Surah Ya-Sin 36:1-12 - Quran Translation Commentary

(36:11) You can only warn him who followed the admonition¹² and feared the Merciful, Unseen.¹³ So give him glad tidings of forgiveness and a noble reward.

(36:12) Indeed We give life to the dead¹⁴ and record what they have forwarded as also their traces;¹⁵ and We have taken account of all things in a clear Book.¹⁶

Commentary

2. Considering them as “huruf almuqatta` at,” Imām Razi presents a long discussion over these letters asserting that they cannot be without wisdom, even if difficult to unravel.

It may be noted for instance, that Arabic is composed of twenty-eight letters.

The Qur’ān used the “huruf almuqatta` at” in half of them: fourteen.

It is apparent that the letters seem to have been divided as 9+10+9 (=28),

that is nine from “alif ” to “dhal,” ten from “ra” to “ghayn,” and nine from “fa” to “ya.” Allah chose from the first nine only two letters (“alif ” and “ha”), and left out from the last nine only two letters (“fa” and “waw”) – using the rest of the seven. Then, out of the guttural letters Allah used all, except one, which happens to be “kha.” On the other hand, out of all the words pronounced with the lips, He did not use any but one, which is “mim.” As for the rest of them in the middle, that is ten of them, He used the letters alternatively, so that He used “ra” but dropped “za”; He used “sin” but dropped “shin”; used “sad”, but dropped “dad”; used “ta,” but dropped “za” used “`ayn,” but left off “ghayn.” This arrangement could not have been accidental.

Again, these “huruf al-muqatta`at”

have been – in their usage – composed of one letter (such as “nun, qaf, sad”); some others of two letters (such as “ha-mim, ya-sin, ta-sin, taha”); yet some are composed of three letters (such as “alif-lam-mim, ta-sinmim, alif-lam-ra”); some others of four letters (such as “alif-lam-mimra”

and “alif-lam-mim-sad’); and some that are composed of five letters (such as “ha-mim-`ayn-sin-qaf”

and “kaf-ha-ya-`ayn-sad”).

At all events, writes Ibn Jarir, Ibn `Abbas and `Ikrimah believed that this (i.e., Ya Sin) is in its origin an Abyssinian word meaning, “O man.” [Qurtubi, and following him, Shawkani, add: Others have thought, however, that the word is from the dialect of the Tayy tribe while Hasan thought its origin is in the dialect of Kalb].

(The same is reported of Dahhak, Sufyan b. `Uyaynah, Hasan and Sa`id b. Jubayr: Qurtubi, Ibn Kathir). “If we admit that ‘Ya’ is the evocative particle, and that ‘sin’ is for ‘insan’ (Man) then, the allusion by ‘Man’ could be to the noblest of men, Muhammad”

(Yusuf Ali in substance).

However, a second reported opinion of Ibn `Abbas is that it is one of the Names of Allah (Ibn Jarir, Ibn Kathir).

Mujahid on the other hand believed that it is simply a word which Allah chose to open the Surah (Ibn Jarir).

A third opinion of Ibn `Abbas as reported in Ibn Marduwayh – and of Ibn Mas`ud too – is that it means:

“O Muhammad.” Sa`id b. Jubayr also held this opinion, and has its strength in the third verse which says, “Indeed, you are one of the Messengers” (Qurtubi, Shawkani).

In fact, there are two reports that say that the Prophet was known by several names, one of them being Ya Sin (Qurtubi).

3. Qurtubi thinks that the word “hakim” here is in the sense of “muhkam” meaning, ‘that which accepts neither addition nor deletion,’ as Allah said elsewhere about it (11: 1),

“(A book) whose verses have been set clear,” which in turn has been explained by Zamakhshari and Razi as meaning, “well-established,” or “well-founded,” that is, free of defect; like a well-built structure that does not require further modification.

