Surah Ar-Rum 30:28-40 - Quran Translation Commentary

28. He sets for you an example, drawn from your own lives. Have you, from among those whom you own as slaves, partners in what We have given you, who equally share it with you? Do you fear them as you fear one another?⁴⁹ Thus We make clear Our revelations to the people who understand.

29. Nay, but those who do wrong⁵⁰ follow their own lust ⁵¹ without knowledge. Who is able to guide him whom Allah has sent astray?⁵² For such there are no helpers.

30. So set your face in absolute devotion to the faith,⁵³ – the faith of Allah’s nature, on which nature Allah has created man⁵⁴ There is no change for Allah’s creation. ⁵⁵ That is the right religion, but most men do not know.⁵⁶

31. Turning toward it,⁵⁷ fear Allah,⁵⁸ and perform salat and do not be of polytheists; ⁵⁹

32. Of those who split up their religion and became sectarian,⁶⁰ each sect exulting in that which is ⁶¹ with them.

33. And when harm touches men they cry to their Lord, turning to Him (for help), and when He makes them taste His mercy, then a group of them associates partners to Him.⁶²

34. So as to be ungrateful for what We have given them. ( To such it is said ) : Enjoy yourselves, very soon you win come to know.

35. Or have We sent to them any authority which speaks of that which they associate with Him? ⁶³

36. And when We cause men to taste of mercy, they rejoice in it, and when an evil thing befalls them as the consequence of their own deeds,⁶⁴ they are at once in despair. ⁶⁵

37. Do they not see that Allah gives abundantly of provision whom He will and sparingly (whom He will). In this there are signs for the people who believe.⁶⁶

38. So give to the relatives their dues, and to the needy and to the wayfarer,⁶⁷ This is best for those who seek Allah’s countenance (pleasure) ;⁶⁸ and such men will surely prosper.⁶⁹

39. And that which you give in usury so that it may be an increase in other people’s property will not be an increase with Allah, ⁷⁰ but the Zakat that you give for the sake of Allah,-- so these are the people who will increase (their property).⁷¹

40. It is Allah who has created you, and gave you your sustenance, then He will cause you to die, again will bring you to life. Is there any of your (so called) partners (of Allah) who can do anything of that? ⁷² Glory to Him. Immaculate is He, above what they associate (with Him).

Commentary

49. This example has been given to bring to light the folly of polytheism, When you do not consider your slaves equal to you and equal sharer of your property, and on account of their not being your partners you do not have the same kind of fear of them that you have of your own people, that is they would usurp your property or your rights, then why do you imagine things and beings created by Allah as His partners and sharers in His godhood, and why do you consider their rights equal to the rights of Allah? A thing which you do not like for yourself, why do you like it for Allah, when His Majestic being is so very high.

50. Means polytheists and idolaters.

51. It has become clear that polytheism and idolatry have nothing common with knowledge and sensibility. It is merely following one’s own desires and lust.

52.That is: Whoever has gone astray according to Allah’s law of misguidance, to bring such a person to the right path of guidance is not possible for anyone.

53. That is: When monotheism is a reality, and the greatest reality, then you should give full devotion to this religion of monotheism and be firm on this religion. Your sights should not wander here and there, but they should concentrate on the religion of Islam only.

The slightest attention towards any other religion besides Islam, which is the religion of pure monotheism, can shake faith, and the concept of all religions are true is absolutely misleading.

54. Means Islam has been termed as the religion of nature because:

1. In every person’s system there is a concept of one God whom he/she recognises as his/her creator and Lord. His nature is quite unconscious of the concept of other gods. The covenant of a single god is the natural covenant, which is taken from every human before his being taken to the world. Please see Surah A’raf, Ayah No.172, Notes. Nos. 264, 265.

2. Human nature basically likes acts of virtue and goodness and hates acts of evil and wickedness, and Islam promotes these natural tendencies.

3. Man’s own conscience and urge consider him answerable before his Lord. Islam does not only support this concept but makes it take root firmly in the heart.

4. Human nature makes a distinction between truth and falsehood; and when Islam comes before it as a true religion, it rushes towards it as a piece of iron towards a magnet. It is the desires, prejudices and Satanic promptings which cause the obstruction.

5. The nature of water is to flow along the slope. Similarly human nature is to follow the right path. If there are no causes for straying, then as soon as the highway of Islam would be clear to him, he would at once follow it.

In other words Islam is the expression of Nature’s latent indications and hints, therefore, it is every individual’s own religion, and it is only Islam which puts up this exclusive claim that it is the religion of nature, while any other religion cannot dare to put up such a claim.

The Prophet, Sallal Lahu Alaihi Wa Sallam, has expressed this fact, of Islam’s being the nature’s faith thus :

“Abu Hurairah (R) states that the Messenger of Allah (Sallal Lahu Alaihi Wa Sallam,) has said that there is no child that is not born on nature but its parents make him a Jew, or a Christian or a polytheist.” (Muslim Kitab-ul- Qadr).

