Surah 35. Fatir

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Verses [Section]: 1-7[1], 8-14 [2], 15-26 [3], 27-37 [4], 38-45 [5]

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Quran Text of Verse 15-26یٰۤاَیُّهَاOالنَّاسُmankind!اَنْتُمُYouالْفُقَرَآءُ(are) those in needاِلَیofاللّٰهِ ۚAllahوَ اللّٰهُwhile AllahهُوَHeالْغَنِیُّ(is) Free of needالْحَمِیْدُ the Praiseworthy اِنْIfیَّشَاْHe willsیُذْهِبْكُمْHe (can) do away with youوَ یَاْتِand bringبِخَلْقٍin a creationجَدِیْدٍۚnew وَ مَاAnd notذٰلِكَthatعَلَی(is) onاللّٰهِAllahبِعَزِیْزٍ difficult وَ لَاAnd notتَزِرُwill bearوَازِرَةٌbearer of burdensوِّزْرَburdenاُخْرٰی ؕ(of) anotherوَ اِنْAnd ifتَدْعُcallsمُثْقَلَةٌa heavily ladenاِلٰیtoحِمْلِهَا(carry) its loadلَاnotیُحْمَلْwill be carriedمِنْهُof itشَیْءٌanythingوَّ لَوْeven ifكَانَhe beذَاnear of kinقُرْبٰی ؕnear of kinاِنَّمَاOnlyتُنْذِرُyou can warnالَّذِیْنَthose whoیَخْشَوْنَfearرَبَّهُمْtheir Lordبِالْغَیْبِunseenوَ اَقَامُواand establishالصَّلٰوةَ ؕthe prayerوَ مَنْAnd whoeverتَزَكّٰیpurifies himselfفَاِنَّمَاthen onlyیَتَزَكّٰیhe purifiesلِنَفْسِهٖ ؕfor his own selfوَ اِلَیAnd toاللّٰهِAllahالْمَصِیْرُ (is) the destination 35. Fatir Page 437وَ مَاAnd notیَسْتَوِیequalالْاَعْمٰی(are) the blindوَ الْبَصِیْرُۙand the seeing وَ لَاAnd notالظُّلُمٰتُthe darkness[es]وَ لَاand notالنُّوْرُۙ[the] light وَ لَاAnd notالظِّلُّthe shadeوَ لَاand notالْحَرُوْرُۚthe heat وَ مَاAnd notیَسْتَوِیequalالْاَحْیَآءُ(are) the livingوَ لَاand notالْاَمْوَاتُ ؕthe deadاِنَّIndeedاللّٰهَAllahیُسْمِعُcauses to hearمَنْwhomیَّشَآءُ ۚHe willsوَ مَاۤand notاَنْتَyouبِمُسْمِعٍcan make hearمَّنْ(those) whoفِی(are) inالْقُبُوْرِ the graves اِنْNotاَنْتَyou (are)اِلَّاbutنَذِیْرٌ a warner اِنَّاۤIndeed Weاَرْسَلْنٰكَ[We] have sent youبِالْحَقِّwith the truthبَشِیْرًا(as) a bearer of glad tidingsوَّ نَذِیْرًا ؕand (as) a warnerوَ اِنْAnd notمِّنْ(was) anyاُمَّةٍnationاِلَّاbutخَلَاhad passedفِیْهَاwithin itنَذِیْرٌ a warner وَ اِنْAnd ifیُّكَذِّبُوْكَthey deny youفَقَدْthen certainlyكَذَّبَdeniedالَّذِیْنَthose whoمِنْ(were) before themقَبْلِهِمْ ۚ(were) before themجَآءَتْهُمْCame to themرُسُلُهُمْtheir Messengersبِالْبَیِّنٰتِwith clear signsوَ بِالزُّبُرِand with Scripturesوَ بِالْكِتٰبِand with the Bookالْمُنِیْرِ [the] enlightening ثُمَّThenاَخَذْتُI seizedالَّذِیْنَthose whoكَفَرُوْاdisbelievedفَكَیْفَand howكَانَwasنَكِیْرِ۠My rejection!

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Translation of Verse 15-26

15. O mankind! You are needy in relation to Allah. Allah is Free of All wants, Worthy of Praise.

16. If He will, He can finish you, and bring some new creation ³³ (in your place).

17. That is not hard thing for Allah.

18. No burdened (soul) shall bear another’s burden. ³⁴ And if a burdened soul cries for help, nothing of its burden will be carried even by a relative. (O Prophet ! ) You can warn only those who fear their Lord even without seeing Him, and establish salat ; ³⁵ and he that purifies himself, does so for the good of his own soul.³⁶ And to Allah all things will return.

