Surah Ghafir 40:1-9 - Quran Translation Commentary

5. The people of Nooh ⁶ and the factions after them denied (their messengers) before these, and every nation wanted to seize their messenger,⁷ arguing falsey to refute the truth. Then I seized them, and how stern was My punishment !

6. Thus the word of your Lord, concerning those who disbelieved was fulfilled, that they are people of Fire.⁸

7. Those (angels) who bear the Arsh ⁹ (Throne) and all who are round about it, recite the praises of their¹⁰ Lord and believe in Him ¹¹ and ask forgiveness for those who believe, (saying):’O Lord! You compass all things in mercy and knowledge. Forgive those who repent and follow your way. Ward off from them the punishment of Hell.¹²

8. ‘Our Lord! Admit them to the Gardens of Eden (Everlasting) which you have promised them, with such of their fathers and their wives and their descendents as are righteous.¹³ Verily, You, only You, are the Mighty, the Wise.¹⁴

9. ‘Protect them from evils. And he whom You will protect from evils on that day will surely earn Your mercy,¹⁵ that is the supreme triumph!’

Commentary

1.”Ha” and “Meem” are two separate letters of the Arabic alphabet, which are called ‘Huroofe- Muqattia’t’. Which have been explained in Surah Baqarah Note No.1 and Surah Yunus Note No.1.

The hint of ‘Ha’ and ‘Meem’ is at Allah’s being, Hakim ‘(Wise), which is alluded to by the angels in their prayers, and which has been mentioned in the Surah’s ayah No.7.The first letter of Hakim is ‘Ha’ and the last letter is ‘Meem’ as if these letters are the signs of Allah’s recognition, and point to His attribute of ‘Hikmat’ (wisdom).

The six consecutive surahs after this surah also begin with the letters ‘Ha’ and’ Meem “ and in all these surahs is narrated His wisdom or His wise decisions.

2. When this Book has been revealed by a Being who is All-Knowing and when there is no limit to His knowledge, then whatever is stated in this Book must be essentially true and in accordance with realism, and it is a certain thing.

3.The purpose of mentioning these attributes to persuade the slaves to seek forgiveness of their sins from their Lord, who accepts repentance, and avoid indulging in acts of sins for which He gives stern punishment. And they should be hopeful of His favours and bounty, because He is Most Bountiful.

4. That is: those who have adopted a casual attitude instead of a reasonable one concerning Quran and are bent on denying its authenticity, they raise absurd objections against its ayah, and initiate undue discussions.

There is also no dearth of people who instead of trying to understand its teachings try to make it the target of their objections.

5. The Material resources available to the disbelievers and the successful efforts that they make to enjoy life should not mislead you to feel that they are Allah’s favorites, and that He will not punish them for their denial and sins.

6. For explanation please see Surah A’raf Note No.95.

7. That is: Allah’s help is always with His messenger, his enemy cannot harm him in any way, and they were unable to succeed in their conspiracies. Similarly in the case of this messenger also they will have to face defeat.

8. On account of their disbelief they will ultimate go to Hell.

9. Its nature and details are not known to us, and since this pertains to Unseen, we should believe in this without indulging into any kind of discussion.

10. The close angels are always engaged in singing praises of Allah. This should give an idea as to how important and grand is the worship of reciting Allah’s tasbih and singing His praises. The more arrangements are made for it the more our hearts will turn towards Allah, provided that it is not merely a recitation from lips but the hearts are also harmonious with that.

11. Although many realities are known to them, like Allah’s Arsh (Throne),etc., even then a number of realities concerning Allah’s person is and attributes must be still unknown. Therefore, it is also necessary for them to have faith in Allah, and this ayah clarifies that they have faith in Allah.

12. What a blissfully honourable and fortunate are these facts that the angels pray for the people of faith with for their salvation near the Divine Arsh !

It may be noted that the angels do not pray for those who are Muslims merely in name, who are absorbed in sins and evil deeds, but as is clearly stated in the ayah that the angels pray for those who have repented for their sins and followed the path of Allah’s religion, that is those who reformed themselves and followed the path of right guidance.

It needs also to be noted that here the mention is made of praying of the angels and not of their intercession, and this prayer is also for the group of faithful Muslims and not any particular individual The problem of intercession will arise on the Day of Judgment and it will be concerning individuals, and without Allah’s permission none will be able to open his mouth before Allah.

13. For explanation, please see Surah Ra’d, Note No.55.

The clarification that they should be righteous further shows that this prayer of the angels is for the righteous believers, which manifests their sincerity and love.

14. The mention of Allah’s attributes is for the expression of the fact that the final judgment is in His hands only, and none of His decisions are without wisdom.

15. That is: Have mercy on them so that on the Day of Judgment they may not have to face the adverse consequences, and they may be safe from the sufferings of that day.