It means that to divert a child from its natural religion to another religion is an external act. This act is performed by the parents or the environment, which may either be in the form of making it a Jew, or a Christian or a Boddh or a Hindu, or it can be in the form of idolatry, atheism or agnosticism.

In short a person who has not distorted his nature, he would find Islam to be the voice of his own heart.

55. That is: In the nature on which Allah has created a person and in the model in which He has created him, that should not be changed. Although this has been stated in relation to belief, but the generality of the wording carries with it a wider sense, which includes not changing the external form also. Accordingly, in those days there were such fashions as altered the form as created by Allah. Therefore, in the hadith not only such a practice has been forbidden but such fashion seekers were also declared to be deserving of curses, e.g. narrowing the eyebrows, making slits between the teeth, tattooing on the hands, etc.

Accordingly in the hadith it is stated:

“Abdullah Ibn Masood (R)states that Allah has cursed those women who indulge in tattooing, those who get tattooed, those who pluck the hairs from their eyebrows, and make slits between their teeth, who alter the creation of Allah for beautifying themselves. Why should I not curse them who were cursed by the Messenger of Allah, Sallal Lahu Alaihi Wa Sallam, and this thing is there in the Book of Allah. (That is: the command to obey the bidding O the Messenger).” - (Sahih Bukhari, Kitab-ul- Libas).

Similarly in the modern times the fashion of shaving the beard, when beard is the natural manifestation of manhood, to undergo plastic surgery merely to enhance one’s beauty and to make one’s legs look more attractive, to subject oneself to vasectomy without there being a compulsive cause, etc.

56. And today also many people do not know that Islam is the true and the real religion of nature. They think that the religion that has become theirs by accident of birth is the true religion or that all the religions are true and Islam is also one of them.

57. That is: You turn yourself towards Islam is such a way that in your heart there is real devotion for Allah.

58. Fear His mightiness and greatness and avoid disobeying Him.

59. The command for establishing salat and not being of the polytheists is a hint of the fact that the thing which distinguishes a Muslim from a polytheist is salat. By establishing prayer a man becomes a monotheist, a believer in Tawheed, and by abandoning it he places himself on the road to polytheism and disbelief.

It is a fact that prayer (salat), from first to last is based on monotheism. It is a prayer and supplication between a slave and his Lord, in which there is neither an agency nor intermediary, in which neither a reference to someone’s greatness is made, nor is something asked for the sake of some one else, Whatever is supplicated for it is done directly from one’s own Lord, praising Him and thanking Him, If Muslims ponder over what is recited in salat, they will clean their slate of all polytheism and innovation.

60. For explanation, please see Surah An’am Note No.295.

61. Followers of every religion are happy with their own religion and believe in it, they are never prepared to contemplate whether the religion which they follow is the one revealed by Allah or is the one invented by men.

62. Remembering God in adversity is really the voice of nature, therefore, actually people should have been believers in monotheism but when Allah removes the adversity by His mercy, there is a section of people who consider this mercy to be the favour of some one else and associate him as a sharer in Allah’s might.

63. That is: Have they any authority revealed by Allah which proves that Allah has made such and such a person as sharer in His authority or power, so that you can invoke them for fulfilling your needs, and they can hear your appeals and can also come to your aid whenever you need them? And if there is no such authority or sanction with you, then how wrong and false is your claim in this respect!

It has thus become clear that if in the books of different religion, which are considered sacred, there is a concept of deities or if some ones are associated with God in His attributes and in His rights and authority, then they have no status as a Divine sanction, for Allah has not revealed any such thing to any prophet, nor has He mentioned such a thing in any of His books. Nay, but the followers of these religions on account of their superstition and by their imagination invented associates of God and included them in their religious books.

This is the case of the polytheists, but among Muslims, their innovative group has not played any less mischief. They consider Qutb, Abdal, and saints as rulers and interferers in the affairs of this world, and interpret it in this way that they do not believe them to be deities but consider that God has given them authority to grant whatever their supplicant asks of them, they answer his invoking, remove his distress, favour the poor, and help when invoked. The question is: Where did Allah give this authority and sanction that such and such a person has been given power to rule over the destinies of the people, therefore, invoke them for meeting your needs and they would come to their aid ? Can any ayah to this effect be shown in the Quran? Not at all. On the contrary Quran very clearly mentions that all powers and authority are for Allah only, and in His authority there is no sharer or partner. Had he given any person any godly authority, then how could Quran be without any mention of that? Then ponder over this, that the meaning of considering any saint or peer as Dastagir’ and ‘Ghaus’ (Relief Giver) is that he hears the invoking of millions and millions of people while he himself remains unseen, and knows the condition of each and every person of them as to who is a man of faith and who is a hypocrite, who is virtuous and who is evil, who has pledged himself for his help and who is offering presents to him. After having all these details only, the saint can go to the help of this invoker. Such a belief concerning a saint, does it not amount to considering him as the knower of the Unseen? If this is not polytheism, then what is?