19. The blind and the seeing are not alike³⁷,

20. Nor are the darkness and the light³⁸,

21. Nor are the shade and heat (alike).³⁹

22. And the living and the dead are not alike. ⁴⁰ Verily, Allah makes whom He will to hear.⁴¹ You cannot make those who are in the graves to hear you.⁴²

23. You are but a warner.

24. Verily We have sent you with the truth, a bearer of glad tidings and a warner. And there is no community but a warner has passed among them. ⁴³

25. If they deny you, those before them also denied (their messengers). Their messengers had come to them with clear proofs, and with the Scriptures and the light-giving Book.⁴⁴

26. Then I seized those who disbelieved. And how terrible was My rejection (punishment).

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Commentary

33. Do not think that to keep you going on the earth there is some interest of Allah’s. He is free of want, and anybody may praise Him or not, He is worthy of Praises. If He pleases, He can destroy the entire mankind and can bring into existence a new kind of creatures.

34. That is: Carrier of burden of sins on the Day of Resurrection. For explanation, please see Surah Bani Israil, Note No.18, and Surah Ankaboot Note No.18.

35. Only those people take benefit of your informing them who are afraid of Allah and establish salat, which is a manifestation of fear of Allah.

36. That is: The benefit of adopting the purity of belief and practice can be achieved only by those who will have these attributes in them. And Quran demands of his addressees that first of all they should adopt the purity of belief and practice. From the ayah it has also become clear that fear of Allah and establishment of salat put a man on the path of achieving purity ,and then it becomes easy for such a man to lead a clean and pure life.

37. When the blind and the seeing person are not alike, then how can the person with insight and knowledge be like a person who has no insight or the ability to recognise the truth? And when these two kinds of people cannot be alike in their acts, then how can their fate be the same or alike?

38. When the darkness and the light are not alike or equal, then how can the darkness of ignorance be alike or equal to the light of knowledge?

39. When the shade and the heat of the sun cannot be alike, then how can the shade of virtue and the heat of sin be alike? From the standpoint of effect there is essentially a difference between the two.

40. When a living person is not like a dead person, then how can a person who gets fresh life from the divine revelation can be like a person who kills his conscience by depriving himself of the benefit of the divine revelation? And when they are not alike, then their fate and their end should also be different. Such a situation demands that the Lord of mankind should establish a court of justice to decide whom to reward and whom to punish.

41. That is: Only those people listen to and accept the truth who are rightly guided by Allah, and He does not guide those whose hearts (conscience) become dead.

42. That is: O Prophet! When you cannot make the dead persons hear, in the same way you cannot make those persons hear whose hearts have become dead. It means that people with dead conscience cannot be impressed by your advice. For acceptance of advice it is necessary that the conscience should be alive and the consciousness should be awake.

Although here the mention of the dead per sons not being able to hear anything in their graves has been made as an example, but it is a fact, which is a clear proof of the point that no one can make the buried persons hear anything, even a prophet cannot make them hear. Therefore, in view of the fact that they are unable to hear, it is foolish to try to invoke them. This ayah cuts at the root of the grave-worship.

For further explanation please see Surah Naml, Note No.118.

43. Allah has made such an arrangement for the guidance of mankind that He has not left any nation to wander in darkness, but has sent a messenger for every nation for guidance. This messenger has warned his nation about the consequence of Allah’s disobedience and coming of the Doomsday. Quran has mentioned the names of a few nations with the names of the messengers sent to those nations. But about those nations whose mention is not made in the Quran, we have no means to know who were the messengers that were sent among them, therefore, we cannot say with certainty that certain persons of those nations were the divine messengers. Quran has mentioned the fire-worshipping nation of Iran, but not the name of the messenger sent to that nation, therefore, we have no right to say that zorthostra was a divine messenger. Similarly we cannot say with certainly that certain persons belonging to the Hindu nation were the divine messengers. Some one can be declared a prophet or a divine messenger on the basis of definite knowledge only, and not on the basis of conjecture or guess work, for this matter belongs to the realm of belief, and beliefs basis should be clear proof. Besides, it is also necessary to enter into this discussion, because Prophet Muhammad, Sallal Lahu Alaihi Wa Sallam, has been sent as a divine messenger and warner to all the nations of the world, and the divine Book revealed to him is present for guidance. Moreover, his ummah (followers) have been created with the specific responsibility of spreading his message to the every nook and cranny of the world, so that the people be invited to the religion of truth.

44. They had brought such arguments that were clear proofs of their prophethood. Among them were some who were given scriptures, like Prophet Ibrahim, and some who were given Books like prophets Moosa and Eesa. Scriptures are brief and Books are in detail.