Surah Al-Hijr 15:80-99 - Quran Translation Commentary

(15:85) We have created not the heavens and the earth, and all that is between them, save in truth. Verily, the Hour is coming. So forgive, with graceful forgiveness.⁷⁰

(15:86) Surely, Your Lord is the Great Creator, All-knowing.

(15:87) Indeed, We have given you seven of the oft-repeated,⁷¹ and the Mighty Qur’an.

(15:88) (Therefore), stretch not your eyes⁷² toward what We have bestowed on certain classes of them.⁷³ And grieve not over them, and lower your wing unto the believers.⁷⁴

(15:89) And say, ‘Indeed I am a clear warner.’⁷⁵

(15:90) As We sent down⁷⁶ (revelations) on those who divided.⁷⁷

(15:91) Those, who have split the Qur’an into fragments.⁷⁸

(15:92) By Your Lord, We shall surely call them to account, one and all.

(15:93) Concerning what they were doing.⁷⁹

(15:94) So proclaim what you are commanded,⁸⁰ and turn away from the idolaters.

(15:95) We are enough for you (against) the mockers.⁸¹

(15:96) Those who set up along with Allah, another god. Soon they shall know.

(15:97) And, certainly We are aware that your heart constricts at what they say.

(15:98) Therefore,⁸² celebrate the praises of your Lord and be of those who prostrate themselves.

(15:99) And worship your Lord⁸³ until the certainty comes to you.⁸⁴

Commentary

69. The reference is to the nation of Saleh, the Thamud. When the Prophet (saws) passed by their ruins on his way to Tabuk he instructed,

لاَ تَدْخُلُوا مَسَاكِنَ الَّذِينَ ظَلَمُوا أَنْفُسَهُمْ إِلاَّ أَنْ تَكُونُوا بَاكِينَ ، أَنْ يُصِيبَكُمْ مِثْلُ الَّذِى أَصَابَهُمْ

“Do not enter the dwellings of those who wronged themselves except that you should be crying, and if you cannot cry then do not enter their dwellings at all, lest you are seized by what seized them.” Then the Prophet prodded his mount and hurried past the place until it was left behind. (The hadith is in Bukhari and Muslim: Shawkani).

He also said,

إِلَّا رَجُلًا وَاحِدًا كَانَ فِي حَرَمِ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ قِيلَ مَنْ هُوَ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ قَالَ هُوَ أَبُو رِغَالٍ فَلَمَّا خَرَجَ مِنْ الْحَرَمِ أَصَابَهُ مَا أَصَابَ قَوْمَهُ

“(These dwellings belonged to the nation of Saleh whom Allah destroyed) except for one of them who was in the Haram, saved from Allah’s wrath.” They asked him, “Who was it, O Messenger of Allah?” He replied, “Abu Righal” (Ibn Jarir).

Sheikh Shu`ayb al-Arna’ut said that the above hadith of the Musnad has a strong chain (Au.).

In fact, a report in Bukhari coming through Ibn ‘Umar says that the Prophet advised his Companions to not even use water from their wells, rather, from the well which Saleh’s miraculous camel used to drink from. Some of them had already kneaded dough with water from the wells used by the Thamud. He instructed them to feed it to the cattle. The following few fiqh points therefore, says Qurtubi, have been derived:

i. It is undesirable to enter the dwellings that have been destroyed by Allah, in chastisement of their rejection of a Prophet.

ii. What is unlawful for humans, is not necessarily unlawful for animals. In this case, the Prophet allowed that the kneaded dough be fed to camels.

iii. Prayers (Salah) are not allowed in such places.

iv. Ablution with water from such places is also disallowed (i.e., when it is from the very wells that were used by the destroyed: Au.).

70. Dahhak has said that forgiving was to be the way during a certain stage of the Prophetic mission. Several verses of similar nature were sent to the Prophet in that phase. One of them said (43: 89),

فَاصْفَحْ عَنْهُمْ وَقُلْ سَلَامٌ فَسَوْفَ يَعْلَمُونَ [الزخرف : 89]

“Forgive them, and say, ‘Peace.’ Soon they shall know.” And (45: 14),

قُلْ لِلَّذِينَ آمَنُوا يَغْفِرُوا لِلَّذِينَ لَا يَرْجُونَ أَيَّامَ اللَّهِ [الجاثية : 14]

“Say to the believers that they forgive those who do not hope for Allah’s days.”

