Surah Al-Anbya 21:30-41 - Quran Translation Commentary

30. Have not the disbelievers pondered that the heavens and the earth were of one piece, then We separated them,³⁴ and that We made of water every living thing ?³⁵ Will they not then believe?³⁶

31. And We have made firm mountains on the earth lest it move away with them,³⁷ and have made in them passes³⁸ so that they may be guided rightly.³⁹

32. And We have made the sky a roof safe.⁴⁰ Yet they turn away from its signs.⁴¹

33. And it is He who created the night and the day, and the sun and the moon, each one is floating in (its own) orbit.⁴²

34. We have made no man immortal before you.⁴³ If you die will they live forever ?⁴⁴

35. Every soul must taste of death, ⁴⁵ and We test you with evil and with good, by way of trial. ⁴⁶ And to us you will be returned.⁴⁷

36. When the unbelievers see you ( O Prophet!) they do not treat you except with mockery, saying: ‘Is this the man who talks (disparagingly) about your gods ?’ And they themselves are such that deny all mention of Rahman (Most Gracious).⁴⁸

37. Haste is in man’s temperament.⁴⁹ I will soon show you My signs,⁵⁰ so do not ask Me to hasten.⁵¹

38. And they say: “When will this promise (be fulfilled), if you are truthful?”⁵²

39. If the unbelievers only knew the time when they will not be able to drive off the fire from their faces and from their backs, and they will not be helped!

40. That (time) will come suddenly and will stupefy them, and they will be unable to repel it, nor will they be reprieved.⁵³

41. Messengers before you were also mocked, but those who scoffed at them were smitten by the very thing they mocked.⁵⁴

Commentary

34. Here the earliest conditions of the universe are narrated and people are invited to ponder. It is not correct to think that the universe was in the same condition from the beginning as we see it today, and that it has no beginning, nor an end. The reality is that this universe has come into existence by a Creator having created it. The universe came into being in this way “The Creator first created a matter (nebula) Surah Ha Meem As-Sajda, ayah 11, which was a mass; then from this matter He created the earth and the heavens, and all the heavenly bodies. In other words, the earth and the sky were one mass, one piece and were separated subsequently”.

Anybody who would give a serious thought to this subject will realise that what the Quran has stated is true, for if the matter of the universe were not to be one, how could then harmony be found in all its different constituents. We see that the sun throws its rays on the earth, which accepts its heat and light. Now man has also reached the moon and we have found that on the moon also its ground is also made up of rocks. And when it is a fact that all this is the handiwork of one Craftsman, then why should man turn away from this reality.

35.That is: Water is the origin of life. All living things got life through water, and their existence depends on water. Scientific data reveals that life originated in water. According to Biology, protoplasm, the watery matter, is the matter of life, which is found in every living animal. Does not this reality of life point to one God’s creativity and His great might ?

36. That is : If man gives a serious thought to these realities, it would develop a sense of faith and belief in their minds, but people do not contemplate this aspect of the realities.

37. This has been explained in Note No.26, Surah Nahl.

38. He created passes in the mountains. These were the natural ways through which it became possible for men to go from one region to another.

39. To be rightly guided to find the way from one place to another and also to accept the right faith. Qur’an turns men’s minds from the external to the internal and from the appearance to the reality. This is its very effective and delicate guidance.

40. The meaning of the sky being a secure and safe roof means that it has been created in such a way that there is no defect in it. After a passage of billions of years it is still existing in its original condition and position. It has not even developed any signs of old age or decay that the denizens of earth may fear its falling.

41. The present day astronomers have discovered the Cosmic Rays, but they could not discover the Creator of the universe! It is so because they are in search of the Creator. In fact only those find God who seek Him.

