration also ceases and man really becomes a corpse. In order to underline this difference the scholars have called the part that separated during sleep to be ‘nafs’ and the part that separates during death is termed as ‘rooh’.

  3. 2

    This statement indicates that intercession is a reality but at the discretion of the Almighty Allah. One who is given authority can only intercede. No one else is authorised to do so and neither can he intercede for anyone.