Surah Az-Zukhruf 43:57-67 - Quran Translation Commentary

58. And they say : “Who is better, our gods or He?” They do not raise the objection, except for the sake of disputation.⁵⁷ In fact they are a contentious people.

59. He was nothing but a slave (of Ours), on whom We bestowed favour, and made him an ideal for Bani Israil.⁵⁸

60. Had We willed, We would Have made from amongst you angels as rulers on the earth. ⁵⁹

61. And He (Eesa) is verily a proof of the Day of Resurrection.⁶⁰ So Have no doubt about its coming, and follow Me.⁶¹ This is the straight path.

62. And let Satan not prevent you. Verily he is for you an open enemy.

63. And when Eesa came with clear signs, he said: “I have come to you with wisdom ⁶² and to make plain to you some of the things about which you differr.⁶³ So fear Allah and obey me.

64. “Verily Allah is my Lord and your Lord, so worship Him. This is the right path.⁶⁴

65. But the faction among them differed.⁶⁵ Then woe to those who do wrong ⁶⁶ from the punishment of the grievous day.

66. Do they wait for the Hour of the Doomsday to overtake them of a sudden while they perceive not? ⁶⁷

67. On that Day friends will become enemies, one to another, except the Godfearing.

Commentary

56. Son of Maryam means Prophet Eesa (Jesus). To quote his mother, instead of his father, as his parent signifies that he was born without a father, and also that he was not the son of God but of Maryam. In the Quran Prophet Eesa has been shown as Allah’s slave and His messenger. Accordingly in the Surah Maryam, which was revealed before this Surah, the event of his birth has been narrated in detail, so that his being the son of God and a deity may be negated totally. But the polytheists of Makkah were trying in vain to hide the truth and misguide the people that the Christians believe him to be the son of God, therefore, if they (Arabs) believed that the angels are the daughters of God, then what is wrong in that.

57. We have made angels as our deities, whereas the Christians have made Eesa as their deity, who was only a man. Therefore, our gods are better than theirs. This point they were presenting only for the sake of argument, otherwise it was quite clear to them that Quran does not declare Eesa either a son of God nor a deity. It clarifies that Prophet Eesa is also a slave of Allah and the angels are also His slaves.

58. Eesa was a slave of God, no doubt, but Allah had blessed him with a special favour, therefore, various kinds of miracles were performed by him, and his coming in Bani Israil was the appearance of an ideal man, so that in comparison to their hypocritical religiosity the real religiosity’s lofty example may come up before them.

59. It is not proper to consider angels deities because they are a different species from mankind. Inspite of their being a different species they are the creatures of God, and if Allah wills He can create angels from amongst men, who may be made to rule over the earth. Nothing is beyond Allah’s power. Therefore there is no justification for deifying any of His creations, only because of their extraordinary qualities.

60. Eesa’s birth had taken place in an extra ordinary manner, i.e. without a father, which was a great miracle from Allah. Moreover, Allah had granted to him wonderful miracles, e.g. to make birds from clay and to blow his breath into them so that they become real birds, to cure lepers and blind persons from birth, to revive dead persons, etc. This life of his which was full of miracles was only a manifestation of Allah’s great powers. It strengthens the belief that the intimation which Allah gave about reviving the dead on the Day of Resurrection is true. The main thing is Allah’s command and not natural and physical laws. Whenever He may desire He can change the laws of nature and can render the system of cause and effect inoperative. This is the apparent sense of this ayah which is an argument for the satisfaction of the disbelievers. But in its sense it also included a hint at the reappearance of Prophet Eesa near the time of occurrence of the Day of Resurrection, which has been further clarified in the hadith. His re-appearance in the world, and that too with the same body in which he was raised above long ago, his fighting against the onslaught of the enemies of Islam on the entire Islamic world, to kill Dajjal who, with his extra ordinary power will be plunging the world into the fire of mischief and evil, to wipe out the Jews from the face of the earth, and to be accepted by the Christians as a messenger of Allah by breaking their cross, to help Islam to become a united millat and its becoming the greatest power and ruler over the world—-this will be the greatest revolution of the world and this revolution will be a precursor of the Doomsday, because this miraculous achievement of Prophet Eesa will be the last argument from Allah for mankind. If even after this those who will indulge in mischief, they will be the worst people and will face the onslaught of the Doomsday. On this occasion, Note No.261 of Surah Nisa may be kept in view.

61. This thing has been made to be uttered by the Arabian Prophet that whatever facts that have been stated in the Quran are beyond and above any doubt. Therefore, may should believe in them and obey him sincerely.

62. Bani Israil had lost the spirit of religion, Dawatul Quran 399 S. 43 and had kept merely the formal religiosity. Prophet Eesa explained to them the wisdom of religion, that he made the spirit of religion prominent so that they might know as to what is the real religiosity. In the present Bible a glimpse of that can be seen.

63. A lot of differences had crept up among Bani Israil. But those differences which were basic and on whose basis they were divided into different sects, their reality was explained to them by Prophet Eesa. And the method of prophets has always been the same, that is they firmly hold the end of the string and the knots thereof are automatically unwound.

O My slaves! For you there is no fear this day, nor will you grieve. Those who believed in Our revelations and were Muslims, Enter the Paradise, you and your spouse, delightfully. To them will be passed dishes of Gold and cups. There will be all that souls desire and all that eyes delight in There you shall abide forever.(Al-Quran)

64. For explanation please see Surah Aal-e- Imran Note No.76.

65. For explanation please see Surah Maryam Note No.55.

66. “That is: Committed polytheism and denial, (kufr). The Christian’s belief about Prophet Eesa that he is the son of God is not only polytheism but also disbelief and a very great wrongful act as well.

67. For explanation, please see Surah A’raf, Note No.287.