Anwar Al-Quran

Verses 21–28

41. Fussilat · Explained in detail

Makkan54 verses

وَقَالُوا۟ لِجُلُودِهِمْ لِمَ شَهِدتُّمْ عَلَيْنَا ۖ قَالُوٓا۟ أَنطَقَنَا ٱللَّهُ ٱلَّذِىٓ أَنطَقَ كُلَّ شَىْءٍۢ وَهُوَ خَلَقَكُمْ أَوَّلَ مَرَّةٍۢ وَإِلَيْهِ تُرْجَعُونَ

41:21They will say to their skins, ‘Why did you bear witness against us?’ They will say, ‘We were given speech by Allah, who gave speech to all things. He created you the first time, and you are being brought back to Him.1

وَمَا كُنتُمْ تَسْتَتِرُونَ أَن يَشْهَدَ عَلَيْكُمْ سَمْعُكُمْ وَلَآ أَبْصَٰرُكُمْ وَلَا جُلُودُكُمْ وَلَٰكِن ظَنَنتُمْ أَنَّ ٱللَّهَ لَا يَعْلَمُ كَثِيرًۭا مِّمَّا تَعْمَلُونَ

41:22You did not use to conceal yourselves [while perpetrating sinful acts] lest your hearing, your eyes, or your skins should bear witness against you, but you thought that Allah did not know most of what you did.

وَذَٰلِكُمْ ظَنُّكُمُ ٱلَّذِى ظَنَنتُم بِرَبِّكُمْ أَرْدَىٰكُمْ فَأَصْبَحْتُم مِّنَ ٱلْخَٰسِرِينَ

41:23That misjudgement, which you entertained about your Lord ruined you. So you became losers.’

فَإِن يَصْبِرُوا۟ فَٱلنَّارُ مَثْوًۭى لَّهُمْ ۖ وَإِن يَسْتَعْتِبُوا۟ فَمَا هُم مِّنَ ٱلْمُعْتَبِينَ

41:24Should they be patient, the Fire is their abode; and should they seek to propitiate [Allah], they will not be redeemed.

۞ وَقَيَّضْنَا لَهُمْ قُرَنَآءَ فَزَيَّنُوا۟ لَهُم مَّا بَيْنَ أَيْدِيهِمْ وَمَا خَلْفَهُمْ وَحَقَّ عَلَيْهِمُ ٱلْقَوْلُ فِىٓ أُمَمٍۢ قَدْ خَلَتْ مِن قَبْلِهِم مِّنَ ٱلْجِنِّ وَٱلْإِنسِ ۖ إِنَّهُمْ كَانُوا۟ خَٰسِرِينَ

41:25We have assigned them companions who make their present [conduct] and future [state] seem decorous to them, and the word became due against them along with the nations of jinn and humans that passed away before them. They were indeed losers.2

وَقَالَ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ لَا تَسْمَعُوا۟ لِهَٰذَا ٱلْقُرْءَانِ وَٱلْغَوْا۟ فِيهِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَغْلِبُونَ

41:26The faithless say, ‘Do not listen to this Quran and hoot it down so that you may prevail [over the Apostle].’*

فَلَنُذِيقَنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ عَذَابًۭا شَدِيدًۭا وَلَنَجْزِيَنَّهُمْ أَسْوَأَ ٱلَّذِى كَانُوا۟ يَعْمَلُونَ

41:27We will surely make the faithless taste a severe punishment, and We will surely requite them by the worst of what they used to do.

ذَٰلِكَ جَزَآءُ أَعْدَآءِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلنَّارُ ۖ لَهُمْ فِيهَا دَارُ ٱلْخُلْدِ ۖ جَزَآءًۢ بِمَا كَانُوا۟ بِـَٔايَٰتِنَا يَجْحَدُونَ

41:28That is the requital of the enemies of Allah—the Fire! In it, they will have an everlasting abode, as a requital for their impugning Our signs.

Tafsir

Commentary on this passage

Verse 21

1.The Holy verse indicates that infidels are so cunning that they did not accept the witness of preachers or Angels and did not trust the record of deeds and Allah’s revelations and they blamed them and asked proof for their destruction. Allah made their organs witnesses against them. They became angry on them and forgot that organs are not only witness but they are plaintiff against them. They will say that they have used their eyes to see namehram (unrelated person of opposite sex) and made sensitive ears to listen to music and made the skin the target of touching and sinful act. Obviously what would happen when all the organs will bear witness? He was committing sins with the help of these organs the whole life.

Verse 26

2.This is a very old trick that they are using till today that they do not allow people to listen to pious people otherwise they would become influenced. So make noise therein to cool down the matter and their party would not weaken.

Footnotes

Explanations of words and phrases in these verses

  1. Benefit

    Seven types of witnesses are mentioned in Quran and Hadith : (1) The Lord of Universe (2) The Prophets (a.s.) (3) The organs of body (4) Skin (5) Angels (6) Earth (7) Time. The most surprising is the testimony of the skin. That is why the sinners asked the skin why it testified.

  2. 1

    Some commentators say that the testimony of organs and parts of body implies that the effects of the deeds will become apparent on them. Otherwise there is no question of their speaking and it is extremely strange. Otherwise the God who can create the power of speech in a lump of flesh (tongue) can also create the same in other organs. This is indeed worth inquiry.

  3. 2

    In every society if the sinners are given freedom they form a group and confront the government. This is blamed on the society and government for being lax with these people. It is the responsibility of the government that it should give freedom to the people so that their dispensing of justice to the sinners may be justified. Otherwise punishment will also become a crime and the system of justice will become defective.

  4. Benefit

    The 26th ayat describes the character of irreligious people. Before this they made lots of noise to prevent the people from listening to Quran and now they have made them engrossed in novels, films and entertainment and lastly by inciting wanton debates, and by creating aimless political problems people are prevented from listening to the Quran.