Surah Fatir 35:38-45 - Quran Translation Commentary

(35:39) He it is who made you successors⁴⁷ in the earth; so whosoever disbelieved, upon him is his disbelief.⁴⁸ And, the disbelief of the unbelievers does not increase in the sight of your Lord except abhorrence. And, the disbelief of the unbelievers does not cause increase but in their loss.

(35:40) Say, ‘Have you considered your associates – those whom you invoke other than Allah, show Me what have they created of the earth. Or, is there for them a partnership in the heaven? Or, have We given them a Book, so that they are on a clear evidence thereby? But rather, the wrongdoers do not promise one another except delusion.⁴⁹

(35:41) Surely, Allah holds the heavens and the earth lest they should swerve.⁵⁰ And, if the two swerve, there is none at all to hold them after Him. He is indeed ever All-clement, All-forgiving.⁵¹

(35:42) And they swore by Allah their most earnest oath, ‘surely, if there came to them a warner, they would surely be more rightly guided than any one of the nations.’ But when there came to them a warner, it increased them in nothing but aversion.

(35:43) Waxing proud in the land and plotting evil. But evil plotting hems in none except its authors. Then, are they waiting except for the wont of the ancients? But you shall never find in Allah’s ways any alteration; and you shall never find in Allah’s ways any deviation.

(35:44) Have they not traveled through the land to see what was the end of those before them? They were stronger than themselves in might. But Allah was not such as that anything in the heavens or the earth should frustrate Him. He is indeed, ever Knowing, Able.

(35:45) And, should Allah to take men to task for what they earn, He would not leave on its back any creature,⁵² but He gives them respite for a stated term. Then, when their term comes, then surely Allah has ever been of His slaves, Seeing.

Commentary

47. The textual word “khala’if” is the plural of “khalifah” – one for whom Allah subdued the earth, gave him a free hand in it, so that he could thank his Creator by believing in Him and obeying Him (Zamakhshari).

At this point it is in the sense of one who follows another. Hence when someone said to Abu Bakr, “O KhalifatuAllah,” he retorted, “I am not KhalifatuAllah but rather Khalifa of the Messenger of Allah. And I am satisfied with it” (Qurtubi).

48. “Surely, in the string of human generations succeeding one another on the earth, departing of one, and following of another, this one inheriting that one, the fall of one empire and establishment of another, extinguishing of one flame and lightning of another, this extinction and that kindling, one after another over time ... surely, thoughts over this continuous movement, deserves the heart’s attention and drawing of lessons. Those present should realize that soon they will be of those who have departed, that those who come after them will ponder over their legacies, and exchange episode concerning them, as they ponder over the legacies of those who departed before them, and exchange episodes concerning them .. it is deserving that the heedless should wake up to the reality of the Hand that destroys the constructions, which interchanges the wands, which rotates the rule, grants kingdoms in inheritance, makes one generation succeed another, and that everything moves on, declines and passes off, and that Allah alone remains: the Everlasting, who will not pass off, who will not move away. These are the thoughts that come to mind as one gives the verse a cursory look” (Sayyid).

49. “The people who enthrone in their hearts for worship anything besides Allah may well be asked a few questions. Some of such questions are indicated in the text with terse precision: (1) Have you seen these gods of yours? Do they exist? ‘Seeing’ of course does not necessarily mean physical sight. We do not see the air, but no one doubts that it exists. And the air is a physical substance. There are forces that we know exist, but we do not see them. To us, who have Faith, Allah is a truer Reality than anything else that we know, including ourselves. Can the false worshippers say that of any of their false gods? (2) Have your gods created or originated anything on earth? You may worship power or wealth, but that is a scramble for things as between selfish men. Power or wealth does not create new men or new worlds. (3) Have they a share in the ordering of the heavens? Obviously your false gods fail there. (4) Or have these false gods a book or revelation from the Supreme God, with clear evidence, to give them authority to teach men? The Prophets or Messengers of Allah have such authority, and they bring evidence of the One True God. The fact is that falsehood is falsehood, however much one form of it may support another by delusions” (Yusuf Ali).

50. What is it that holds the heavens and the earth together? The scientific cliché is that it is the gravitational force. But in answer to the question, what force is this, the scientist is dumb. All that can be said is that it exists, and that it can be expressed in such and such terms. But beyond that, nothing is known about it. It remains a mystery. So what’s wrong in saying that He who created it knows its reality, and that He it is who ultimately controls it so that the sun and the moon, the earth and the stars, the galaxies and the nebulas do not fall apart? Yet, that is only one aspect of the Unknown. Other complication arise as scientists seek to know more. One of the findings is that the Universe is expanding at an accelerating rate, i.e., faster and faster. So, after all, gravitation works fine at micro level, but it does not seem to be working at the macro level. There is another force that is pushing matter into outer space (or expanding the space, as scientists prefer to state, though without any good reason). What force is causing this acceleration? What is force is expanding the space? No one has the slightest of clue (Au.).

51. That is, none can hold them and sustain them but He. A hadith of Muslim says,Abu Musa said, “The Prophet stood amongst us with five words. He said, ‘Allah does not sleep, nor does it behoove Him that He should sleep. He lowers the scale and raises it. He raises to Himself the deeds of the night before the day, and those of the day before the night. His veil is Light.’”

According to another narrative coming from Abu Bakr, ‘If He were to remove it, the glitter of His Face will burn down His creation to the extent His sight reaches.’

Notwithstanding that, He is the All-clement, the All-forgiving. He sees His slaves disbelieving and disobeying, but He shows clemency and forgives, gives respite and does not act against them hastily. Yet others He covers and forgives. He is indeed All-clement, All-forgiving (Ibn Kathir).

52. For, in that situation Allah will hold back the rains and all beings on the face of the earth will perish. It is said that someone admonished another over a wrong action. The other one said, “Look after your own affairs. A wrongdoer does not wrong but himself.” Abu Hurayrah was present. He said, “By Him besides whom there is no Lord, you have lied. By Him in whose hands is my life, birds die because of wrongs committed by the wrongdoer” (Qurtubi)