The import contained in these verses was abrogated by the verse in Surah Tawbah which said (9: 5),

فَاقْتُلُوا الْمُشْرِكِينَ حَيْثُ وَجَدْتُمُوهُمْ وَخُذُوهُمْ وَاحْصُرُوهُمْ وَاقْعُدُوا لَهُمْ كُلَّ مَرْصَدٍ [التوبة : 5]

“So seize them and besiege them, and sit in wait for them at every point of ambush.”

Sufyan b. ‘Uyaynah said that the verse under discussion, and others of similar nature, remained in force until a time when the Prophet said,

أنا محمد وأحمد أنا رسول الرحمة أنا رسول الملحمة أنا المقفي والحاشر بعثت بالجهاد ولم أبعث بالزراع

“I am Muhammad and Ahmad, I am the Prophet of mercy. I am the Prophet of slaughter (Nabiyyul Malhamah). I am Muqaffa (the last of the Prophets) and Hashir (Resurrector [after whom Resurrection will take place]). I have been sent to conduct Jihad, and not to cultivate (the lands)” - Ibn Jarir.

The above hadith is in several collections, with the earlier part declared Sahih by Dhahabi in notes on Hakim (Au.).

Nevertheless, how is “safhun jamil” (“graceful forgiveness”) to be understood? Alusi, and from him Thanwi, quotes Muhammad b. Hanafiyyah the words of ‘Ali that “safhun jamil” is “to forgive without reproach, without any feeling of rancor for the wrongdoer and a return to the relationship that prevailed before the wrong was committed.”

71. Exegetes such as Ibn Mas`ud, Ibn ‘Umar and Ibn ‘Abbas have said that the allusion by the words “oft-repeated seven” is to the seven long chapters of the Qur’an, (the Tiwal: the long ones): Al-Baqarah, Al-‘Imran, Al-Nisa’, Al-Ma’idah, Al-An`am, Al-A`raf, and Yunus. These contain most of the important legislative principles of Islam. Sa`id b. Jubayr, Mujahid and Dahhak are also widely reported of the same opinion. However, ‘Umar, ‘Ali, Ubay b. Ka`b, and in a second opinion of Ibn Mas`ud, Ibn ‘Abbas, as well as Hasan, Mujahid, Qatadah and several others, the allusion is to Sura al-Fateha. In fact, there is a hadith to this effect (Ibn Jarir). See Surah Al-Fateha, “Merits of the Surah.”

However, there is no reason why, Ibn Kathir adds, that both the opinions cannot be true, as both are oft-repeated and both have several characteristics in common. A similar example is that of the two mosques, the Prophet’s in Madinah and the other in Quba. When asked, sometimes the Prophet said that the “mosque built on piety” was his mosque, while at other times he said it was the Quba mosque: because both share some qualities.

72. The message hidden is: after the priceless Qur’an you do not need any other wealth (Au.).

Ibn ‘Uyaynah has explained this verse with the famous hadith of the Prophet which appears in Sahih works including a part of it in Bukhari as chapter-heading:

ليس منا من لم يتغنى بالقرآن

And the meaning, as understood by Ibn ‘Uyaynah is, “He is not of us who does not feel that the Qur’an is sufficient for him (in the face of material possessions)” (Ibn Jarir). This is the meaning Qurtubi derives. It is supported by many scholars of the past such as Anas, Sa`id b. Musayyib, Hasan, Ibn Sirin, Sa`id b. Jubayr, Nakha`i and others who disapproved that the Qur’an be sung out. However, Imam Shafe`i, a powerful linguist, believed that the meaning of the hadith is, “He is not of us who does not sing out the Qur’an.” The translation is literal. What is meant by “taghanni” is beautifying the recitation of the Qur’an with a good voice (while observing the rules of Tajwid) [‘Ayni, ‘Umdatul Qari, Fada’il al-Qur’an, hadith 42].