42.In the text the word used is ‘Falak’ : Orbit of the planets. (Lissanul Arab, Vol. 10, p. 478) This word is not used in the Qur’an to mean the sky, nor was it known to mean sky in the old Arabic. Later on this word came to be used to mean the sky as a technical term in the astrological science, and in Persian and Urdu this word is used to mean the sky. And in the ayah this word is used in the ‘Nakirah’, which gives it the sense of each one’s orbit, and the word denoting their floating is used in the plural for more than two heavenly bodies. Therefore, this word points to the fact that not only the sun and the moon but all the heavenly bodies are floating in their orbits. When a man sees the heavenly bodies with his open eyes, he sees them floating in the vast space. therefore, the Qur’an has narrated the actual fact in a commonly understood way, and the idea is to show that the sun, the moon and the stars are all in motion, and they are continuing their journey in their own orbits. They cannot deviate from their appointed paths. This function of theirs with such a regularity is the clear proof that the reins of all the heavenly bodies are in the hands of an absolutely powerful Master and the Highest Being.

So far as the astrological science is concerned, it is accepted that the moon and the planets rotate in their orbits.

As for the rotation of the sun and the stars, this science does not deny their revolution on their axis, however about their orbital rotation modern science has not advanced from mere conjecture, therefore, the realities narrated by the Qur’an cannot be confined to the limits of the modern science. (For further explanation see Surah Ra’d, Note No.8). When the unbelievers see you (O Prophet!) they do not treat you except with mockery, saying: ‘Is this the man who talks (disparagingly) about your gods?’ And they themselves are such that deny all mention of Rahman (Most Gracious). (Al-Quran)

43. This ayah clarifies that nobody is to live permanently in this world, so much so that even the prophets of God have also to die one day. It refutes the wrong presumption of the general Muslims that Khizr has been granted by Allah everlasting life in this world. Besides, it also strikes at the roots of the Shiah belief which they hold about their twelfth Imam that he had disappeared and is living somewhere and one day would re-appear. As for the question of Prophet Eesa’s life: he is not living in this world, but has been raised above to the heavens, and after he appears again a little before the Day of Resurrection, he will also die his natural death.

44.The opponents wanted that the Prophet should die so that the tensions which had developed between them and the Prophet, might be ended. Qur’an says that if the Prophet dies, his opponents are also sure to die one day, therefore, what is going to happen after the death should really be a cause for worry for the opponents. To be reckless about the fate that awaits the people in the Hereafter is not the right or wise attitude.

45. This has been explained in the Surah Aali- Imran, Note No.215.

46. That is: The life of this world is the life of trial, death is destined for everybody. Similarly any one’s being well off or badly off is with a view to his trial only, and a Prophet, being a man, has to pass through these circumstances.

47. Returning to God means that Allah has sent you in this world and you have to go back to Him.

This is a simple reality which has been narrated in this verse. Contrary to this, the polytheists of India have this polytheistic belief that after death man’s soul amalgamates with God-(Allah is above what they ascribe to Him).

48. Here the word ‘Zikr’ has been used twice, connoting two different meanings. One meaning is talking disparagingly and the other meaning that they do not like to mention God’s name with His due praise. This is a taunt on the foolishness of the polytheists that they hold their deities so dear that they do not like to hear anything said against them, even if it is based on facts, but they are so much averse to Rahman, Most Gracious Allah, whose favours and mercies on them are limitless, that they do not like to hear His name being mentioned before them.

49. Man has been created hasty and impatient so that he may rush towards good and have zest for work, but man uses this motive force in the wrong direction and rushes towards evil. Man’s wrong decisions and careless acts are the result of the hastiness or impatience, whereas if man desires he can keep this motive force under his control and utilise it for his own good.

50. Means signs of punishment. These prophecies of the Qur’an came out to be truthful. Accordingly they were manifested in the battle. which the idolaters fought with the Muslims against the Prophet of Islam.

51.That is: Do not hasten to ask for punishment to come soon. It is learnt that hastiness is ingrained in man’s character, but at the same time he has also been given the power to control it, therefore, he should not hasten for the evil.

52. Promise of the Doomsday. This query of the unbelievers as to when the promise of the Doomsday will be fulfilled is the second example of their hastiness.

53. That is: Just now these idolaters are making haste for the Doomsday to occur, but when it will occur it would take them in its holocaust. At that time they will not find time to reform themselves and to repent for their follies and sins.

54.They used to make fun of the Prophet when he warned of the impending punishment, which ultimately seized them.