Surah Fussilat 41:9-18 - Quran Translation Commentary

10. He set upon the earth firm mountains rising high above it. He pronounced His blessing upon it and measured therein sustenance¹⁴ in four days,¹⁵ alike for those who ask.¹⁶

11. Then He turned to the sky, which was smoke,¹⁷ to it and to the earth he said: “Come both of you willingly or unwillingly. ”They answered:” We come willingly.” ¹⁸

12. Then He ordained the seven heavens in two days,¹⁹ and sent revelation to each heaven assigning it its task;²⁰ and We decked ²¹ the lowest heaven with lamps and made it secure.²² This is the planning of the Mighty One, the All-knowing.²³

13. So if they turn away, say: “I give you warning of a thunderbolt like that which overtook Thamud and A’d. ²⁴

14. “When their messengers came to them from before them and behind them,²⁵ saying:“Worship none but Allah.” They said: “Had our Lord willed, He surely would have sent down angels, so verily we reject the message with which you have come.”

15. As for A’d, they behaved arrogantly in the land without right, and they said: “Who is mightier’²⁶ than us in power?” Could they not see that Allah who had created them was mightier than them in power (Yet) they denied Our revelations.

16. So we let loose on them a raging wind in ill-omened days,²⁷-²⁸ that we might make them taste the punishment of disgrace in the life of the world. And verily the punishment of the Hereafter will be more shameful, and they will not be helped.

17. And as for Thamud, We gave them guidance, but they preferred blindness to the guidance,²⁹ so the bolt of the punishment of humiliation overtook them because of what they had earned.³⁰

18. And we delivered those who believed and had been fearing Allah.

Commentary

13. By day is meant that period of time which is known to Allah only. (For further explanation please see Surah A’raf Note No.82). The meaning appears to be that the earth was created in two rounds, one round in the creation of its matter and arranging its order possibly and second round for its layer formation and taking a definite shape. Anyway the idea is to clarify here that the earth has a beginning and it was not there from the beginning, nor did it come into existence on its own. It was created by none other being than Allah, Lord of the Worlds, who created it under a well planned scheme. Creating it in two rounds shows that it was a very wise plan, which resulted in the matter taking final shape gradually till finally it assumed the shape of the earthen globe. To refuse to accept the Being who has created this world and to consider others His equal, though they have no part in creating this earth, is most unwise and wrong.

On this occasion it should be noted that Quran is not a book of Geology nor of Astronomy, nor does it profess to teach Physical Sciences. But it is a book of Guidance and for guidance whatever little portion of a particular science was required to be referred to Quran did that according to its needs. It may be the question of the beginning of the universe or its end, Quran has thrown light on that from this aspect only. Therefore, the concerning ayah should be studied from that angle only. In the present day those who are influenced by the modern scientific discoveries try to present Quranic ayah in support of the scientific theories, though however far-fetched arguments they have to offer. Then this reality should also not be ignored that collecting a heap of information under an ayah the aspect of guidance and admonition of the ayah moves away from the reader’s view, and the mind remains entangled in the information only. In this age of the predominance of the material sciences those who are presenting the message of Quran should employ utmost caution in this connection.

14. In the earth Allah has placed such blessings that they meet all the necessities of human civilised life. In the earth there are unending treasures of metals and other important chemicals that man is mining them for centuries and their stock is still unending for centuries to come. The things on which human life depends are available in the earth in abundance. Accordingly springs of water are found every where, and different varieties of vegetables and corns are produced out of the earth almost throughout the world. If one corn is thrown, the earth returns hundreds of corns. If a small sapling is planted, the earth turns it into a huge tree, and presents its gift in the form of fruits. This provision for living for man and this treasure of goodness have been provided by whom, if not by Allah ? This main question is for the man to ponder upon and on its right answer depends his guidance.

15. That is: In two days the earth was created and in two days the mountains were placed on the earth and the work of creating its capability to produce food was completed. In this way in four days that is four rounds the work of creating the earth was completed.

16. These blessings of the earth were not created for any particular human group, their utility is general. This is to meet the needs of man’s nature. Air, water and all kinds of farm produce are provision for all mankind. And it is a fact that every one takes benefit of these things. But the Being who has provided these things to meet the needs of man, is forgotten by most men.

17. The matter of the sky and the earth was created at one time only, as is clear from the Ayah No.30 of Surah Anbia, but the earth was created first, and the sky afterwards. When the earth was created the sky was in the form of smoke, Smoke suggests hot gases. Possibly it is the same thing, gaseous matter.

18. The earth and the sky are matter, but it would not be correct to think that they are devoid of any kind of consciousness. “We do not know the nature of their consciousness, but from the mysteries and secrets of the universe from which the Quran has lifted the veil, it has added to our knowledge that everything of the universe recognizes its Creator, who is also its Lord. it listens to His commands and obeys them, and it busies itself in singing the hymns in His praises. It also becomes clear from this ayah that the earth and the heavens do not obey His commands unwillingly being helpless, but they do it most willingly. It is also a hint that man should obey the commands of Allah willingly and with pleasure.

19. The reach of our sight is up to the sky of the world only, but it would not be correct to think that the universe is limited to the extent of the reach of our sight. Quran states that there are skies above the sky that we see. The primary matter which was created for the sky was used for creating seven skies. Allah only knows what is there in these seven heavens. However in the space of this earth innumerable heavenly bodies that are observed prove that these things also exist.

20. That is: It has been revealed to them what Divine rules they have to follow and what directives of Allah they have to obey.

21.Stars present a beautiful picture of the sky, and they invite the observers to reflect upon what masterly attributes are possessed by the Being who has created such beautiful and adorable scene.

22. Stars provide protection to the heavens from this point that the flames of their bodies (shooting stars) prevent satans from flying up to the heavens (see Surah Hijr, Ayat No.18, Note No.16) and from other aspects also which are not known to us. It is possible that by the law of gravitation of the stars the desired security might have been provided. (Allah knows best).

23.That is: This universe has not come into existence without a purpose or a plan nor is it running without a purpose or a plan. Behind its creation a well thought out plan of a Great Being is active. ‘This plan is a wise scheme and a purposeful system, which has an objective. This plan can be understood in the light of the Divine revelation only, and that is Quran.

24. That is: If these polytheists refuse to accept these realities and deny to believe in monotheism, then inform them of the punishment that is waiting for them.

25. The coming of the Divine messengers from before and behind means that they presented the Divine message from every angle and every aspect before their communities, and they tried to explain the call of truth to them in every possible way.

26. The pride of the abundance of their material resources and their economic progress had been so much that they even forgot Allah. If they could have realised that there was a Great Being watching their every act then they would have feared Allah and would not have fallen a prey to their pride and vanity.

And we delivered those who believed and had been fearing Allah. (AL-Quran)

27. Ill-omened days means those days when the punishment overtook them for their denial and they were destroyed. It does not mean that those days were ill-omened in themselves. lf it were so, then the people of faith would have also been affected by it, but they were quite safe. The idea of certain days being ill-omened per se is superstitious, and in Islam no day by itself is illomened. However, the day on which a person is punished on account of his own evil acts, then that particular day will be considered an illomened day for that person only, because on that day he hold to meet the adverse consequences.

28. Very speedy winds which destroyed everything.

29. That is: Thamud were explained the path of guidance, but they did not follow it and closed their eyes and wandered like blind men.

30. For details of the punishment which over took the community of Thamud, please see Surah A’raf, Notes Nos. 123, and 124.