Taking it in the literal sense, Sayyid Qutb discusses the implications. He writes: “Allah describes the Qur’ān as a wise scripture. Wisdom however is the quality of an intelligent being, and such a description bestows on it the qualities of life, will, and volition. This however is in the figurative sense. Notwithstanding this, the illustration is very close to a fact. For, this Qur’ān has a spirit of its own and carries in its aura the qualities of one endowed with life. It shows concern for you as you show concern for it, and pay attention to it. It gives access to its deep-lying secrets as you open your heart, mind, and the soul for it. You begin (to recognize) its features and, so to say its mien, if you covet it - just as you covet to know the features and characteristics of a friend. The Prophet loved to hear the Qur’ān from others. He would stop at a door, listening to the recitation emerging from within, just as someone stops to listen to his beloved being described.”

4. This is the case of the ‘reverse placement’ of argument. The claim follows the evidence. If reversed, the two verses would read like this: “Ya Sin. You, O Muhammad, are of the sent ones. The proof is in the Wise Qur’ān; a perfect Script, beyond human composition” (Au.).

5. “This is to describe the nature of the Message after the nature of the Messenger has been described.

And the nature of this Message is its straightforwardness, clarity and unambiguousness. It is as straight as an arrow, without any twist, bend, or bias. Truth is portrayed in clear terms, without any ambiguity or ambivalence. Whoever looked for it, with sincerity, found it, straightaway, without much research. It does not beat about the bush, does not make complicated statements, does not erect barriers, but rather speaks out its intent loudly, in the simplest of terms, shred of every obscurity, bereft of every sidetracking, and in need of no further explanation. A villager and a townsman, a lettered and an unlettered, a man in the hut or one in a bungalow – all of them gain entry into its plainly laid down meanings and implications touching upon life and its surroundings.

“In its straightness it matches with the plainness of the physical world, its laws, and systems. Its straightness is in conjugation with the things and life around man. It does not collide with realities, nor does it ask man to collide with them. Its straightness is in perfect harmony with the world and its governing laws patterned after similar straightness.

“It is also straight in the sense of leading one who takes its path, straight to Allah, leading up through an undeviating direct route. Its follower need not ever fear not reaching his destination or goal: Allah, because of the twists and turns on the way. He treads a path that leads directly to attaining the approval of his Creator.

The Qur’ān is the guide to this straight path. Whenever a man decides to go along with the Qur’ān, he will discover that the truth that has been unfolded in it – in all its details, in all its commandments and in the portrayal of the values that it stands for, has been done candidly and explicitly“ (Sayyid).

6. “The Al-mighty, the All-compassionate”:

The first attribute is meant to convey the fact that the message sent is not the counsel of a powerless admonisher, whose persuasions could be accepted or ignored without any fear of retribution (Mawdudi). And the second is meant to convey the message that if, despite rejection, retribution does not immediately follow, it is because His mercy demands that sufficient respite be allowed (Au.).

7. That is, those whose immediate forefathers had not been warned, otherwise, several centuries back there had been among them Isma`il, Shu`ayb and others (Au.).

8. What “word” is it that came true? Alusi refers to Iblis saying (38: 82),

“I shall surely misguide them all,”

and Allah replying (7: 18),

“I shall surely fill Jahannum with you altogether.”

Shabbir has a thorough discussion to demonstrate – once and for all - that Allah’s decision (“word”) about the people is preceded by the people choosing a path for themselves. That is, their present state of heedlessness is not because of Allah’s word coming true, but rather, because of the choices they made in the past. Allah said (43: 36),

“Whoever is blind to the remembrance of the Most Merciful – We appoint for him a Devil, who is to him a companion.”

And (61: 5),

“But when they deviated, Allah deviated their hearts.”

And (6: 110),

“And We turn away their hearts and eyes because they did not believe in it in the first instance and leave them in their insolence stumbling blindly.”