The above does not appear as a hadith, but it is accepted as true of meaning in view of another hadith which appears in the Sahihayn and other books. It says,

مَا أَذِنَ اللَّهُ لِشَيْءٍ مَا أَذِنَ لِلنَّبِيِّ أَنْ يَتَغَنَّى بِالْقُرْآنِ

“Allah has not ordered the Prophet anything as He ordered that the Qur’an be sung out.”

73. Most of the commentators have understood “azwaj” of the text as “asnaf”, i.e., “kinds,” or “classes” (Razi and others). Asad adds: “The philological authorities are unanimous in opinion in that the plural azwaj denotes here ‘kinds’ of people, or ‘some’ of them, and not - as certain modern translators of the Qur’an have assumed – ‘pairs.’”

Ibn Abi Hatim reports from Abu Rafe` as context of revelation:

أَضَافَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ ضَيْفًا ، فَلَمْ يَلْقَ عِنْدَ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ مَا يُصْلِحُهُ ، فَأَرْسَلَ إِلَى رَجُلٍ مِنَ الْيَهُودِ ، يَقُولُ لَكَ مُحَمَّدٌ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : أَسْلَفَنِي دَقِيقًا إِلَى هِلالِ رَجَبٍ ، قَالَ : لا إِلا بِرَهْنٍ ، فَأَتَيْتُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ ، فَأَخْبَرْتُهُ ، فَقَالَ : أَمْ وَاللَّهِ ، إِنِّي لأَمِينٌ فِي السَّمَاءِ أَمِينٌ فِي الأَرْضِ ، وَلَوْ أَسْلَفَنِي ، أَوْ بَاعَنِي لأَدَّيْتُ إِلَيْهِ ، فَلَمَّا خَرَجْتُ مِنْ عِنْدِهِ نَزَلَتْ هَذِهِ الآيَةُ : {وَلا تَمُدَّنَّ عَيْنَيْكَ إِلَى مَا مَتَّعْنَا بِهِ أَزْوَاجًا مِنْهُمْ}

“Once the Prophet had a guest. He did not have anything suitable to offer him. So he sent someone to a Jew asking him to lend some flour which he would return by the first of Rajab. The man said, ‘Only on mortgage.’ I (the narrator) brought back the message to the Prophet. He remarked, ‘By Allah, I am the trustworthy in the heavens and the trustworthy on the earth. Had he lent me, or sold me, I would have surely returned it.’ In response this verse was revealed: ‘Stretch not your eyes toward what we have bestowed on certain classes of them’” (Ibn Kathir).

The above report was declared weak by Haythami. However, every Da`eef hadith is not rejectable simply because a distrusted narrator happens to fall in line. It is not unoften that internal evidence in a hadith speaks of its authenticity. Those who have abridged Ibn Kathir, removing the so-called Da`eef ahadith, have not done justice to scholarship (Au.).

The implication of the verse is, says Qurtubi, that one ought not to be entirely engrossed in this world, or give it precedence over the demands of the Hereafter. After all, the Prophet himself said,

حُبِّبَ إِلَيَّ مِنْ الدُّنْيَا النِّسَاءُ وَالطِّيبُ وَجُعِلَ قُرَّةُ عَيْنِي فِي الصَّلَاةِ

“Of your world, women and perfume have been made dear to me, and the coolness of my eyes has been placed in Prayers.” (According to Al-Arna’ut, the hadith is Hasan: Au.). It is another thing that today the unlawful has so permeated everything that it is better, although asceticism is disapproved in Islam, to avoid indulging in the world. It is better to stay as far away from it as possible. The Prophet himself has said,

يُوشِكُ أَنْ يَكُونَ خَيْرُ مَالِ الْمُسْلِمِ غَنَمًا يَتْبَعُ بِهَا شَعَفَ الْجِبَالِ وَمَوَاقِعَ الْقَطْرِ يَفِرُّ بِدِينِهِ مِنَ الْفِتَنِ

“A time will come when the best of wealth for a believer would be to follow a few goats up the top mountains, and places of rain, escaping from the trials of the world.”

We have brought in a hadith slightly different in word from that quoted by Qurtubi. This one is from Abu Da’ud, treated trustworthy by Arna’ut (Au.).

74. “Khafada Janahayhi” means, to be gentle, to be easy to deal with, compliant, etc. Yusuf Ali writes: “The metaphor is from a bird who lowers her wing in tender solicitude for her little ones.”

