Surah Ash-Shuraa 42:20-29 - Quran Translation Commentary

(42:20) Whoever desires the harvest of the Hereafter, We grant him increase in his harvest;³² and whoever desires the harvest of this world, We grant him out of it,³³ but he has no share in the Hereafter.

(42:21) Or, have they associates (in Divinity)³⁴ who have laid down as religion for them that for which Allah gave no leave?³⁵ Were it not for the word of decision, it would have been decided between them.³⁶ Surely, the transgressors will have a severe chastisement.

(42:22) You will see the transgressors fearful on account of what they have earned,³⁷ but it will (inevitably) fall upon them. As for those who believed and worked righteousness, they will be in meadows³⁸ of the gardens. For them will be, with their Lord, what they desire.³⁹ That indeed is the great bounty.

(42:23) This is wherewith Allah gives the glad tiding to (such of) His slaves who believe and do righteous deeds.⁴⁰ Say, ‘I do not ask you any wage for this except for love of kinship.’⁴¹ And, whoever earns a good, We shall cause him increase in good therein. Indeed, Allah is All-forgiving, All-appreciative.⁴²

(42:24) Or do they say he has forged a lie against Allah? But if Allah willed, He could set a seal on your heart.⁴³ Allah blots out falsehood and establishes the truth with His words. Surely, He is knowing of that which is within the breasts.

(42:25) It is He who accepts repentance from His slaves and forgives sins.⁴⁴ And He knows what you do.

(42:26) He responds to those who have believed and work righteousness and grants them increase out of His grace. As for the unbelievers, there awaits them a terrible chastisement.

(42:27) And, if Allah were to enlarge upon the providence for His slaves, they would certainly rebel in the land;⁴⁵ but He sends down in measure whatsoever He will.⁴⁶ Surely He is Aware of His slaves, Seeing.⁴⁷

(42:28) He it is who sends down the rain after they have despaired⁴⁸ and spreads His mercy (far and wide).⁴⁹ And He is the Protector, the Praiseworthy.

(42:29) And of His signs is creation of the heavens and the earth and what He has scattered abroad of living creatures therein.⁵⁰ And He is Able to collect them together whenever He will.

Commentary

32. Ibn `Abbas and Suddi interpreted the textual word harvest (of the first occurrence) as meaning, deeds (Ibn Jarir). That is, whoever desired the deeds that will benefit him in the Hereafter, Allah grants him increase in his deeds (Ibn Kathir), meaning, Razi points out, that the person is able to do and achieve much more than what he could ordinarily have hoped within his limits (Au.).

Imām Razi explains the word “harvest”

(of the second occurrence) as meaning “rewards,” which signals that both this as well as the next world are obtained through hard work alone, as any harvest can be reaped only after prolonged efforts, although, the rewards of this world are bound to be of a lower order.

This is indicated by the insertion of the term “harth“ at both the points.

As for increase in the harvest, continues Razi, it is best explained by the following hadīth: “Whoever had the next world as his main concern will have Allah organizing his affairs. He places self-satisfaction in his heart and the world comes to him willynilly, submitted. While he who aimed at this world, will have Allah disorder his affairs. He places his poverty between his two eyes while, of this world nothing comes to him but what is destined for him.”

The report is in Ahmad and Tabarani, treated by Haythami in his “Majma`”

as trustworthy (Au.).

And the rule is, adds Qurtubi, Allah (swt) grants what He will of this world also to those who intend the Hereafter, but grants nothing of the Hereafter to those who choose to work for this world alone.

We might remind ourselves of a better illustrative passage of the Qur’ān (17: 18-21): “Whosoever coveted the immediate (reward), We hasten whatsoever of it We will, unto whomsoever We will, and then We appoint for him Jahannum wherein he will rest, blamed and rejected. (Whereas) Those who coveted the Hereafter, and strove for it in the manner of its striving - and he is a believer - those, their striving is appreciated (by Allah). (Unto) everyone - these as well as those - We extend (freely) the bounties of your Lord - and the bounties of your Lord are not such as to be denied (to anyone).

See then how We give preference to some over others. But surely, the Hereafter is greater in rank and greater in excellence” (Qurtubi, Ibn Kathir).

We may also make note of a pertinent hadīth which Haythami treated as trustworthy. (It is in Baghawi’s Sharh al-Sunnah: Sami). It says, Ubayy b. Ka`b reports the Prophet (saws) as having said, “Give glad tidings to this Ummah of sublimity, exaltedness, religion, (Allah’s) help, and establishment in the earth” – but of the sixth the narrator was not sure. He also said, “But whoever of them did a deed of the Hereafter for the sake of this world, will have no share in the Hereafter” (Ibn Kathir, Shawkani).