64. The troubles and difficulties that be take a man to usually come as trial, but many times they come due do his own evil acts, and this is observed in daily life also.

65. This kind of man’s behaviour is wrong. It is not proper to exult and feel proud, nor is it proper to despair when any adversity befalls. In the first case he Should thank God, and in the second case he Should be patient.

66. The first sign is this that Allah is the provider. Second is this that livelihood is given to man according to the divine plan. The third is this that whomever Allah wants to give livelihood sparingly, for him things turn out in such a way that man cannot do anything to change them. Accordingly a lot of people are unable to earn as much livelihood as their ability demands. This failure is the proof of the fact that mere effort is not sufficient, but that Allah’s will is the main thing, and the fourth sign is this that the quantity of the livelihood is not an indication of Allah’s liking of the person who gets it in abundance and His dislike of the person who is getting it sparingly but that in both conditions it is the test of the persons concerned. In one case it is the test of man’s patience and in the other case it is the test whether he is grateful.

67. That is : The livelihood that has been given to you by Allah, has an aspect of test whether you give the dues of your kinsmen and other needy persons which you are supposed to give morally and by the Shariah.

By the wayfarer is meant that traveller who has become deserving of help on account of his travel. In the Meccan period their emphasis on paying the dues of kinsmen, needy and wayfarers shows the importance of this duty morally and by the Shariah.

68.That is: The payment of these dues should be purely for the sake or pleasure of Allah. There should be no trace at all of exhibition and seeking fame.

69.Only those people will prosper who will work for seeking the pleasure of Allah, and fulfill those responsibilities which He has placed on His slaves.

70.This is the first ayah in which inauspiciousness of usury (interest) has been mentioned, and this was a hint at its being undesirable. The revelation of the ayah, showing the undesirability of usury in Makkah, which had almost become ‘Darulkufr’ (country of denier) means that it was an attempt to divert the minds towards the undesirability of usury from the beginning of the enforcement of the Shariah. Afterwards in Madina the command for its total ban was given (See Surah Baqarah Ayat Nos. 275 to 279, and Notes Nos. 455 to 464, also Surah Aal-e-Imran, ayah No. 130 Note No.160).

he ayah means that you think that whom you have given the interest, there will be an increase in his wealth, but its increase is bereft of good and is so inauspicious that in reality there is no increase in the property. In the sight of Allah taking and giving interest, is so undesirable an affair that it has absolutely no value, and nor any virtue is reckoned for any loan given on usury. Nay, but it is a sinful act, as is mentioned in Surah Baqarah ayah No.275

In the ayah the mention is of giving usury, which is quite proper when compared with the giving of Zakat which is mentioned in the following verse. It means that giving usury is not an act which would result in goodness, however giving Zakat is an act which will result in goodness and is virtuous. In this way the taker of usury has been shamed that apparently the interest which he takes on the loan increases his wealth, but such an increase is in reality not a causative factor for his progress, for usury is evil and the consequence of evil-doing is loss.

Contemplating the ayah it seems that in the conditions then obtaining the people of faith might have been compelled to give usury, Therefore, while denouncing the usury the target were those people who were giving loans to increase their wealth.

A section of commentators have taken ‘Riba’ occurring in this ayah to mean gift or donation and have argued that giving a present with the intention of taking back more from that person, is not a sin but is also not desirable according to the Shariah But there is no reason to take the meaning of ‘Riba’ as present or gift, it is a terminology of Quran, which stands for usury or that increase which is received on account of the delay in repayment of loan or dues Then reference to context is also an Argument against such interpretation, because here only usury is meant, as in the foregoing ayah the command is given for giving the dues of the needy, and here the form of that usurpation of right is mentioned which occur in the case of usury. Besides in the following verse the aspect of the Zakat being auspicious compared to usury has been manifested.

71. By giving Zakat it appear that the wealth decreases, but actually such wealth is increasing, it becomes a means of goodness and auspiciousness, and great reward is given by Allah forgiving Zakat.

In the hadith the reward of charity has been stated like this:

“A person who gives in charity a date from his lawful’ earnings----and Allah only “accepts lawful and pure charity----then Allah accepts it with His right hand, then He nourishes it for the giver of the charity in such a way as some of you nourish a calf owned by him till that charity grows to be a mountain.” (Sahihul Bukhari Kitabuz Zakat).

So give to the relatives their dues, and to the needy and to the wayfarer, This is best for those who seek Allah’s countenance (pleasure) ; and such men will surely prosper.(AL- Quran)

72. That is: When your invented partners of Allah cannot do any of the work mentioned here, then how can they be worthy of worship?