75. That is, if you are gentle and easy to deal with O Prophet, your followers should not assume that they can treat their personal affairs with ease and comfort. Warn them that the questioning in the Hereafter will not be an easy affair (Au.).

76. The elliptic beginning has the following words concelaed: “We have revealed to you this Qur’an, (just as We sent revelations to those who divided)” - Zamakhshari. Thanwi however believes the meaning is, “Say, indeed I am a clear warner (and I am told to convey from Allah, who says that He will surely send down), ‘as We sent down on those who divided.’”

77. Ibn ‘Abbas is reported to have said that the allusion is to the People of the Book: Jews and Christians, (and the report is in Bukhari: Qurtubi, Ibn Kathir). These people divided the Qur’an into parts, believing in some and rejecting others, saying, (Alusi adds), ‘this portion agrees with our Scriptures, and therefore, is true, but the other portion does not, and, therefore, it is false.’

Ibn Jarir suggests however, that the reference is to the pagan Quraysh who gave different names to the Qur’an, some calling it poetry, others stories of old and yet others a soothsaying, which was also the opinion of Qatadah and some others.

On the other hand, Mujahid’s opinion was that the textual “muqtasimin” is in the sense of “mutahalifin”, that is those who swore to each other that they will oppose the Prophet. The Qur’an said about them (16: 38),

وَأَقْسَمُوا بِاللَّهِ جَهْدَ أَيْمَانِهِمْ لَا يَبْعَثُ اللَّهُ مَنْ يَمُوتُ [النحل : 38]

“And they swore by Allah, their strongest oath, that Allah will never raise the dead.”

Another example of such usage, Ibn Kathir adds, is the Qur’anic verse (27: 49) about Saleh`s people,

قَالُوا تَقَاسَمُوا بِاللَّهِ لَنُبَيِّتَنَّهُ وَأَهْلَهُ [النمل : 49]

“They said, ‘Swear one to another by Allah that we shall strike him and his homefolk by the night.’”

Zayd b. Aslam was also of this opinion (Ibn Jarir, Ibn Kathir).

Similar tendencies are noticeable among the secularly educated Muslims who divide the Qur’an into parts: parts acceptable, parts subjected to reinterpretation, i.e., rejected (Au.).

78. The textual word “‘idin” is the plural of “‘udwun” which means parts. As noted above, Ibn ‘Abbas and some others have said that the allusion is to the Jews and Christians who divided the Qur’an, believing in a part of it and rejecting the rest. However, Ibn ‘Abbas is also reported by Ibn Is-haq that once Walid b. al-Mughira got the Quraysh together (sixteen of them: Alusi) and suggested that before the forthcoming Hajj they must agree on a single version of denial and not let every man air his own opinion. Some suggested they should say to the pilgrims that the Prophet (saws) is mad, others that he is a poet, yet others that he is a magician. A fourth opinion was that they should agree about him as a man possessed by the Jinn. A fifth opinion was that they should say he is a soothsayer. They disagreed with most of the opinions, while most of them agreed that they should refer to the Prophet as a mere poet and the Qur’an as a poetical production. So Allah revealed, “Those who have split the Qur’an into fragments.”

Yet another opinion is that of ‘Ikrimah and Qatadah, who thought that the root word is “al-‘addah” meaning “magic.” That is, people have termed the Qur’an as a piece of magic (Ibn Jarir).

79. The meaning and application is general: everybody will be questioned about faith, and about deeds after faith. A hadith in Ibn Abi Hatim records the Prophet as saying,

يا معاذ إن المؤمن يسأل يوم القيامة عن جميع سعيه حتى عن كحل عينه

“O Mu`adh. On the Day of Judgment a believer will be questioned about everything he did, including the kohl he applied into his eyes...” (Ibn Kathir).

The evaluation of the hadith above could not be traced (Au.).

