Surah Saba 34:22-30 - Quran Translation Commentary

(34:22) Say, ‘Call on those you allege (as deities) apart from Allah. They own not the weight of an atom in the heavens, nor in the earth. They do not have any partnership in either, nor has He any helper from among them.'

(34:23) And, intercession will not avail with Him, except for him to whom He grants leave;⁵¹ till, when terror is removed from their hearts, they will say, ‘What did your Lord say?’ They will reply, ‘The Truth;⁵² and He is the All-High, the All-great.’

(34:24) Say, 'Who provides for you out of the heavens and the earth?' Say, 'Allah.⁵³ And (so), either we or you are upon right guidance or in manifest error.⁵⁴

(34:25) Say, 'You will not be questioned about what we committed, nor will we be questioned as to what you do.'

(34:26) Say, 'Our Lord will bring us together, then He will judge between us with Truth. Surely, He is the (true) Judge,⁵⁵ the All-knowing.

(34:27) Say, 'Show me those you have joined with Him as associates.⁵⁶ Nay; rather, He is Allah, the All-mighty, the All-wise.'

(34:28) And, We have not sent you but for all mankind: a harbinger of good tiding and a Warner; but most of the people do not know.⁵⁷

(34:29) And they say, 'When will this promise (come to pass) if you are truthful?'⁵⁸

(34:30) Say, 'For you (there is) appointment of a day, from which you cannot remain behind by a single hour, nor can you get ahead.'

Commentary

51. As Allah said elsewhere (53: 26),

وَكَم مِّن مَّلَكٍ فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ لا تُغْنِي شَفَاعَتُهُمْ شَيْئًا إِلا مِن بَعْدِ أَن يَأْذَنَ اللَّهُ لِمَن يَشَاء وَيَرْضَى

"And how many angels are there whose intercession profits not aught except after Allah grants leave unto whom He will and approves." Hadith literature also conforms this. For example, the well-known hadith which reports the Prophet as saying that when the entire mankind will be presented (and the standing takes long) he will go to the "Praiseworthy Station" (al-Maqam al-Mahmood) in order to be allowed to intercede on behalf of mankind, so that the process of Reckoning might be started. He said,

فَأَسْتَأْذِنُ عَلَى رَبّي. فَيُؤْذَنُ لِي. فَأَقُومُ بَيْنَ يَدَيْهِ. فَأَحْمَدُهُ بِمَحَامِدَ لاَ أَقْدِرُ عَلَيْهِ الاَنَ. يُلْهِمُنِيهِ الله. ثُمّ أَخِرّ لَهُ سَاجِداً. فَيُقَالُ لِي: يَا مُحَمّدُ ارْفَعْ رأْسكَ. وَقُلْ يُسْمَعْ لَكَ. وَسَلْ تُعْطَهْ. وَاشْفَعْ تُشَفّعْ "

“I will seek my Lord’s permission. I will be allowed. I will stand before Him and praise Him with words of Praises that I do not have the power now, that Allah will inspire me with. Then I will fall in prostration. I will be told, ‘O Muhammad, raise your head, and speak, you will be heard, seek, and you will be given, and seek intercession, you will be granted" (Ibn Kathir).

52. There have been several interpretations. One, the allusion is to those who seek permission to intercede. But when they are actually allowed to intercede, terror overtakes them in apprehension that their intercession might fall in favor of a wrong person resulting in Allah's anger evoked against them. When they recover from the terror, they ask the angels – who bring down the permission to them – 'What did your Lord say?' They reply, ‘the Truth’ (Qurtubi). The lesson is that if intercession is so difficult to obtain from those who are qualified to intercede, how could the unbelievers depend on false deities to save them from the chastisement of the Hereafter? (Qurtubi) In Asad's words, "As is evident from the sequence.. this passage relates, in particular, to the attribution of divine or semi-divine qualities to saints and angels and to the problem of their 'intercession' with God." Second possible meaning is, as understood by Hasan al-Busri, (seconded by Zayd b. Aslam) who interpreted "fuzi`a" (lit., "fear is removed") as meaning "kushifa" (i.e., "uncovered"). Consequently, the verse can be paraphrased in the following manner, "When the coverings of doubts and skepticisms in the hearts of the unbelievers are removed, which happens only when Satan departs and false hopes leave them, at the time of death, it is then that they seek to know in some seriousness, "What did your Lord say?" Three, the allusion is to the revelation of a verse or more by Allah. In the heavens its release sounds like iron chain (steel: Ibn `Abbas) struck on rock. The occupants of the heavens are struck by extreme fear and when they regain their calm, they ask, "What did your Lord say?" (This was the opinion of Ibn `Abbas: Ibn Jarir). Fourth, the allusion is to the issue of commands generally. (This was the opinion of `Abdullah ibn Mas`ud and others: Ibn Jarir). In this connection hadith records have a few related reports. One in Bukhari says,

عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ يَبْلُغُ بِهِ النَّبِيَّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ إِذَا قَضَى اللَّهُ الْأَمْرَ فِي السَّمَاءِ ضَرَبَتْ الْمَلَائِكَةُ بِأَجْنِحَتِهَا خُضْعَانًا لِقَوْلِهِ كَالسِّلْسِلَةِ عَلَى صَفْوَانٍ قَالَ عَلِيٌّ وَقَالَ غَيْرُهُ صَفْوَانٍ يَنْفُذُهُمْ ذَلِكَ فَإِذَا فُزِّعَ عَنْ قُلُوبِهِمْ قَالُوا مَاذَا قَالَ رَبُّكُمْ قَالُوا لِلَّذِي قَالَ الْحَقَّ وَهُوَ الْعَلِيُّ الْكَبِيرُ فَيَسْمَعُهَا مُسْتَرِقُو السَّمْعِ وَمُسْتَرِقُو السَّمْعِ هَكَذَا وَاحِدٌ فَوْقَ آخَرَ وَوَصَفَ سُفْيَانُ بِيَدِهِ وَفَرَّجَ بَيْنَ أَصَابِعِ يَدِهِ الْيُمْنَى نَصَبَهَا بَعْضَهَا فَوْقَ بَعْضٍ فَرُبَّمَا أَدْرَكَ الشِّهَابُ الْمُسْتَمِعَ قَبْلَ أَنْ يَرْمِيَ بِهَا إِلَى صَاحِبِهِ فَيُحْرِقَهُ وَرُبَّمَا لَمْ يُدْرِكْهُ حَتَّى يَرْمِيَ بِهَا إِلَى الَّذِي يَلِيهِ إِلَى الَّذِي هُوَ أَسْفَلَ مِنْهُ حَتَّى يُلْقُوهَا إِلَى الأَرْضِ وَرُبَّمَا قَالَ سُفْيَانُ حَتَّى تَنْتَهِيَ إِلَى الأَرْضِ فَتُلْقَى عَلَى فَمْ السَّاحِرِ فَيَكْذِبُ مَعَهَا مِائَةَ كَذْبَةٍ فَيُصَدَّقُ فَيَقُولُونَ أَلَمْ يُخْبِرْنَا يَوْمَ كَذَا وَكَذَا يَكُونُ كَذَا وَكَذَا فَوَجَدْنَاهُ حَقًّا لِلْكَلِمَةِ الَّتِي سُمِعَتْ مِنْ السَّمَاءِ

"When Allah decrees an affair in the heaven, angels beat their wings in submission to His words making a sound like a chain striking a smooth rock. When fear is removed from their hearts they ask, 'What did your Lord say?' He answers him who had asked, 'The Truth. He is the All-high, the All-great.' This is also heard by the one who steals the hearing. And, those who steal the hearing are like that: some over the others – Sufyan (one of the narrators) demonstrated it by holding one hand over the other, with fingers outspreading. So he hears the word (sometimes a meteorite strikes him before he can receive it, but at other times he passes it on before he is struck), and casts it on the one below him, the other one casts it on the next one below him, until (the last one) casts it on to the tongue of a magician or fortune-teller. Then he (the magician or fortune-teller) mixes it with a hundred lies so that it is said (by those who hear him), 'Did he not tell us about such and such a thing, on such and such a day?' referring to the word that had been heard from the heaven" (Ibn Jarir in short, Qurtubi, Ibn Kathir). Ibn Kathir adds the following report from Ahmad:

عن عَبْدَ اللّهِ بْنَ عَبّاسٍ. قَالَ: أَخْبَرَنِي رَجُلٌ مِنْ أَصْحَابِ النّبِيّ صلى الله عليه وسلم مِنَ الأَنْصَارِ أَنّهُمْ بَيْنَمَا هُمْ جُلُوسٌ لَيْلَةً مَعَ رَسُولِ اللّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم رُمِيَ بِنَجْمٍ فَاسْتَنَارَ. فَقَالَ لَهُمْ رَسُولُ اللّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم: "مَاذَا كُنْتُمْ تَقُولُونَ فِي الْجَاهِلِيّةِ، إِذَا رُمِيَ بِمِثْلِ هَذَا؟" قَالُوا: اللّهُ وَرَسُولُهُ أَعْلَمُ. كُنّا نَقُولُ وُلِدَ اللّيْلَةَ رَجُلٌ عَظِيمٌ. وَمَاتَ رَجُلٌ عَظِيمٌ. فَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم: "فَإِنّهَا لاَ يُرْمَىَ بِهَا لِمَوْتِ أَحَدٍ وَلاَ لِحَيَاتِهِ. وَلَكِنْ رَبّنَا، تَبَارَكَ وَتَعَالَىَ اسْمُهُ، إِذَا قَضَىَ أَمْراً سَبّحَ حَمَلَةُ الْعَرْشِ. ثُمّ سَبّحَ أَهْلُ السّمَاءِ الّذِينَ يَلُونَهُمْ. حَتّىَ يَبْلُغَ التّسْبِيحُ أَهْلَ هَذِهِ السّمَاءِ الدّنْيَا. ثُمّ قَالَ الّذِينَ يَلُونَ حَمَلَةَ الْعَرْشِ لِحَمَلَةِ الْعَرْشِ: مَاذَا قَالَ رَبّكُمْ؟ فَيُخْبِرُونَهُمْ مَاذَا قَالَ. قَالَ: فَيَسْتَخْبِرُ بَعْضُ أَهْلِ السّمَاوَاتِ بَعْضَاً. حَتّىَ يَبْلُغَ الْخَبَرُ هَذِهِ السّمَاءَ الدّنْيَا. فَتَخْطَفُ الْجِنّ السّمْعَ فَيَقْذِفُونَ إِلَىَ أَوْلِيَائِهِمْ. وَيُرْمَوْنَ بِهِ. فَمَا جَاؤُوا بِهِ عَلَىَ وَجْهِهِ فَهُوَ حَقّ وَلَكِنّهُمْ يَقْرِفُونَ فِيهِ وَيَزِيدُونَ".

On one of those occasions, when the Prophet sat with his Companions at night, they witnessed a falling star. He asked, 'What would you say to this in pre-Islamic times?' They said they thought a great person must have taken birth or died.' He told them, "No, it is not flung at the birth or death of a person. But when Allah decrees an affair, the bearers of `Arsh begin to chant His glory. They are followed by the inhabitants of the heaven immediately below it, until their glory-chanting reaches the heaven closest to the earth. Then, those in the heaven closest to the `Arsh seek to know what was said - from the bearers of the `Arsh. Then (some of) the bearers of the `Arsh ask (others of) the bearers of the `Arsh, 'What did your Lord say?' They inform them. Then the inhabitants of the heavens inform those of the next heaven until it reaches the heaven closest to the earth. At that point the Jinn might steal off (a word) and they are struck (with a meteorite). So, whatever they bring down of it (the original command), is true. But (in actual fact) they divided it up and adulterate it." The report is also in Muslim and Nasa'i.

53. Yusuf Ali's note deserves attention: "There are six propositions introduced here with the word "Say", at verses 22, 24, 25, 26, 27, and 30. They clearly explain the doctrine of Unity (verse 22), the Mercy of Allah (verse 24), man's Personal Responsibility (verse 25), the Final Justice of Allah (verse 26), Allah's Power and Wisdom (verse 27), and the Inevitability of the Judgment, by which true values will be restored (verse 30)."

54. Ibn Jarir and Qurtubi discuss the "or" of the passage, "either we or you are upon right guidance or in manifest error," and offer various solutions since, after all, there is no doubt that the believers are on right guidance, while the unbelievers are in obvious error. So, why is there the element of doubt expressed in "or"? One explanation is: when you say to a dishonest person, e.g., "one of us is a liar," he knows what exactly you mean. Another explanation is that the "waaw" of the text is "waaw al-muwaalaah" which offers the meaning, "Indeed, we are on right guidance while you are in manifest error." They support this meaning with poetical citations. Another possible connotation is, "We both cannot be rightly guided. One of us is in error. So, look carefully at your own position." Today, with the loss of knowledge and the faith which issues from it, this last mentioned is a meaning that is lost upon many Muslims. They cannot understand the exclusiveness, and are ever ready to strike a chord of unity with the antagonists of Islam, on the premise that, after all, others also have some truth (Au.). Yusuf Ali makes an emphatic statement: "Right and Wrong, Good and Evil, are incompatible, one with another. In this matter we can make no compromise. It is true that in men there may be various degrees of good or evil mixed together, and we have to tolerate men as our fellow-creatures, with all their faults and shortcomings. But this does not mean that we can worship Allah and Mammon together. Wrong is the negation of Right as light is of darkness. Though there may be apparently varying depths of darkness, this is only due to the imperfection of our vision: it is varying strengths of light as perceived by our relative powers of sight. So we may perceive the Light of Allah in varying degrees according to our spiritual vision. But in simple questions of Right or Wrong, we are faced by the Categorical Imperative.‏" Razi offers us another point: We may note the article "upon" in "upon right guidance" and the article "in" as it appears in the words "in manifest error." The implication is that the former is high above the latter (from where he can see his path clearly) while the latter is in a deep abyss (not sure where he is)."

