Surah Fussilat 41:33-44 - Quran Translation Commentary

34. Good and evil cannot be alike. Repel evil in the best way with good,⁵⁰ then he, between whom and you, is enmity will become your dearest friend.⁵¹

35. But none is guided to it except those who have patience, and none is guided to this (understanding) except who are fortunate.⁵²

36. And if an attempt to tempt you is made by Satan, seek Allah’s refuge. He hears all and knows all.⁵³

37.Among His signs are the night and the day, and the sun and the moon.⁵⁴ Do not prostrate yourselves before the sun or the moon, prostrate yourselves before Allah, who created them both, if it is Him that you truly worship.⁵⁵

38. If they are too proud, (let them remember that) those (angels) who are in your Lord’s presence, recite His praises (tasbih) night and day and tire not.⁵⁶

39. And among His Signs is that you see the earth dry, but when we send down water on it, it stirs and swells. Surely who gives it life will restore the dead to life.⁵⁷ Allah has power over all things.

40. Verily those who distrot ⁵⁸ Our revelations are not hidden from Us.⁵⁹ Is he who is hurled into the Fire better or who comes secure on the Day of Resurrection? Do what you will,⁶⁰ He is watching all over your actions.

41. Verily, those who denied the Reminder when it come to them, (they do not realise that) surely it is a Great Book,⁶¹

42. Falsehood cannot get into it from before it or from behind it.⁶² It is a revelation from the Wise, the praiseworthy.

43. (O Prophet !) Nothing is said to you that has not been said to the messengers before you.⁶³ Verily, your Lord is Forgiving, and Stern in punishment.

44. Had We revealed the Quran in a foreign tongue, they would have surely said :’its verses are not expounded! a foreign tongue, when the addressee is Arabian!’⁶⁴ Say: “For those who believe it is a guidance and a healing; ⁶⁵ and as for those who disbelieve, there is a deafness in their ears, and it is blindness for them.⁶⁶ As is they are called from afar.”⁶⁷

Commentary

49. The description of those who accepted the faith and have stuck to it through thick and thin is being continued, that they do not get frightened from the confrontation of the truth and falsehood, but they invite people to come to the path of Allah openly, they themselves act righteously and publicly declare the fact of their being Muslim.

In the world many people invite people of other religions to their own faith, and conduct movements under the materialistic and worldloving concepts. But compared to the mission that calls people to Allah all these movements and missions are unrealistic and without any Dawatul Quran 333 S. 41 substance. The call towards Allah, that is towards Islam, is the best invitation that one can give, and there cannot be anything better than this. Therefore, most fortunate are those people who have set forth after reforming themselves and their own characters to call people towards the religion of Allah and those who do not indulge in merely doing lip service but actually reform others as well as themselves, and besides they also declare openly the fact of their being Muslim.

It has thus become clear that the fact of one’s being a Muslim should not be concealed, it is wrong to do so. It should be expressed off and on, so that its permanent feature be realised, and others may be attracted towards Islam. But in the modern times, many Muslims do not like to show that they hold this faith, either for material advantages or being under the influence of the western civilization. As a result neither from their names, nor from their clothing’s nor from their talks any trace of their being Muslims can be found. If they really think that Islam is a true religion, then why do not they have the moral courage to show themselves to be Muslims and why they should make themselves suspect in the eyes of others.

50. Good and evil are not alike from the viewpoint of their influence and their impact. A person who sets forth to invite people towards Allah and to reform them, he should realise that virtue is the means of removing evil, and that those who treat him badly should be treated with kindness and well. Abuses should not be answered with abuses, but with prayers, for filth cannot be removed by filth, but with clean water.

51. The best examples of these can be found in the lives of the prophets and pious people. How did Prophet Yusuf win over those who had treated him badly ? Behind the dawah of the Prophet, Sallal Lahu Alaihi wa Sallam, was his great moral strength, which turned enemies who were thirsty for his blood into his dearest friends.

52. The task of removing evil with goodness is very trying. Allah gives guidance for this to only those who have patience and forbearance. They are really fortunate because their goal is the Hereafter and their guarantee of success is Allah’s pleasure.

53. Satan can excite you to get influenced by the evil talk of the opponents, but you should guard against this and seek Allah’s refuge on such occasions. He will keep you safe from the mischief of Satan and from every evil. He is All- Hearing, therefore, He will hear your prayer, He is All-Knowing, so He knows who wants to be saved. There is also a general aspect of this ayah, which is referred to in a hadith, and it is this: When a man may find himself in a state of anger, he should recite: ” (I seek Allah’s refuge from rejected satan - Bukhari, Kitabul Adab).”

54. Now attention is being invited to the fact that the signs of monotheism are spread out all over in the universe.This night, this day, the sun and the moon are providing proof of the existence of the one God, His perfect might, His overall superiority, and the fact of His being the Lord of the universe. Out of these there is none which provides any proof of itself being the god.

55. That is: Worthy of sajdah (worship) is the Creator and not the created one; the sun, the moon and the stars are all powerless created ones, therefore, to prostrate oneself before them is a meaningless thing. And whoever does so, he associates the created one in the rights and dues of the Creator, and this is the greatest injustice.