This verse does not contradict the other verse which says (55: 39),

فَيَوْمَئِذٍ لَا يُسْأَلُ عَنْ ذَنْبِهِ إِنْسٌ وَلَا جَانٌّ [الرحمن : 39]

“That day neither men nor jinn will be questioned about their sins,” because, (i) men will pass through various stages in the Hereafter, until entry into Paradise. At some stages they will not be questioned, while at some they will be subjected to questioning, and (ii) the questioning of the present verse is of the nature of “Did you do, or did you not?” In contrast, the questioning that is denied is the nature of “Why did you do it? Could you not have avoided it?” This is the kind of questioning that the verse of Surah Al-Rahman denies. However, some scholars have expressed exactly the opposite meaning, viz., people will not be asked if they did a thing or not, they will only be asked, why they did it. The contradiction in any casem can be resolved (Au.).

80. “So proclaim what you are commanded,” i.e., proclaim the Qur’an (Ibn Jarir from the Salaf).

The implication is, Islamic truths are something that must be proclaimed and nothing should be concealed (Thanwi from Ruh).

81. Scholars like ‘Urwah b. Zubayr, ‘Ikrimah and Sa`id b. Jubayr have identified the foremost among the mockers as five: Walid b. al-Mughirah, ‘As b. Wa’il, Aswad b. ‘Abd Yaghus, Aswad b. al-Muttalib and Harith b. Qays (according to ‘Ikrimah: Harith b. Ghaytilah). They all died before the battle of Badr. (Although normally the Prophet did not supplicate against the Makkans, he felt so hurt from them that) he supplicated for their destruction. Ibn Is-haq says once they were circumambulating the Ka`bah when Jibril came and stood by with the Prophet’s side. As Aswad b. ‘Abd al-Muttalib passed by, Jibril threw a green leaf on his face. He became blind. Then, Aswad b. ‘Abd Yaghus passed by him. He pointed to his stomach which swelled and he died of dropsy. Next Walid b. al-Mughira appeared. He pointed at a wound he had received earlier in his heel. It opened up and he died of it. Then, as ‘As b. Wa’il passed by, he pointed at the hollow of his sole, and he was killed by a thorn that pricked into his sole, as he was going to Ta’if. Lastly, as Layth passed, he pointed at his head. It got filled with pus that killed him (Ibn Jarir). The story is also in Ibn Hisham and there are many versions about the number of people and the manner of their destruction.

When Zuhri heard that Sa`id b. Jubayr named one of the five as Harith b. Ghaytilah, while ‘Ikrimah named him as Harith b. Qays, he remarked, “‘Ikrimah was right. The man was Harith b. Qays. Ghaytilah (some say Tulatilah) was the name of his mother (Ibn Jarir, Ibn Kathir).

82. That is, the hearts’ cure from constriction has to be searched for in prostration and prayers.

83. Accordingly, whenever the Prophet faced a difficult situation, he resorted to Prayers (Ibn Jarir, Zamakhshari).

84. The rendering of “yaqin” as death is following the understanding of Mujahid, Qatadah, Hasan and others. In fact, in a hadith the Prophet also used the word in this sense (Ibn Jarir).

Allah (swt) said about the people of the Fire (74: 45),

قَالُوا لَمْ نَكُ مِنَ الْمُصَلِّينَ (43) وَلَمْ نَكُ نُطْعِمُ الْمِسْكِينَ (44) وَكُنَّا نَخُوضُ مَعَ الْخَائِضِينَ (45) وَكُنَّا نُكَذِّبُ بِيَوْمِ الدِّينِ (46) حَتَّى أَتَانَا الْيَقِينُ [المدثر : 43 - 47]

“They said, ‘We were not of those who Prayed, nor did we feed the poor. We used to indulge (in diatribe against Islam) along with those who indulged, and we used to cry lies to the Day of Judgement, until death came to us’.”

The meaning, therefore, that the misguided people have derived, viz., “yaqin” is in the sense of “ma`rifah” is unacceptable. They say that one might Pray until he has acquired “ma`rifah.” Once he reaches the state of “ma`arifah” he need not attend to the obligations, which are for people of lower order. Apart from the fact that none of the classical scholars has derived such a meaning, nor does the Qur’an support it, but also, none of the Salaf, the highest in “ma`rifah”, the most knowledgeable after the prophets, ever claimed any such status for themselves. If anyone therefore, deserved that the obligations should be abrogated for him, then, the Prophet and the Companions should have been allowed that. But we find that they were the most devoted to acts and rituals of worship, even more than the ordinary people (Ibn Kathir, Alusi, Thanwi