55. The rendering of "Fattaah" as Judge is following Ibn `Abbas' understanding as in Ibn Jarir, Shawkani and others.

56. But of course, when He said, "Show me those you have joined with Him as associates," He knew those that were associated with Him in his times, but, in reality, the objective was to identify their error in association.

57. A plain truth about the Messenger and the Message, but unobvious to even some Muslims. Some Muslims of our contemporary world believe in the parochial nature of our Prophet's mission, and in the Qur'an as the book for Muslims, just as every religious denomination has its own (Au.). The statement anyway, is echoed several times in the Qur'an. Allah said (25: 1),

تَبَارَكَ الَّذِي نَزَّلَ الْفُرْقَانَ عَلَى عَبْدِهِ لِيَكُونَ لِلْعَالَمِينَ نَذِيرًا (الفرقان – 1)

"Blessed is He who sent down the Criterion upon His slave, that he may be a warner unto the worlds." And (7: 158),

يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ إِنِّي رَسُولُ اللّهِ إِلَيْكُمْ جَمِيعًا (الأعراف – 158)

"Say, 'O people, verily, I am Allah's Messenger towards you all." And `Ikrimah reported `Ibn `Abbas as saying, "Allah gave the Prophet preference over those of the heavens and those of the earth." They asked him, "How did Allah give him preference over the prophets?" He replied, "Allah said (14: 4),

وَمَا أَرْسَلْنَا مِن رَّسُولٍ إِلاَّ بِلِسَانِ قَوْمِهِ لِيُبَيِّنَ لَهُمْ (إبراهيم – 4)

'And We did not send a Messenger but in the language of the people, so that he could make (it) clear to them.' Whereas, He said at this point (34: 28),

وَمَا أَرْسَلْنَاكَ إِلا كَافَّةً لِّلنَّاسِ (سباء – 28)

'We have not sent you but for all mankind.'" And, adds Ibn Kathir, the statement of Ibn `Abbas can be corroborated with a hadith of the Sahihayn which says,

أَخْبَرَنَا جَابِرُ بْنُ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ أَنَّ النَّبِيَّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ أُعْطِيتُ خَمْسًا لَمْ يُعْطَهُنَّ أَحَدٌ قَبْلِي نُصِرْتُ بِالرُّعْبِ مَسِيرَةَ شَهْرٍ وَجُعِلَتْ لِي الْأَرْضُ مَسْجِدًا وَطَهُورًا فَأَيُّمَا رَجُلٍ مِنْ أُمَّتِي أَدْرَكَتْهُ الصَّلَاةُ فَلْيُصَلِّ وَأُحِلَّتْ لِي الْمَغَانِمُ وَلَمْ تَحِلَّ لِأَحَدٍ قَبْلِي وَأُعْطِيتُ الشَّفَاعَةَ وَكَانَ النَّبِيُّ يُبْعَثُ إِلَى قَوْمِهِ خَاصَّةً وَبُعِثْتُ إِلَى النَّاسِ عَامَّةً (البخاري، مسلم)

"I have been given five things that none of the Prophets before me were given: I have been helped with fright from a distance of one month; the whole of the earth has been made for me a place of prostration and a means of purification, so that, anyone of my Ummah who encounters (the time) for Prayer, may Pray (anywhere); war spoils have been made lawful unto me while they were not lawful for anyone before me; I have been bestowed with the (Grand) Intercession; and, a Prophet used to be sent to a specific people, while I have been sent to whole of mankind."

58. That is, the promise of punishment. Allah said elsewhere (42: 18),

يَسْتَعْجِلُ بِهَا الَّذِينَ لا يُؤْمِنُونَ بِهَا وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا مُشْفِقُونَ مِنْهَا وَيَعْلَمُونَ أَنَّهَا الْحَقُّ (الشورى – 18)

"Those who believe not in it seek to hasten it, while those who believe are fearful of it, and know that it is the very truth."