Surah At-Talaq 65:8-12 - Quran Translation Commentary

8. How many a population rebelled against the commandment of their Lord and of His Messengers so WE called it to account (caught hold of it) sternly and punished them severely.²⁷

9. They tasted the evil result of their misdeeds and their end is Perdition.

10. Allah has prepared for them a severe torment.²⁸ So fear Allah, O men of understanding - who have believed! ²⁹ Indeed Allah has sent down to you an admonition (reminder).³⁰

11. A Messenger who recites to you clear Ayah (revelations) of Allah so that he may lead forth those who believe and who do good deeds from darkness into light.³¹ And he who will believe in Allah and will do good deeds.³² HE will admit him to the Gardens beneath which rivers flow. They will dwell therein for ever. Allah has granted them the best provision.³³

12. It is Allah WHO created seven heavens, and similarly of the earth³⁴ HIS commandments come down in their midst ³⁵ (HE revealed this truth to you) so that you may know that Allah has power over all things and that Allah’s knowledge covers everything. ³⁶

Commentary

27. This is a stern warning to Muslims. If they venture to disobey Allah’s commandments they must remember what had happened to the defiant nations. By disobedient (rebellious) people are meant the A’ad, the Thamood the people of Loot and the community of Firaun. This admonition is given after giving commandments regarding talaq. If Muslims do not care for the Divine directives in their domestic lives how will they do so in their collective life! Consequently the corruption in individual dealings goes on to surround the entire collective life which ultimately invites God’s wrath which is indeed catastrophic.

In spite of these clear orders and warnings about giving talaq described in this surah many Muslims are so careless that they openly defy them, they give three talaqs at a time and desert their wives, harass them and drive them away from their homes. Even two steps further have gone those Muslims who, call themselves freethinkers and who want to take away the right of giving talaq from the husband and to give it to the court, or under the pretext of a Fiqhi bye law want to give such a right to the wife at the time of nikah whereby she can take talaq upon herself whenever she likes. Thus instead of reforming themselves they want to reform the Shariat. This is in open contravention of Islam the consequences of which are bad both in this world and in the Hereafter. We wish Muslims should come to their senses.

It is Allah WHO created seven heavens, and similarly of the earth HIS commandments come down in their midst (HE revealed this truth to you) so that you may know that Allah has power over all things and that Allah’s knowledge covers everything.(Al-Quran)

28. That is, whatever be their end in this life, Allah has prepared a greater torment for them in the Hereafter.

29. That is, you have done a wise thing by believing and it is also a wise thing that after believing your life should be spent with a fear of Allah in heart and that no deed which is against God-fearing ness should be done.

30. Means the Holy Quran which is a reminder and an admonition.

31. That is, together with this admonition (Quran) HE has also sent a Messenger who recites the ayah of Quran to you and leads those persons from the darkness of ignorance to the light of knowledge and righteousness who believe and adopt good behaviour. Thus he guides them perfectly.

32. The subject matter of this surah makes it quite clear that good behaviour includes fearing Allah, obeying HIS orders completely and abiding by HIS laws in domestic or family life. Such are the people who have been given good tidings of Jannat (paradise).

33.The indication is toward the fact that if righteous people are monetarily hard pressed in this world, it is no wonder. They should not mind it because Allah has provided for them the best provision in Jannat.

34. This is the concluding ayah of the surah which lifts curtain from an important secret of this universe. You should know that this universe is not limited to this visible earth and this sky, But it is only the first sky which we are seeing above us. Allah has created seven such heavens. Similarly just as there is an earth under this sky so are there earths under other skies too. But those earths are vastly different from our earth. Therefore what has been mentioned is “Min al ard” (from the kind of the earth). The structure or kind of those earths which are invisible to us is known only to Allah. We have no means of knowing it. Science is unable to reach out of the shell within which we live, that is, our earth and the first sky above it. The egg shell is the only world for a chicken so long as it lives in it. But when it comes out of it, it sees a very vast world around it. Likewise we are living within the shell of this earth and this sky. But Allah’s universe is not limited to these boundaries. The Divine Revelation opens up this secret to us that it is very vast. There are seven such worlds one after the other. We do not know what is in those worlds neither do we possess any source of knowing it. The aim or purpose of the Quran is not merely to increase our knowledge but it wants to create a feeling of Allah’s limitless power by presenting the idea of the vastness of this universe.

35. That is, Allah rules over these seven earths and skies and HIS commands descend on all of them. It is known only to Allah as to what kind of creations live in those worlds and what kind of commandments are issued for them.

36. That is, the reason of revealing this universal secret to you is that you may get a correct idea of Allah’s great might and His knowledge. The ONE and only the ONE whose Power is so vast and Whose Wisdom is unfathomable can provide a religion and a Shariat for men and that alone is worth following. Man can succeed only by winning His pleasure.