In this connection, the following could also be quoted. It is in Hakim which he declared trustworthy. It says, The Prophet reported Allah (swt) as saying, “Son of Adam. Free yourself for My worship, I will fill your breast with wealth and block your poverty; if you did not, I will fill your two hands with work and will not block your poverty.”

Tirmidhi declared the above hadīth as weak, but Albani treated as trustworthy (S. Ibrahim).

33. That is, he is not granted all that he desires, (nor all that he works for: Au.) but only that which is his share in the Divine scheme (Tabari).

34. The direct meaning of the term sharik (pl. shuraka’) is quite well known. But few people realize the wider implications. Mawdudi writes: “(The term shuraka’) inevitably refers to those men whom the people regard as associates in the authority and sovereignty of Allah, whose thoughts, creeds, ideologies and philosophies they believe in, whose values they admit, whose moral precepts and norms of civilization and culture they accept, and whose laws and rules and regulations they adopt in their rituals and rites of worship, in their personal and collective lives, in their trade and business dealings, in their politics and governments, as if they constituted the Shari`ah that they had to follow faithfully.”

But of course, the above is true with the added condition that there is a contradiction between the Islamic requirements of the obligatory nature, and the various demands of the shuraka’ (Au.).

35. That is, have their associates legalized in religion what Allah has not legalized? (Ibn Jarir).

Those were the devils who dictated the religion of association with Allah, and denial of Resurrection that led them to live and die for this world alone (Zamakhshari).

Ibn Kathir writes: They follow not but the religion of those they have declared partners to Allah who have made lawful to them what Allah made unlawful and made unlawful what Allah declared unlawful. The Prophet has informed us of the fate of those who introduced religious practices not sanctioned by Allah.

He said to us, as in Bukhari: “I saw `Amr b. `Amir b. Luhayy al-Khuza`i dragging his intestines in the Fire. He was the first to institute the Sa’ibah.”

It was `Amr b. Luhayy, a chieftain of the Quraysh who had introduced idol-worship among them (Ibn Kathir).

The verse also carries, adds Thanwi, invalidation of all kinds and varieties of innovations (bid`ah).

Sayyid adds: “There is none among the creations who has the right to legalize or prohibit against what Allah dictates, no matter who he is. Allah alone dictates the Law; for the simple reason that He is the Originator of the world, the whole of it, and is its Administrator, employing a set of laws that He chooses to employ. Human life in this vast world is nothing but a tiny gear in the immensely massive wheel that turns around. It is the requirement of reason then that the laws the human follow must agree with the Laws that turn this massive wheel. This will not happen unless the Turner Himself dictates the laws to them. It is also an apparent fact that there is none who has any part in the Turning of the universal wheel. There is none who can be relied upon for dictating laws, so long as He is denied any role in the massive Turning.

“Yet, and despite the explicitness of this point, there are many who dispute with it, or, are not pleased with it, and, therefore, are headstrong enough to assume law-making role for themselves, professing that they have made a good choice for the good of their people, trying to harmonize between the circumstances in which they find themselves and the laws they make; as if they know better than Allah Himself; as if they have associates in Allah who legitimatize for them what Allah has not legitimatized. There cannot be any greater misadventure than this nor any other more reckless attitude.

“Allah has enacted laws which are in perfect harmony with the laws of nature, that is, the laws that govern man and govern the rest of the universe.

He has left for the humans only those details to fill as the situation of their life requires in various times and climes. Yet, while doing so, they are to remain within the boundaries of the Divine law promulgated by Him, so that, whenever there is any difference between the humans, they are to refer back to the set of revealed laws which act as the criteria and the ultimate paradigm.

“In this manner, the source of Law remains one, and in its origin, Divine, so that the Command is for Allah alone - and He is the best to Command. Whatever else is there, apart from this, is rebellion against Allah, His Command, and His Law, the Law that He dictated to Nuh, Ibrahim, Musa, `Isa and Muhammad, peace be upon them all.”

36. That is, between believers and unbelievers (Zamakhshari, Alusi).

37. They will then be in the Field of Judgment (Ibn Kathir).

38. “Rawdah” is for a well-watered piece of land, full of vegetation (Alusi).

39. Abu Tayba is reported to have said that a patch of cloud will overshadow a group of people in Paradise and say, “What shall I rain down on you?” No one will ask for anything but it will rain down that particular thing, to the extent that one of them will say, “Rain down on us high-bosomed damsels of our age”

(Ibn Kathir [quoting Ibn Jarir as the source], Alusi).