And (46: 17, 18),

“While he who said to his parents, ‘Oof unto you. Do you promise me that I will be brought out, although generations have passed before me?’ They (the parents) call to Allah for help (saying), ‘Woe unto you. Come to believe. Surely, Allah’s promise is true.’ But he replies, ‘This is nothing but tales of the ancients.’ It is these against whom the word has come true.”

And (7: 101),

“Those are (some of those) towns of which We narrate you their tidings.

Messengers went to them with clear signs. But they were not such as to believe in what they had rejected earlier. That is how Allah seals the hearts of the unbelieving folks.”

And (10: 74),

“Then We sent after him Messengers.

They brought them clear signs. But they were not such as to believe in what they had denied earlier. That is how Allah seals the hearts of a transgressing folk.”

And (83: 14),

“But rather, what they had been earning rusted their hearts.”

And (45: 23),

“Have you seen him who has taken his base desires as his deity? Allah has misled him despite his knowledge.

He has set a seal on his ear, and has placed a covering on his sight. So who can guide him after Allah?”

And (5: 41),

“They pervert the words from their meaning saying, ‘If you are given this (kind of judgment), accept it, but if you are not given it, then watch out.’ And whomsoever Allah desires to try, you cannot avail anything for him against Allah.

These are a people whom Allah did not desire to cleanse their hearts (because of their continued transgressions).

For them is disgrace in this life.”

It should be apparent, continues Shabbir, that the deafening of the ears, blinding of the eyes, closing of the minds, and sealing of the hearts are choices made by those who are bent on denying the truth no matter what kind of proofs, evidences and signs come before them. It is in consequence of their firm decision against the truth that Allah’s word of punishment comes true.

9. That is, the chains are wound round their necks so many times that their chins are forced up and so they are unable to bend their heads down before their Lord in submission; an allegorical reference to their extreme stubbornness. When a camel obstinately refuses to drink, throwing its head up, they say قَمَح الجمل (Lexicon).

Yusuf Ali’s comment is comprehensive at this point: “Man’s misdeeds inevitably call forth the operation of Allah’s Law. The result of man’s willful disobedience is now described in a series of metaphors. (1) Refusal of Allah’s Light means less and less freedom of action for man: the yoke of sin is fastened round man’s neck, and it gets more and more tightened, right up to the chin. (2) The head is forced up and kept in a stiff position, so that the mind becomes befogged.

Moral obliquity taints the intellect.

According to the Sanskrit proverb, ‘When destruction comes near, understanding is turned upside down.’ According to the Latin proverb, ‘Whom God wishes to destroy, He first makes him demented.’ In other words, iniquity not only is folly, but leads deeper and deeper into folly, narrowness of vision, and blindness to the finer things of life. (3) This state of deprivation of Grace leads to such a decline in spiritual vitality that the victim can neither progress nor turn back, as explained in the next verse. ”

10. The allusion is to the natural consequence of their refusal to learn from past history, or to consider the future consequences of their refusal to accept the truth, which, in their blindness they are unable to perceive.

Their misconceptions have erected barriers all around them that prevent them from evaluating the realities (Mawdudi).

“The whole passage is a vivid description of utter blindness and unshakeable obstinacy on the part of the perverse and willful opponents of truth and light” (Majid).

Yusuf Ali offers us the allegorical implications: “Their retreat is cut off and their progress is impossible.

Further the Light that should come from above is cut off, so that they become totally devoid of any hope, and the last gleam of any spiritual understanding is extinguished in them. ”

11. It is the same for them whether you warn them, or do not warn them, but it is not the same for you, O Muhammad, whether you warned or did not warn, therefore, keep warning them, albeit, for your own good (Shabbir).

12. Thanwi writes in a short sentence in Arabic (in his “Masa’il al-Suluk”) the conclusion that modern educationists have arrived at after several centuries of experience but which their eastern apists are yet to perceive.

