Surah Al-Hadid 57:20-25 - Quran Translation Commentary

20. Know that the worldly life is but a play and a pastime, adornment, boasting among you, and a rivalry in respect of wealth and children.⁴¹ It is like rain the growth of the vegetation whereof pleases the disbelievers. Then it begins to bloom and you see that it has turned yellow. Then it becomes chaff.⁴² And in the Hereafter there is both a severe torment as well as forgiveness from Allah and HIS pleasure.⁴³ And the life of the world is but a matter of deception.

21. Vie with one another for the forgiveness from your Lord and toward the Paradise which is as spacious as the heaven and the earth ⁴⁴ prepared for those who ⁴⁵ trust in Allah and His Messengers.⁴⁶ This is the Grace of Allah. HE bestows it on whom so ever HE wishes. And Allah is most Gracious.

22. No Calamity descends upon the earth or upon you but it is recorded in a Book before WE bring it into being.⁴⁷ It is quite easy for Allah.⁴⁸

23. (You have been made aware of this truth) that you may not grieve over what you miss and may not behave boastfully over what HE may bestow on you.⁴⁹ Allah does not Love any arrogant boaster. ⁵⁰

24. Who are stingy and who ask others to be stingy ⁵¹ Whosoever turns away (from this admonition should remember that) Allah is Self-sufficient and the Owner of Excellances.⁵²

25. WE Sent Our Messengers with clear signs ⁵³ and sent down with them the Book ⁵⁴ and the balance ⁵⁵ that people may observe equity ⁵⁶ and sent down iron wherein is mighty fright and also advantages for mankind.⁵⁷ All this so that Allah may know him who helps Him Unseen and His Messengers ⁵⁸ Doubtlessly Allah is very strong and Almighty.⁵⁹

Commentary

41. This ayah shows us that the life of this world is of no value unless it is made a means for the success of the Hereafter. Those who make this worldly life their main aim make their lives merely plays and show business. They think that this world is a picnic place and engage themselves in recreations only.

‘Laib’ means a play which is just for pleasure. ‘Lahv’ means that which makes one unmindful of the real aim. All the engagements of this world which make man forget the Hereafter are ‘Lahv’ be they for enjoyment or for attainment of positions of power or for keeping people engrossed in world-worship.

‘Zeenat’ (adornment) means this world’s outward pomp and shining and attractions., the taste of which makes men commit sins and makes them slaves of passions and lust.

‘Tafakhur’ (boasting) means the activities through which man may make a show of his pride based on his race, position, wealth etc. An artist boast of his art, a poet of his famous works, a writer of his writings and a politician of his diplomacy etc. They do not realise that such pride is misplaced; that all abilities are God-given; that they are for trying him, and hence his capabilities should make him feel responsible and should not make him proud and boastful ‘Takathur’ (desire to overtake oneanother in a race for wealth and children) is that lust which makes man mad after money for achieving his worldly aims. In those days when abundance of children could make them a powerful band, men were marrying several women. But in modern times selfish man wants that he should have less and less children.

For further explanation of ‘Takathur’ please see Surah Takathur, Note: 1.

42. The pomp of the worldly life which maddens people is like the growth of agriculture which increases by rain. But this greenery is short-lived. It very soon turns into husk. Therefore, it is not wise on the part of man to be so much engrossed in the worldly wealth and pleasures that he may Ignore the consequences altogether.

This example is given elsewhere also. Please see Surah Kahaf, note: 63 for further clarification. It should be noted that valuelessness or insignificance of the worldly life is from that aspect whereby man prefers it to Hereafter and makes it the sole aim of his existence. The Quran condemns only this thing. It is mentioned in Surah Ibrahim: (Ayah:3):-

“Those who love the life of the world more than the Hereafter”.

And Ayat 16 of Surah Aalaa states:

“But you prefer the life of this world.”

In Surah Najm, Ayah 29 clarifies that the disbelievers make this worldly life their sole aim:

‘‘And whose only aim is the life of this world.”

But, contrary to this, those people who make this world’s life means of the success of the Hereafter and who live within the limits fixed by the Shariah, their lives are quite serious, not mere games, plays and pastimes.They come out successfully from this centre of examination.

43. Two kinds of consequences will come before all. One is severe punishment of Divine torment of Hell which will have to be suffered eternally by those who had made this world their aim of life and who had denied Hereafter. The another consequence will appear in the form of God’s forgiving and HIS pleasure. It will be the reward of those people who had realised that this world is a centre or hall of examination and who had made the success of Hereafter their aim of life. The manifestation of Allah’s pleasure is Paradise (Jannat) as has been mentioned in the following ayah.