In the ancient days there were many worshippers of the sun. And in the modern times also there are many. Even in our country there is no dearth of persons bowing down before the sun, and this is absolute ignorance and way wardness.

Sajdah or prostrating oneself is the best form of worship, and it is therefore, reserved for Allah only. That is why it is said that if you worship Him truly, then prostrate yourselves before Him only. There is none beside Him before whom offering sajdah can be proper, because all are created by Him, whether it may be sun, the moon or any person.

This ayah is quite definite and absolute about sajdah being unlawful, haram for any created being or thing, therefore, there is no propriety, no ground for lawfulness for offering sajdah at the graves of the saints, elders, pious people and the religious leaders.

As for the sajdah of respect (etiquette), which is not offered as a manifestation of worship but as an expression of respect, then the perfect and complete Shariah of Islam does not allow it. If offering sajdah to any pious personality were proper and lawful, then which personality would have been more worthy of such a respect than the personality of the Prophet, Sallal Lahu Alaihi wa Sallam, but he has prevented anybody from offering any sajdah before him. (Tirmizi, Abwabun Nikah).

Therefore, Prophet’s companions never offered any sajdah of respect to him, nor they ever bowed before him.

It may be noted that the divine command to angels to prostrate themselves before Prophet Adam was of quite a different nature. It was neither a form of worship, nor an expression of respect. It was a special command, behind which there was some great purpose, which is not known to us.

(For explanation, please see Surah Baqarah, Note No.47).

This ayah is the ayah of Sajdah, therefore, on reciting it the reader should offer a sajdah.

56. If these polytheists feel proud against the divine command that they should prostrate themselves before Allah only, let them ignore it and prepare their abode in the Hell. It will not take away anything from the grandeur of Allah. His grandeur is such that there are always angels in His presence, singing His hymns, reciting His praises continuously, and this task does not tire them at all. As man does not get tired of breathing, similarly angels do not get tired of reciting tasbih.

57. This is an argument in support of revival on the Day of Resurrection. For explanation, please see Surah Room, Note No.83.

58. Distorting the ayah of Allah means to give them different meanings, to turn the direction of their sense to something quite the opposite, to create doubts about their meanings, and to level charges against them.

59. Allah knows the condition of their hearts, secrets in their hearts and minds.

60. This is a warning that if you are not prepared to listen to the advice then do whatever you like, you will be responsible for your own destruction.

61. That is: The deniers of this Book considered it to be an unimportant book and did not give it its due respect, although it is not an ordinary book. It is a great book, which by its effective arguments, realistic narration, impressive wordings, its appeal to the finer tastes, brings a sea change in the life of man. And in a short while the world saw that it captivated a number of nations and planted its banner of victory over a number of countries.

62. The meaning of the falsehood not getting into this Book from before is that satan, jinn or man is not able to effect any literal change in it. It will be a safe and secure book, word by word, till the Doomsday. And the meaning of falsehood getting into it from behind it is that the order of this Book is such that it does not brook any outside change in its meanings. However much people may try to make a deviation in the meaning of its ayah, they are quite clear in their sense and meaning. They cannot succeed. No efforts to make any distortion in its words or meanings and to add false beliefs and theories is possible by backdoor methods, because every ayah is very clear and unchangeable.

63. As the past prophets were called magicians and mad men, similarly the Arabian prophet is also being called by similar names.

64. This is an answer to the disbelievers’ objection as to why Quran was revealed in the Arabic language, and why not in any non- Arabic language, as the Torah was revealed in the ‘Ibrani’ (Hebrew?) language. The answer says that if it were revealed in any other language then they would have objected as to why it was not revealed in their own language, so that they could understand its meaning. It is a strange thing that the language is non-Arabic while the addressee is Arabian! It means that those who do not want to accept, have every thing to object to.

The ayah also hints at the point that the Arabic language is quite suitable for conveying the divine revelation. Those who know Arabic know that this language has distinctive characteristics, viz. it is a systematic language, its noun, verb, subject and object are moulded in a special framework. Its ‘Nahvi’ combinations are very well regulated. Most of its words point to their root words, which helps in understanding their real meaning. It has great ability to express realities and subtleties, therefore, it has full capability of conveying the nuances of the divine revelations and their depths. It can express words of comprehensive meanings and effective points. For memorizing it is the most suitable language. Therefore, for the conveying of the divine revelation the correct language was chosen, exactly like the selection of the holy land of Mecca for sending down the last Prophet.

65. For explanation, please see Surah Yunus Note No.88.

66. Those who deny to believe in the Quran, they become deaf to hear the counsel of the Quran and become blind to see the guidance provided by it. For the sickness of ignorance from which they are suffering, Quran is the only healing balm for them. But when they are not prepared to get healed, then ignorance will show its effects and will destroy them.

67. That is: their condition is similar to the condition of people who can’t hear someone calling them from a distance place, whose voice cannot be heard by them. The voice of Quran is the voice that appeals to the heart, but this voice they cannot hear.