39. Before this the hypocrites were taken to task for their behaviour and now the address turns toward Muslims. They are being exhorted to adopt God fearingness. Simultaneously provision is also being made for the nourishment of their God fearing (Taqwaa). This prescription is both effective in removing the illness of hypocrisy and also invigorating the faithful.

40. The day of judgment is termed “tomorrow”. In other words, as if, the worldly life is limited only to today and that the Resurrection is to occur tomorrow. Those who think that Qiyamah is far away and become careless about it are in severe illusion. When the Day of Judgment will arrive everybody will feel that it was very near and has arrived very fast.

Accounting will start as soon as the Qiyamah occurs. Hence everyone must take stock of himself today and see what has been forwarded for Resurrection. He should try his best to make his future life (after death) successful. If he does not care for the future and remains engrossed only in this worldly life his future will be very dark Then he will realise that he had been sending nothing but parcels of sin for himself.

41. The instruction to inculcate fear of God (Taqwaa) has been given twice in one ayah so that man may concentrate on Taqwaa which is not easy to obtain.

Taqwaa means to be afraid of Allah and to refrain from His disobedience. It includes both the feeling of God’s greatness as well as an awe which keeps one away from sins and exhorts him to do good deeds.

42. God’s fear is created by the thought and the feeling that Allah sees his deeds.

43. To forget God is to be careless about Him, to ignore His commandments and to be heedless of his accountability to Allah. Forgetting God makes man forget himself. The meaning of man’s forgetting himself is that he may lose sight of the fact that he is a slave of Allah; that he is not free to do whatever he likes; to overlook his aim of existence and become careless of his adverse end.

This was the condition of Jews. So, hinting towards them, this ayah warns Muslims that they too should not become like them. Despite this warning and cautioning a large number of Muslims of today follows the footsteps of Jews. They claim to be Muslims but they have become so much unmindful of Allah that their lives are devoid of Allah’s fear so much so that they do not even offer salat (prayers).

44. Such false claimants of Faith are termed “Fasiq” by Quran which means those who have totally forgotten Allah. The end of such transgressors (evil-doers) is well known.

45. Those who live without entertaining any thought of Jannat (Paradise) and Jahannam (Hell) imagine that their lives are very successful and that after stepping out of the narrow circle of religion they have found out highway to progress. However, they are those who have failed pitiably in this life which is a kind of examination. The roads to true success are closed for them. Consequently they will have to stagnate forever in the torment of Hell. Contrary to it, those people who make Paradise their, goal, thereby proving that they deserve it, pass out successfully from this life of test. In the permanent life or Hereafter they enter Jannat as the real winners.

46. This is an example of the effectiveness of the holy Quran. Being the Word of God it is so awful that if it is to descend on a mountain having intelligence it would be crushed and torn apart. But man’s heart is so stony that it does not melt even after hearing it. In other words, the deniers of Quran have hearts which are harder than stone. The hearts of the Jews too had become harder then stone as mentioned in Surah Baqarah:

“Your hearts were hardened and became as stone may harder than stones.” (Baqarah : 74) And the falling of stone due to fear of Allah is also a fear of Allah is also a fact:

“And indeed there are stones which fall down for the fear of Allah,” (Baqarah : 74)

Here ayah 16 of Surah Hadeed and its commentary too should be kept in view.

47. These are the concluding ayah of the Surah wherein the excellent Names (Asmaaul Husnaa) of Allah have been described both collectively and beautifully arranged which creates the idea of Allah’s Greatness and hearts become full of God’s fear. The effectiveness of these ayah is so much that their very recitation makes us tremble with Allah’s fear and it is a proof of Quran being, Allah’s Word. The explanation of the word ALLAH has been given in Surah Fatiha, Note: 3

48. This means worship is reserved only for Allah and there is no one except. Him who is worthy of worship and before whom the rites of worship can be performed.

49. HE knows all the things which are hidden from the view of man and other creation as well as all the things which are known to them. He knows the past, the present and the future of all and HIS knowledge encompasses time and space.

