Surah 39. Az-Zumar

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Verses [Section]: 1-9[1], 10-21 [2], 22-31 [3], 32-41 [4], 42-52 [5], 53-63 [6], 64-70 [7], 71-75 [8]

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Quran Text of Verse 10-21قُلْSayیٰعِبَادِO My slavesالَّذِیْنَ[those] whoاٰمَنُواbelieve!اتَّقُوْاFearرَبَّكُمْ ؕyour LordلِلَّذِیْنَFor those whoاَحْسَنُوْاdo goodفِیْinهٰذِهِthisالدُّنْیَاworldحَسَنَةٌ ؕ(is) goodوَ اَرْضُand the earthاللّٰهِ(of) Allahوَاسِعَةٌ ؕ(is) spaciousاِنَّمَاOnlyیُوَفَّیwill be paid back in fullالصّٰبِرُوْنَthe patientاَجْرَهُمْtheir rewardبِغَیْرِwithoutحِسَابٍ account 39. Az-Zumar Page 460قُلْSayاِنِّیْۤIndeed Iاُمِرْتُ[I] am commandedاَنْthatاَعْبُدَI worshipاللّٰهَAllahمُخْلِصًا(being) sincereلَّهُto Himالدِّیْنَۙ(in) the religion وَ اُمِرْتُAnd I am commandedلِاَنْthatاَكُوْنَI beاَوَّلَ(the) firstالْمُسْلِمِیْنَ (of) those who submit قُلْSayاِنِّیْۤIndeed Iاَخَافُ[I] fearاِنْifعَصَیْتُI disobeyرَبِّیْmy Lordعَذَابَ(the) punishmentیَوْمٍ(of) a Dayعَظِیْمٍ great قُلِSayاللّٰهَI worship AllahاَعْبُدُI worship Allahمُخْلِصًا(being) sincereلَّهٗto Himدِیْنِیْۙ(in) my religion فَاعْبُدُوْاSo worshipمَاwhatشِئْتُمْyou willمِّنْbesides Himدُوْنِهٖ ؕbesides HimقُلْSayاِنَّIndeedالْخٰسِرِیْنَthe losersالَّذِیْنَ(are) those whoخَسِرُوْۤا(will) loseاَنْفُسَهُمْthemselvesوَ اَهْلِیْهِمْand their familiesیَوْمَ(on the) Dayالْقِیٰمَةِ ؕ(of) the ResurrectionاَلَاUnquestionablyذٰلِكَthatهُوَitالْخُسْرَانُ(is) the lossالْمُبِیْنُ the clear لَهُمْFor themمِّنْfromفَوْقِهِمْabove themظُلَلٌcoveringsمِّنَofالنَّارِthe Fireوَ مِنْand fromتَحْتِهِمْbelow themظُلَلٌ ؕcoveringsذٰلِكَ(With) thatیُخَوِّفُthreatensاللّٰهُAllahبِهٖ[with it]عِبَادَهٗ ؕHis slavesیٰعِبَادِO My slaves!فَاتَّقُوْنِ So fear Me وَ الَّذِیْنَAnd those whoاجْتَنَبُواavoidالطَّاغُوْتَthe false godsاَنْlestیَّعْبُدُوْهَاthey worship themوَ اَنَابُوْۤاand turnاِلَیtoاللّٰهِAllahلَهُمُfor themالْبُشْرٰی ۚ(is) the glad tidingفَبَشِّرْSo give glad tidingsعِبَادِۙ(to) My slaves الَّذِیْنَThose whoیَسْتَمِعُوْنَthey listen (to)الْقَوْلَthe Wordفَیَتَّبِعُوْنَthen followاَحْسَنَهٗ ؕthe best thereofاُولٰٓىِٕكَthoseالَّذِیْنَ(are) they whomهَدٰىهُمُAllah has guided themاللّٰهُAllah has guided themوَ اُولٰٓىِٕكَand thoseهُمْare [they]اُولُواthe men of understandingالْاَلْبَابِ the men of understanding اَفَمَنْThen is (one) whoحَقَّbecame dueعَلَیْهِon himكَلِمَةُthe wordالْعَذَابِ ؕ(of) the punishmentاَفَاَنْتَThen can youتُنْقِذُsaveمَنْ(one) whoفِی(is) inالنَّارِۚthe Fire لٰكِنِButالَّذِیْنَthose whoاتَّقَوْاfearرَبَّهُمْtheir Lordلَهُمْfor themغُرَفٌ(are) lofty mansionsمِّنْabove themفَوْقِهَاabove themغُرَفٌlofty mansionsمَّبْنِیَّةٌ ۙbuilt highتَجْرِیْflowمِنْfromتَحْتِهَاbeneath themالْاَنْهٰرُ ؕ۬the riversوَعْدَ(The) Promiseاللّٰهِ ؕ(of) AllahلَاNotیُخْلِفُAllah failsاللّٰهُAllah failsالْمِیْعَادَ (in His) promise اَلَمْDo notتَرَyou seeاَنَّthatاللّٰهَAllahاَنْزَلَsends downمِنَfromالسَّمَآءِthe skyمَآءًwaterفَسَلَكَهٗand He makes it flowیَنَابِیْعَ(as) springsفِیinالْاَرْضِthe earthثُمَّthenیُخْرِجُHe producesبِهٖwith itزَرْعًاcropsمُّخْتَلِفًا(of) differentاَلْوَانُهٗcolorsثُمَّthenیَهِیْجُthey witherفَتَرٰىهُand you see themمُصْفَرًّاturn yellowثُمَّthenیَجْعَلُهٗHe makes themحُطَامًا ؕdebrisاِنَّIndeedفِیْinذٰلِكَthatلَذِكْرٰیsurely, (is) a reminderلِاُولِیfor those of understandingالْاَلْبَابِ۠for those of understanding

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Translation of Verse 10-21

(39:10) Tell them (O Prophet): “O you servants of Mine who believe, have fear of your Lord.²⁹ A good end awaits those who did good in this world.³⁰ Allah's earth is spacious.³¹ Verily those who persevere shall be granted their reward beyond all reckoning.”³²

(39:11) Tell them, (O Prophet): “I am bidden to serve Allah, consecrating my devotion to Him,

(39:12) and I am bidden to be the first of those who surrender to Him.”³³

(39:13) Say: “If I disobey my Lord, I fear the chastisement of an Awesome Day.”