44. That is: instead of racing with one another for achieving worldly wealth you should compete winning the pleasure of Allah and for getting Paradise, because the most important thing is to be saved from Allah’s wrath and to enter the Jannat.

By Jannat’s vastness is meant its spaciousness which will be like those of the heavens and the earth. Paradise will not be a limited area. Rather it will be a very big world wherein the people of paradise will move freely and easily and they will Allah’s Mercy everywhere which will give them much pleasure and happiness.

45. The Quran does not say that the Paradise will be prepared but it says that the Paradise is prepared which creates certainty of its existence.

46. Means the Paradise will be given only to the believers. Disbelievers will not get even a glimpse of it.

47. Some examples of earthly calamities are famines, floods, cyclones etc. Physical and bodily calamities include illnesses, physical and spiritual unhappiness and death.

This ayah has described a very important fact about fortune, fate and destiny. It is a fact that only that calamity befalls man which has already been prewritten, that is: exactly as per the Divine planning. Hence nobody should think that it has come suddenly and that it was possible for him to avoid it. A fellow who will have trust in destiny will not be afraid of the difficulties coming in the path of discharging his duties and fulfilling his responsibilities. He will also not hesitate to sacrifice his life in jihad.

48. To record all calamities in advance is not difficult for Allah. How will the ONE Whose hint brings down calamities find it difficult to write down His planned events in a Book?

49. That is; you have been made aware of the fact about the calamities so that you may not grieve over what befell you thinking that it could have been avoided and so that you may also not be proud over gaining a benefit imagining that it is the fruit of your own capability. Rather you should be patient over loss and thankful over gains because everything is from Allah. This trust in ONE GOD only creates courage in man and prepares him to fulfill his responsibilities.

It is natural for man to be sorrowful when a calamity befalls him. But if he does not weep and wail too much and does not complain against God and takes shelter in patience then he will not be punished just for being griefstricken.

Likewise it is also natural for him to feel happy when he gets some bounty. But it is condemnable if he becomes proud and boaster.

50. Its explanation has been given in notes 29 & 30 of Surah Luqman.

51. Pride, vanity, self-exaltation makes man narrow-minded. Such people are unable to respect the rights of other nor can they get real sympathy from others. He goes on accumulating wealth so that he may brag and boast and make a show of his arrogance.

52. Only you will benefit by accepting this admonition. Allah does not require anything from you. You may thank Him or not. HE is the owner of all the best attributes and worthy of all. praise, by Himself.

53. The signs which could prove that they were Allah’s Messengers. They included the virtues in their lives and values in their teachings as well as the Divine miracles given to them by the Almighty.

54. The Divine Book which was a source of Guidance. The word book (in singular) is used as a species, meaning all Divine Books.

55. Balance means the Shariat (Islamic Code of Life) which creates equity and justice in man’s individual as well as collective (social) life, and which makes man’s practical life well balanced.

For further clarification please see Surah Rahman, note: 8.

56. To observe equity means adopting the ways of truth and justice and fairplay. Man should do so both in his own life as well as in his behaviour with others.

This ayat This ayat explains the importance of establishing justice in social life as it is one of the aims for which the prophets were sent. It also clarifies that Islam calls upon people to establish a just and equitable system of collective life which cannot be established without abiding by the Shariat laws. Regime, politics, economy, judiciary all must be bound by Allah’s Law of Justice. This makes both the collective aspect of Islam and its large and all encompassing view of religion, very clear.

57. ‘Sent down iron’ means created iron. It is similar to ‘We sent down the four-footed animals’ which means ‘created’ them. Creation is termed ‘descent’ so that man may feel in his heart that iron has been created at Allah’s Order and that he got this bounty by the Grace of God only.

‘Mighty fright’ (Baasun shadeed) means it contains that power which was necessary for war purposes. The sword, canon, the tank and other armaments are made of iron, which frighten the enemy and break their backs. Similarly this power can also be used to punish the guilty. Moreover, iron is also a thing of common usefulness as it is used on a large scale in various industries.

58. Iron which makes weapons for war has been crated by Almighty Allah and given to man so that HE may watch as to who utilizes it for the true aim of raising the Word of Allah and to support His holy messengers and prophets (peace be upon them all). In other words, the original purpose of its creation is Jihaad Fee Sabeelillaah (War in the way of Allah) which establishes a just system of life.

59. The aim of describing these Divine attributes is to make it clear that Allah does not need your help. If HE will HE can make His Deen supreme even through His Order of Creation. But HE has given you a chance so that you may gain His pleasure by using this power (of iron) in support of His Deen. This is real success.