50. The explanation of the words Rahman and Raheem has been given in Surah Fatiha, Note:5.

51. The original meaning of Ilah is “worthy of worship” and “Ma’abood” can only be HE who possesses both power and authority. Hence in the holy Quran this word has been used also to mean the authority, that is, Allah. It is mentioned in Surah Bani Israil:

“Say: If there were other gods with Him, as they say, then they would have sought a way against the Lord of the Throne.” (Bani Israil: 42)

Obviously seeking way to the Lord of the Throne concerns power and authority and the aspect of authority is apparent here in the meaning of “Ilah.”Therefore, in the Urdu translation, the word KHUDA is more appropriate than MA’ABOOD, because the word KHUDA gives a sense of the possessor of power and authority.

Some ulemaa (scholars) object to the use of the word KHUDA as, in their opinion, the original meaning of this Persian word is something different. But this objection carries no weight because this word denotes good meaning since a long time and it is on the tongue of the scholars as well as the masses alike and it has been used in the Urdu translations of the holy Quran and also Allama Fakhruddin Raazi has, in his book LAWAMIUL BAIYINAAT, which is a famous book on the subject of God’s Good Names (asmaae Ilaahee) in Arabic, has written that the word KHUDA can be used for ALLAH. (Please see “Lawamiul Baiyinaat, p.21).”

52. AL -MALIK means king, ruler. Allah is the true ruler and king sovereign of man and of the entire universe (cosmos). His authority covers everything. HE alone is the Ruler (Shaare or law giver) and the governor (Sovereign). Aman’s being king and ruler is in the illusive sense, conditional and limited. Those people who do not think that their kingship or sovereignty or authority is not under the sovereignty of Allah and who are legislating ignoring the laws of Divine Shariat are traitors against Allah. They are rebels and their claims to kingship or sovereignty are totally false.

53. AL - QUDDOOS means free from every kind of defect or imperfection. It has also a sense of blessing. Therefore one of its meanings mentioned in LISAANUL ARAB is also auspicious. The adjective of Quddoos with Malik indicated that HE is such a Ruler who is free from every short coming and none of His commandments can ever be faulty.

54. AS-SALAM means entirely peace. HE is the possessor of such a peace and safety that no calamity can ever overcome Him. He is to exist for ever and it is only HE who provides safety and peace to His slaves.

55. AL-MUMIN means, here, the provider of protection. It is only He who guards and protects His creation.

56. AL-MUHAIMIN means the watcher. It is HE who watches and guards His creation.

57. The most prominent meaning of AL AZEEZ is the mighty. It also means incomparable. Its third meaning is strong and harash and the fourth meaning is the bestower of honour. (Please see “Lawamiul Baiyinaat, Imam Raazee, p. 147 and also “Lisaanul Arab” Vol 7 Page 375

Allah’s being mighty means HE rules over the entire universe so that nothing is out of His control. The rein of every living being is in his hand. HE can, whenever HE will, snatch away whatever authority or power HE has given to any one. No one can ever escape from His grip by rebelling against Him.

58. AL-JABBAR means mighty, the imposer of His will on every one. The entire creation is helpless before the subduing power of Allah, no one can ever do anything against HIS Will. For example, man is bound to breathe with his nose. He cannot do so with his eyes. Ears is he able to see with eyes. This helplessness of man is the proof of the truth that there is a mighty Ruler over him who has imposed His commands forcibly upon him. Hence it is the duty of man to recognize and feel this weakness and meekness and, bowing his head before God, adopt humility and lowliness.

59. AL-MUTAKABBIR means the owner of greatness and highness. HE is the owner of all highness and all greatness and none of HIS creation can claim to be great and high by himself. Therefore, his gesture of greatness and highness is condemnable. Real and true highness and greatness belongs to Allah and only Allah.

