Surah Ash-Shuraa 42:1-9 - Quran Translation Commentary

5. The heavens are about to tear asunder from above,⁴ while the angels recite the praises of their Lord and ask forgiveness for those on the earth.⁵ Lo! Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.⁶

6. As for those who take other protectors beside Him,⁷ Allah Himself is watching over them,⁸ you are not a guardian over them.⁹

7. And (O Prophet !) thus We have revealed to you an Arabic Quran that you may warn the Mother City ¹⁰-¹¹ (Makkah) and all around it; that you may forewarn them of the Day of Gathering which is sure to come:¹² a group will be in the Paradise ¹³ and another group in the blazing Hell.¹⁴

8. Had it been Allah’s will, He could have made them one community,¹⁵ but Allah brings whom He will into His mercy,¹⁶ And the wrongdoers have no friend nor helper.

9. Or have they taken other guardians besides Him?¹⁷ But Allah, He (alone) is the Protecting Friend. He brings back the dead to life and has power over all things.

Commentary

1. These are separate letters of alphabet. The advantage of starting a composition with such words is that it alerts the reader or the hearer and he pays attention to the main contents. (For further explanation, please see Surah Baqarah Note No.1). In this Surah the hint of Ha Meem is at Allah’s attribute of wisdom, which is mentioned in ayah Nos. 3 and 51. Similarly ‘Ain’ hints at Allah’s attributes of being Supreme, Most High, and All- Knowing, which are mentioned in ayah Nos.3,4 and 50 respectively. ‘Seen’ is a pointer to the attribute of Allah’s being the Hearer, mentioned in ayah No.11. And Qaf points to Allah’s attribute of being Mighty and Powerful, mentioned in ayah Nos. 9 and 19.

2. “Wahi” (sending revelation) is the means of conveying messages which Allah adopts in the case of His messengers (prophets). Common people cannot grasp the meaning of this communication and therefore, those who are not realistic they are amused by this and they deny such a means of communication. Quran’s being a revelation from Allah was also being looked upon with amazement, therefore, directing to have faith in it, it is being said that this means of communication is adopted by Allah in the case of this messenger as it was adopted in the case of other messengers, who had lived earlier. In the ayah the addressee is the Prophet, S.A.W., but the purpose is to explain this point to those who had their doubts about this means.

Even today’s modern man is not prepared, on account of his prejudice in matters of God and religion, to accept the divine revelation as the most reliable means of knowledge, while man himself has sent a number of satellites in space, whose signals he receives, hears and understands their message.

3. High according to rank and great according to respect and honour.

4. That is: The sky was so much awe-struck by Allah’s grandeur that it was near about to tear asunder by the pressure of the awe, and on the Doomsday it will really tear asunder.

5. By ‘those on earth’ is meant the people of faith living on earth as it is clearly stated in ayah No.7 in Surah Momin. Here the idea is to show that the angels living in heavens have a deep relationship with the people of faith living on earth, and in their sympathy they pray to Allah for forgiveness for them. Whatever is stated in this ayah gives an idea of the grandeur of Allah and what magnificent splendour he has in the heavens!

6. That is: To forgive the sins and to grant salvation is the work of Allah alone. Angels can only pray. Therefore, we should pray for forgiveness of our sins to Allah only, beg for mercy to Him only. From this the Christian belief is automatically refuted that the Christ is the means of Salvation of his followers and that on the Day of Resurrection he will forgive the sins of the Christians.

7. For the explanation of ‘Wali’ (protector), see Surah Kahf Note No.128 and Surah A’raf. Note No.6.

8. When Allah is keeping a watch over their criminal attitude then He will surely catch and punish them.

9. That is: You are not responsible for their acts. It is not your job that you make them accept Allah’s religion forcibly, but your job is merely to convey the message of Allah.

10. ‘Ummul Qura’ means the centre of colonies. Makkah was not only the centre of the Arabian region but it was also a centre from the viewpoint of religion.

11. Since the first addressees of the Quran were the people of Makkah and those living around that town, and their language was Arabic.

12. To inform the people of the coming of the Doomsday is the important purpose of the revelation of the Quran, therefore, the Prophet, Sallal Lahu Alaihi Wa Sallam, was directed to warn the people of the coming of this Day. This is the most important aspect of the Dawah of Quran, which the workers of the present Dawah mission should take note of.

13. That is: The group acting righteously after accepting faith.

14. That is: The group of the polytheists and disbelievers.

15. That is: Had Allah willed, He would have caused everyone to follow only one religion — Islam. No other religion had a chance to exist. But Allah’s plan was to give everyone freedom and authority to select his own religion so that He may test whether a person uses his intelligence and common sense to be guided by the revelation from Allah through His messengers and His word or follows the invented religions of men. For further explanation, please see Surah Maidah Note No.159.

16. Whoever was guided by Allah to follow the religion of truth, he entered the domain of Allah’s mercy, and this guidance is available to only those who are the sincere seekers of Allah’s pleasure. Allah’s will is according to His own wish and desire.

17. Here the hint is particularly at those who invented new faiths, and their followers and devotees made their inventors their guardians and masters, and they continued to be led astray by these misleading leaders.