It may be noted that this is not a hadīth.

40. The reference could be to the “nearness of Allah” mentioned in the previous verse. True, material blessings will be there, but the best of them is closeness to Allah. What other blessing can compare with this? To quote the Qur’ān: “This is wherewith Allah gives the glad tiding to (such of ) His slaves who believe and do righteous deeds”

(Au., with a hint from Shabbir’s note placed at an earlier verse).

41. It is reported that Ibn `Abbas was asked to identify the “al-qurba”

of this occurrence. His pupil Sa`id b. Jubayr spoke out saying, “they are the Prophet’s immediate kinsfolk.”

Ibn `Abbas interjected, “You have been hasty. To be sure, there was not a clan in Makkah but was related to the Prophet.” The Quraysh were thus told that if they would not accept the Prophet’s message, they should in the least respect the ties of kinship (and treat him well). He was not asking for wages for his preaching, so why should they resort to persecuting him? Doesn’t kinship demand a better treatment? `Ikrimah, Ibn Malik, Qatadah, Suddi and others have expressed the same opinion (Ibn Jarir, Alusi).

The report is in Bukhari (Qurtubi, Ibn Kathir, Shawkani).

Ibn Jarir also presents two other minority opinions: (1) I do not ask for wages except that you – O my followers – love my kinsfolk and (2) “..

except that you seek Allah’s closeness (qurba),” but rejects both as incorrect interpretations, as do most commentators including Mufti Shafi`, Shabbir and others.

Nonetheless, since the topic has come, Ibn Kathir quotes a few ahadīth. The following is in Muslim and Nasa’i. Yezid b. Hayyan reported, “Myself, Hussayn b. Sabrah and `Umar b. Muslim went to see Zayd b. Arqam. When we were seated Hussayn said, ‘O Zayd, you certainly achieved great virtues. You saw the Prophet, heard his talk, participated in Jihad with him and Prayed behind him. Indeed you achieved great good O Zayd.

Now, tell us (something) that you heard from the Prophet (himself).’ He replied, ‘Dear nephew, by Allah my age is well advanced and have almost spent my term. I have begun to forget some of the things I had preserved well from the Prophet. Therefore, accept whatever I narrate. As for what I do not, then do not force me do it.’ Then he said, ‘One day the Prophet stood up to deliver a sermon near a water-station called Khumm – between Makkah and Madinah. He said, “After Praises.

O people, I am but a man. It is possible that My Lord’s messenger comes to me and I have to respond. I am leaving behind me for you two weighty things: first, Allah’s Book. It has guidance and Light. Therefore, hold fast unto the Book of Allah and adhere to it.” He encouraged us to hold on to the Book. Then he added, “(Secondly) the people of my house. I remind you in Allah about the people of my house.

I remind you in Allah about the people of my house. I remind you in Allah about the people of my house.” At that Hussayn interrupted, ‘But who are the people of his house? Are not his wives the people of his house?’ He replied, ‘His women are of course of the people of the house. But the people of the house are all those who were denied charity after him.’ He asked, ‘Who are they?’ He replied, ‘The families of `Ali, `Aqil, Ja`far and `Abbas.’ He asked, ‘Are they all forbidden charity?’ He replied, ‘Yes.’”

Not surprisingly, it is reported of Abu Bakr, as in Bukhari, that he said, “Be mindful of Muhammad in reference to his kinsfolk.”

The above reports not denied, the Imāmiyyah (the Twelvers of the Shi`ah) claim that it is `Ali, Fatimah, and their progeny alone who are the “al-qurba” of this and other contexts. They cite a report according to which when Ibn `Abbas was asked who the “al-qurba” were who deserve the love of the believers, he is alleged to have said that it were `Ali, Fatimah and their progeny alone.”

The report, as Suyuti declared in Durr al-Manthur, is weak. Ibn Hajr also judged it weak. Nonetheless, the Shi`ah have argued that love of `Ali is obligatory on all Muslims. They argue that he who is loved must be obeyed. Consequently, he who has to be obeyed has to be the Khalifah.

So, `Ali should have been the first Khalifah.

But, Alusi comments, such logic, not to speak of its weakness, also contradicts the Qur’ān. Look at the context. It says, “Say, ‘I do not ask you any wage for this except for love of kinship.’” Now, if what the verse is saying is that the Prophet did not seek any wage for his mission except that `Ali should be appointed his heir, then he has already sought a wage. (The unbelievers could have said, not unjustly, that perhaps all that Muhammad was scheming to win is political leadership for his kith and kin: Au.) The right meaning then is that all that the Prophet expected from his adversaries was that if the Message was not acceptable to them, they should in that case at least treat him well in view of the fact that they were all of the same family, and not, as they were planning, kill him, or, by removing the tribal immunity, allow the surrounding tribes to kill him if they so willed.