(39:14) Say: “Allah alone shall I serve, consecrating my devotion to Him.

(39:15) So serve, apart from Him, whomsoever you please.” Say: “Behold, the real losers shall be those who will have lost their own selves and their kith and kin on the Day of Resurrection. Behold, that is the obvious loss.³⁴

(39:16) There shall be sheets of fire above them and beneath them. This is the end against which Allah warns His servants. So dread My wrath, O you servants of Mine!”

(39:17) (On the other hand), good tidings await those who eschew serving false gods³⁵ and penitently return to Allah. (O Prophet), give good tidings to My servants,

(39:18) to those who pay heed to what is said and follow the best of it.³⁶ They are the ones whom Allah has guided to the Right Way; they are the ones endowed with understanding.

(39:19) (O Prophet), can you save him (from chastisement) against whom the sentence of chastisement has become due;³⁷ him who has, (as it were), already fallen into the Fire?”

(39:20) But those who fear their Lord shall have lofty mansions built over one another beneath which rivers flow. This is Allah's promise and never does Allah fail to fulfil His promise.

(39:21) Do you not see that Allah sent down water from the sky, then made it flow on earth as springs and streams and rivers³⁸ and then with it He brings forth vegetation of various hues; then this vegetation ripens and dries up, turning yellow, whereafter He reduces it to broken straw? Surely there is a lesson in this for those endowed with understanding.³⁹

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Commentary

29. That is, it is not enough merely to believe but it is also required that one should be God-fearing; do what one is commanded to do by God and refrain from what He has forbidden and live in the world in constant and unremitting fear of accountability to Him.

30. This signifies success in both worlds. Those who do good prosper both in this life and in the Next.

31. If believers find it hard to profess and practice faith in a particular town, region or country, they should migrate to wherever it should not be hard to do so.

32. Those who endure hardship and persecution in God’s cause and yet persevere will be granted immeasurable rewards. These rewards will also embrace those who migrate from their homeland and face the hardships of banishment as well as those who continue to stay in their homeland, bearing the afflictions that might befall them.

33. The Prophet's task is not merely to preach righteousness to others but also to put it into practice in his own life. In fact, his own practice precedes inviting others to live righteously.

34. Generally speaking, an insolvent person is he who loses all his invested capital and is, thus, unable to pay off his liabilities. God employs this metaphor with regard to all unbelievers and polytheists. The reason is that they are granted life, a certain term of existence, intellect, physical body, various potentialities, faculties, and a variety of resources and opportunities. These constitute their capital. If people waste or misuse their capital in the erroneous belief that God does not exist, or that there are many gods, or that they will not be held accountable for their deeds, or that someone will come to their rescue in the Hereafter, they will end up as utter losers. Another loss they might suffer is because they might have wronged themselves and their fellow beings as well as generations of people still to come. Since they will not have anything left to their credit, they will not be able to meet the demands of reparation made against them. They will suffer losses and will be held responsible for ruining the lives of their children, of their kith and kin and friends because of the false ideas they espoused and the wrong examples they set. The present verse refers to all these losses that the unbelievers will incur.

35. Taghut, which is derived from tughyan, denotes rebellion and transgression. If someone is called taghut rather than taghi (the rebellious), this amounts to calling them extremely rebellious, to holding them to be the epitome of rebelliousness. This can be understood by considering an example. If someone is beautiful hasin in Arabic - and one calls him/ her husn (beauty), it means that his/her beauty has reached the point of perfection.

Deities other than the One True God have been called taghut because while worshipping others than God amounts to rebellion, those who cause others to worship them have reached the climax of rebelliousness. (For further details, see al-Baqarah 2, nn. 286 and 288, Towards Understanding the Qur’an, vol.1, pp. 199 and 200, al-Nisa’ 4, nn. 91 and 105, vol. IL, pp. 53 and 59-60.) In this verse the word taghut has been employed in the plural sense. This is evident from the usage rather than, if which would have been employed if the object were singular.

36. This verse is open to two meanings: (i) That these servants of God do not indiscriminately follow everyone; instead, they carefully consider what people say, accepting only what they find to be true. (ii) That when they hear something, they are not inclined to distort its meaning; instead, they follow ‘the best of it’.

37. The reference here is to the person who makes himself merit God’s punishment and who God has decided to punish.

38. The word yanaby' refers to all these three forms of water [springs, streams and rivers].

39. The common phenomenon of crops and their decay imparts an important lesson to a person endowed with a good common sense: a lesson whereby one knows that worldly life and its allurements are ephemeral. Every spring that blossoms ends up in an autumn. The age of youth is destined to give way to old age and death. All that rises ultimately witnesses fall. Hence this world should not infatuate one to the point of making one heedless of God and the Hereafter. Likewise, the passion to pounce upon the fleeting pleasures of this world should not make one negligent of the abiding good of the Life to Come. When an intelligent person looks at the changing spectacle of spring and autumn he instantly knows that both prosperity and adversity are in God’s Hand.

It is He Who lets someone prosper and flourish and lets others face decay - and destruction. None can prevent Him from granting prosperity to whomsoever He wills or prevent Him from wreaking destruction upon whomsoever He wills.