Surah Ibrahim 14:42-52 - Quran Translation Commentary

42. And do not think that Allah is unaware of what the wrongdoers are doing.⁵⁹ He only gives them respite till a day when eyes will remain string⁶⁰ (in horror).

43. They will be running (in fright), their heads raised,⁶¹ their gaze not returning⁶² towards them and their hearts in flight.⁶³

44. And warn mankind of a day when punishment will come upon them,⁶⁴ then the wrongdoers will say Our Lord ! “Reprieve us for a little while, we will obey your call, and will follow the messengers.” (They will be asked): “Did you not swear before that there would be no decline for you ?”⁶⁵

45۔ And you lived in the dwellings of those who wronged themselves,⁶⁶ and it had become clear to you how We dealt with them, and presented examples for you.”⁶⁷

46. Verily they plotted their plot, but with Allah was the answer for their every plot, although their plot was such as could move the mountain.⁶⁸

47. So do not think that Allah will fail to keep His promise to His messengers.⁶⁹ Verily Allah is All -Mighty, Capable to punish.⁷⁰

48. On the day when the earth will be changed to another earth, and also the heaven,⁷¹ and (all men) shall be marshalled forth before Allah, the one, the Almighty.⁷²

49. You will see the guilty on that day bound together in chains.

50. Their garments will be of pitch and their faces covered with fire.

51. It will be so that Allah may repay each soul what it has earned; verily Allah is swift at reckoning.

52. This (the noble Qur’an) is a message for mankind⁷³ in order that they may be warned thereby, and that they may know that He is only One God, and that men of understanding may be reminded.⁷⁴

Commentary

59. Although the addressee is the Prophet, the purpose is to warn the common people that by the repressed condition of the truth and the temporary superiority of the falsehood they need not be misled to believe that the world is disorderly and God is unaware of what is happening in this world. The fact is that Allah is very much aware of what is happening in the world, but since He has fixed the Day of Resurrection for reckoning and for the reward and punishment, He is giving reprieve to the people to enable them to earn good or evil as they like. This is not disorderliness, but wise planning.

60 That is: On the Day of Resurrection such horrifying scenes will be seen by the people that the eyes of the wrongdoing persons will remain staring in terror. They did not believe in the occurrence of the Day of Resurrection, therefore, they will be wonder-struck by these scenes, wondering in what world have they come !

61. After rising from the graves they will run towards the place where they have to appear before God, and He alone knows how much distance they will have to traverse before reaching there.

62. That is: Being terrified and in horror they will be simply staring without blinking their eyelids.

63. Due to the intensity of the anxiety and fear their condition will be most pathetic, and their hearts will be as if they are flying. In reality it is faith which grants strength to the hearts, and since their hearts were empty of faith, their being totally upset and dumbfounded is an essential corollary .

64. Warning people of the punishment of the Doomsday by this emphatic command points to the fact that this is the most important point of the Quranic Dawah, which needs to be presented in a sufficiently lucid way and in a forceful manner before the people. To shake the present unaware world and to warn the people of the unimaginable punishment of the Day of Resurrection is the most important duty of the followers of Qur’an and also the great demand of the time.

65. That .is: You used to say with full confidence that you were not to go anywhere else from this world. Life is confined to this world only and the Hereafter does not exist. Now you have realized your mistake, at a time when the time for mending has passed. This hour is meant for the, declaration of the results.

66. Means the land of Arabia, where in different regions the remains of the various destroyed nations are found, e.g. the remains of the nation of Thamud in the Valley of Hijr, etc.

67. For your admonition and lesson historical events were also presented, and various examples were narrated, as in this Surah the examples of Kalimah Tayyibah and Kalimah Khabitha were given. But you did not take lesson from anything.

68. That is: These nations had hatched most dangerous plots against the messengers of Allah, but Allah caused every plot of theirs to misfire. So now (O Quraish!) do you think that your plotting will succeed against our Last Messenger ?

69. The address is to the Prophet and the purpose is to comfort the Prophet and his followers that they need not worry about the plotting of the enemies, for Allah will help His present messenger in the same way as he had helped His other messengers in the past. It is not possible that Allah’s promise will not be fulfilled.

70. Allah is Mighty, therefore, everybody is under His control. He is Capable of inflicting punishment, therefore, He will definitely punish the wrong-doers who oppose His messenger and plot against him.

On the day when the earth will be changed to another earth, and also the heaven, and (all men) shall be marshalled forth before Allah, the one, the Almighty. You will see the guilty on that day bound together in chains. (AL-Quran)

71. On the Day of Resurrection there will be caused such changes in the earth and the heaven, that they will appear in new form and with a new system and order. In a hadith the form of the earth of the Resurrection Day has been described as under: “On the Day of Resurrection, people will be gathered on the reddish white earth, which will be like the round form of a loaf of flour. There will be no sign of anybody’s house, etc. on it. “When in the past matter has undergone many changes, till it acquired the present shape of the earth, then it is not impossible for it to assume a new form in the future, and surely its Creator has power to change its components and the physical laws. In short on the Day of Resurrection the present world will be replaced by a new world, in which the time and place will have different norms, and at that time people will realise the might of Allah in its true perspective, and they will know that Allah was capable of changing their world into a different world.

72. On the Day of Resurrection man will rise as man, that is, with soul arid body; and all mankind whether king or beggar, man or woman, an ordinary person or a V.I.P., all will have to appear before Allah so that they may account for whatever they have been doing in the world, and may receive their reward or punishment according to their deserts. This is Quran’s concept of the Hereafter which satisfies the requirements of intelligence and justice. As opposed to this the polytheists of India believe in transmigration of soul, according to which a person’s soul travels from one body to another body, either of a man or an animal, and no occasion arises when it has to appear before its Lord. Not appearing before God is a concept which is against the requirements of intelligence, and justice and is false according to Qur’an.

73. That is Qur’an is Allah’s message and this , message is not reserved for Arabs only but is for all the nations and peoples of the world.

74: This is the main mission of Qur’an: First to awaken the people who are indifferent to God and the Hereafter and to inform them of the adverse consequences of their disbelief. Secondly Tawheed (Monotheism), that is to inform the people that there is no god except Allah, nor is there anybody else worthy of being worshipped. Thirdly to remind and admonish those who use their intelligence that they should live a responsible life in the world.