Further, apart from other spiritual or moral reasons, it is possible that the Prophet had been informed by the shoddy manner in which `Ali was to be treated after him by the newly arising sects, the treacherous manner in which the Shi`ah treated Hussain b. `Ali at Kufah, and others of `Ali’s progeny later in history, again by the Shi`ah, he might have thought it best to warn the Ummah about ‘the people of his house’ (Au.).

42. That is, He is forgiving of those who do evil and All-appreciative of those who do good (Qatadah: Ibn Jarir).

43. That is, seal the Prophet’s heart so that he would forget the Qur’ān that had been revealed so far (Qatadah and Suddi: Ibn Jarir, Qurtubi, Alusi); where would he then bring a new Revelation from? (Au.).

44. We might remind ourselves once again of the oft-quoted hadīth of Muslim that Ibn Kathir quotes here: The Prophet said, “Allah is more pleased with His servant’s repentance – when he repents – than when one of you is on his riding beast in a desert. It gets free of him with his food and drink upon it. He loses all hope, goes to a tree and lies down under its shade despaired of finding his riding beast. While he is in such a state when, lo, it is by his side! He seizes it by its halter and then in his great joy utters, ‘O Allah. You are my slave and I am your Lord.’ He errs because of his great joy.”

Harith b. al-Humam says that he and a few friends went to see `Abdullah (ibn Mas`ud) to ask him about this Ayah. They found a few men with him who asked him about a man who fornicated with a woman and then married her. `Abdullah recited this verse in reply (Ibn Jarir).

Ibn Kathir presents a slightly different version of this report from Ibn Abi Hatim.

45. What’s the connection between this verse and the previous one? Imām Razi answers that the previous verse said that Allah responds to the virtuous.

The question that then arises is, do we not observe that the virtuous appear badly off, suffer economic deprivation and face hardships? How does Allah respond to them? The answer is in this verse. There are people whom poverty alone suits. If they are granted prosperity, they might indulge in sins. So, in His kindness Allah does not respond to them with exactly what they supplicate for.

It used to be said in our times, said Qatadah, that the best of provision is that which neither leads to rebellion nor to heedlessness (Ibn Jarir).

Ibn Jarir also quotes a relevant hadīth whose equivalent is to be found in Bukhari, Muslim, Ahmad and others: Narrated Abu Sa`id Al-Khudri: One day the Prophet sat on the pulpit and we gathered around him. He said, “The thing I am afraid of most concerning you after me is the splendors of the world and its ornaments that will be opened up for you.” Someone said, “Messenger of Allah! Does good bring forth evil?”

The Prophet remained silent for a while. It was said to that person, “What is the matter with you? You speak to the Prophet but he does not speak to you.”

Then we noticed that he was being inspired. Shortly the Prophet wiped his sweat and said, “Where is the questioner?” It seemed as if the Prophet had approved of his question. Then he said, “Good never brings forth evil. Indeed it is like what grows on the banks of a stream which either kills or makes the animals sick, except if an animal eats the unhealthy foliage to its fill and then faces the sun, defecates and urinates, then goes back to its grazing.

No doubt wealth is sweet and green. But blessed is that wealth of a Muslim from which he gives to the poor, the orphans and to the traveler. (Or the Prophet said something similar to it). No doubt, whoever takes it unlawfully will be like the one who eats but is never satisfied, while his wealth will be a witness against him on the Day of Resurrection.”

To explain the above hadīth: There are both kinds of grass in a field: healthy as well as unhealthy. If an animal eats the healthy alone, it does not suffer. This is the example of the lawful of this world. But, there are some, like animals. They gulp down to their full, only to defecate, and then begin eating again, just like the animal which eats and defecates, to the end of its life. What good can there be in them, and how different are they from animals? In our times, the above contemptible way of life has been given another name. It is called consumerism and is considered good for economy. So, more of what the Prophet warned (Au.).

A hadīth can be quoted in support of Imām Razi’s explanation. It tells us that there is wisdom behind the unequal distribution of wealth. Allah says in a Qudsi hadīth: “Surely, among believers in Me is one whom nothing suits but wealth. If I were to make him suffer poverty, it would corrupt him. And, among believers in Me is one whom nothing suits but poverty. If I were to enrich him, it would corrupt him.”

The report is in Ibn Abi Dunya and Ibn `Asakir but whose authenticityjudgment could not be traced (Au.).