60. No one is a partner in Allah’s self and his attributes. Hence the one ALLAH is the only true God.

61. AL-KHAALIQ means the One who makes the inexistent extant. (HE alone brings things from nothingness to existence). Matter did not exist in the beginning. It is HE who brought it into existence. HE alone has created the entire universe/cosmos. HIS attribute AL-KHALIQ (THE CREATOR) negates the idea of Indian polytheists that matter is eternal, that is, it is from the beginning and that no one has created it. The holy Quran rejects this theory and terms it false.

62. AL-BARI also means the creator but, in it, the aspect of invention is prominent which means the creator who creates without any previous model. The perfection of Allah’s power of creation is that HE has created all things in the universe in such a way that no example or image or fascimile ever existed before hand. Each and every thing is His and only His invention and production.

“BARAA” ( )The “Faail” (nominative form) of which is “Baari” means creator in both the Arabic as well as the Hebrew language The word has appeared in the very first verse (ayat) of the Hebrew version of Taurat. “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” (Genesis:1)

63. AL-MUSAVVIR means the designer. It is HE. who fashions the forms of HIS creations. HE has given man a special shape:

“It is HE who shapes you in the wombs as HE pleases.” (Aale Imran: 6)

“And WE created you and gave you form.” (Al Aaraf : 11)

“And fashioned you and perfected your shapes.” (Al-Mumin : 64)

And the excellence of this fashioning is that the shapes of the billions of men are different from one another. HE gives ever new shapes and figures to the millions of children being born every day. For Him there is no dearth of designs. HE never repeats a design but goes on making change therein so that people may recognize one another and that this change may prove the excellence or this designing, and the perfection of His creation.

64. (AL- ASMA-UL-HUSNA) means the Beautiful Names. For explanation please see Surah Araf, Notes 278, 270, 280. Details of the Beautiful Names of Allah have been given in a hadith of Tirmizi which has mentioned Ninty-nine Names of God. This tradition is famous among masses. (Please see Tirimizi, Abwaab-ud- Daawat.)

But this hadith does not reach the stage of perfect proof for various reasons:

First: Narrating it Tirmizi has said: (This Hadith is Ghareeb) and “ghareeb” is a kind of “daeef” (weak).

Second: One of its narrator is waleed bin Muslim about whom different opinions are quoted in “Meezaan-ul- Etedaal.” Some of the Muhadditheen have said that, indulging in “Tadlees” he quoted false narrators. He has described ten traditions from Imam Maalik which are baseless. (Meezaanul Etedaal, Imam Zahabi, Vol:4,P.347.)

Third: The list on ninety-nine names given in this hadith of Tirmizi does not include names like RAB, MAULAA and NASEER. Nor is there any beauty in the arrangement of the names. For example: “ AL- MUHYEE” (The one who enlivens) has been placed before “AL HAYY”(The Living).

Moreover, there is a difference in the details of the names given in this hadith of Tirmizi and in that of Ibne Majah etc. In short, the Ahadith describing the details of the Names are daeef (weak). And since many of the narrations narrated by Abu Hurairah are devoid of the details of the Names and whatever is mentioned therein is only that these are the ninety-nine Names of Allah, a group of the Muhadditheen has considered this detail of names as “Mudraj” which means that after describing original hadith the narrator has, by way of explanation, given these names. These particulars have not been provided by the holy prophet. (For discussion please see Fathul Baree, Vol: 11, P. 178-190 and also Tafseer Ibne Katheer, Vol:2 , P. 269).

65. This has been explained in Surah Hadeed, Note:1

66. AL HAKEEM means the wise, the Intelligent. The sources of wisdom or intelligence is knowledge. Allah’s being wise means His decisions are full of wisdom. His plans are solid. HE has put every thing in its appropriate place as per His beautiful management and according to strategy.

There was a mention of Allah’s being the mighty and the wise at the beginning and these attributes have been mentioned at the end of this Surah also. This gives us a hint that the subjects described in this Surah are meant to make us concentrate on these two collective attributes. As Allah is Overpowering His decisions are never devoid of wisdom. Hence man must the always think high and good about Allah not with standing the hardships he may have to face.