He writes, “The words, ‘You can only warn him who followed the admonition,’ signify the fact that when a (Sufi) master trains another, then the result achieved is nothing but manifestation of the potentialities and possibilities of the seeker himself.”

13. “As far as those are concerned, who have obstinately delivered themselves to evil, the preaching of Allah’s Message has no appeal, because their own will shuts them out.

But there are others who are anxious to hear Allah’s Message and receive Allah’s grace. They love Allah and fear to offend against His holy Law, and their fear is not merely superficial but deep-seated: for while they do not yet see Allah, nor do other people see them, they have the same sense of Allah’s presence as if they saw Him, and their religion is not a mere pose, ‘to be seen of men.’ “Unseen is here adverbial: their reverence for Allah is unaffected by the fact that they do not see Him, or that other people do not observe them, because their attitude arises out of a genuine love for Allah ” (Yusuf Ali).

Thus basically, the Prophet had to deal with, as all those have to who take up the task of preaching Islam, two kinds of people: One, which had already made up its mind. ‘So it is the same to them whether you warned them or did not warn them - they will not believe.’ The second kind was the one that was ready to consider, and receive the warning, ‘You can only warn him who followed the admonition and feared the Merciful, Unseen’ (Au.).

14. This is to hint that Allah could yet quicken the dead hearts - just as He quickens the dead land – and lead them to the truth (despite their unwillingness) - Ibn Kathir, Shabbir and others.

15. That is, the good deeds that one has forwarded, and the effects and influences of those deeds, such as, e.g., wrote a book, built a building, established a practice, or left a tradition:

good or bad (Shabbir).

Qatadah has said, “If there was anything, O son of Adam, that Allah could ignore of you, it would have been your footsteps that the winds erase” (Ibn Jarir, Ibn Kathir).

The fact that a person is responsible for his deeds, as well as for the effects and influences produced by those deeds is further elaborated in the hadīth literature. A report in Muslim says, “Whoever set a good example in Islam will have its reward and the reward of all those who put it to practice after him, without any reduction in their rewards; while he who set a bad example in Islam will have its sin on him and the sin of all those who practiced it after him, without any reduction in their own sins.”

Mujahid thought however that the allusion is to the footsteps that one takes on his way to good or bad deeds. This was also the opinion of Hasan and Qatadah. The following can be quoted from Muslim in support of this: Jabir b. `Abdullah said, “A plot near the Prophet’s Mosque became vacant. Banu Salimah thought they could shift there to be nearer the mosque. The Prophet came to know of it. He asked them, “I am told that you wish to move nearer the mosque.” They replied, “Yes, Messenger of Allah. We have been considering it.” He said, “O Banu Salimah, your dwellings (hold on to them). Your (foot) marks are being recorded; your (foot) marks are being recorded.”

It is also reported in Ahmad, Nasa’i and Ibn Majah by `Abdullah ibn `Amr that: A man born in Madinah died in Madinah. The Prophet prayed over him and then remarked, “Only that he had died in a place other than his place of birth.” They asked, “Why is that, O Messenger of Allah?” He replied, “When a man dies in a place other than his birthplace, the (foot) marks from his birth place until where they end are measured (and so much space is allotted to him) in Paradise” (Ibn Kathir).

Scholars have explained that what the Prophet meant was that had the man been a Muhajir in the way of Allah, he would have earned rewards even for the footsteps that he trod in His Pleasure (Au.).

16. That is, in Umm al-Kitab, which is in Lawh al-Mahfuz (the Preserved Tablet). The word “Imām” has been used in the sense of “a book” elsewhere in the Qur’ān. E.g. (17: 71),

“The day when We shall call all men with their record; then whoso is given his book in his right hand - those shall read their book (with pleasure); and they shall not be wronged by a thread” (Qurtubi, Ibn Kathir).

It has been qualified as clear (mubin) because of the thoroughness with which each detail is recorded.

A very clear picture will appear when its contents are reconstructed in the light of its details (Thanwi, reworded).