At all events, adds Qurtubi, it is reported of Anas that he used to say, “O Allah, I believe I am one of those whom poverty does not suit. Therefore, deny me not Your mercy.”

46. The questions arising out of the distribution of wealth are many. The topic is vast and a fuller explanation will require a volume. Asad merely offers a point: “This passage connects with, and elucidates, the statement in the preceding verse that God ‘responds unto all who attain to faith and do righteous deeds’ – a statement which, at first glance, seems to be contrary to the fact that whereas many wrongdoers prosper and are happy, many righteous people suffer hurt and deprivation. In reply to this objection, the above verse points elliptically to man’s innate ‘greed for more and more’ (see 102: 1), which often causes him to become ‘grossly overweening whenever he believes himself to be self-sufficient’ (96: 6). To counteract this tendency, the Qur’ān stresses again and again that God’s ‘responds’ to the righteous – as well as the wrongdoers – will become fully evident only in the life to come, and not necessarily in this world, which, after all, is only the first, short stage of man’s existence.”

47. A word of further elucidation deserves to be placed here: “It may be objected that all prayers, even of good people, are not answered. The reply is: (1) Not every good person necessarily knows what is best for him, for the values in this life are curiously distorted; and (2) on account of their want of knowledge, if everyone got all that he asked for, there would be chaos and confusion, and ‘transgression and injustice throughout the earth’, for the different interests are so intermingled and interdependent that some measure must be observed in granting people’s wishes.

This measure is best supplied by the watchful care of Allah and His perfect knowledge of all our real needs”

(Yusuf Ali).

48. (Allah’s mercy is evoked when people enter into a phase of despair.

Accordingly: Au.), it is reported that when, during a dry spell, people went to `Umar and complained, “Leader of the Faithful. Drought is on them and the people are despaired.” He said, “If so, the rain should be coming.

Allah has said, ‘And He it is who sends down the rain after they have despaired.’” (Ibn Jarir, Zamakhshari, Qurtubi, Ibn Kathir).

What `Umar meant was that people’s despair was a sign that Allah’s mercy had been stirred and rains should follow (Au.).

49. Asad sees a deeper meaning: “This reference to the symbol of lifegiving rain connects with the preceding statement that ‘He bestows [His grace] in due measure, as He wills’, and is a preamble, as it were, to the statement in the next verse that all creation is but a visible ‘sign’ or ‘revelation’ of God’s existence and purposeful activity, as well as of the God-willed continuation of all life in the hereafter.”

50. “Therein,” i.e., both in the earth and in the heavens. Mujahid thought that by the words “living creatures” it is humans and angels that are meant (Ibn Jarir). Ibn Kathir thinks that Jinn and animals are included by default.

But Alusi objects to the above interpretations since “dabbah” is primarily for creeping creatures which could be extended to include all kinds of animals, but not humans, Jinn or angels. It could be concluded therefore, that apart from the earth, there can be some kind of animals and other living creatures in other parts of the universe.

With reference to Alusi’s opinion above, one should appreciate how little Muslim scholars were influenced by the Jewish and Christian literatures despite consulting them so often. Rationalism, and freedom from superstition and influences of folklore, have yet remained the hallmark of Islamic mind. In this instance, it was not but three hundred years before Islam that Saint Augustine, the greatest man ever in Christianity after St. Paul, believed that on this earth (not in the atmosphere where, according to the Christians, more weird creatures existed) such beings lived as, e.g., “Sciopodes who could shelter themselves from the sun in the shade of one foot, or the Cynocephali, who had dogs’ heads and barked” (although otherwise, both were thought to be human: Au.). According to Saint Augustine both Sciopodes and Cynocephali, would have to be included as equal citizens when God’s own city is established in the lands following the teachings of Jesus Christ. The source of this information is no less than Saint Augustine’s own book: The City of God. Refer its abridged edition, Image Books, USA, 1958.

In fact, life in places other than the earth has been an agonizing thought for the orthodox Jews and Christians.

Every time the scientists announce that there is evidence of life elsewhere in the universe, they have anxious moments, to regain their self only when they retract their statements.

Although there have been stray opinions (see We are Not Alone by Walter Sullivan, Plume Books), what bothers the Jews is, if there is intelligent life elsewhere, then, how can the earthian Jews remain the chosen people of God; and what is excruiating for the Christians is that if there is intelligent life elsewhere, then, how can God’s salvation work there taking into consideration the fact that He has sent his ‘only begotten Son,’ and the ‘only means of salvation’ - Jesus Christ - to the earth? (Au.).