Surah Al-Jathiyah 45:27-37 - Quran Translation Commentary

(45:27) To Allah belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth. And the day the Hour is struck, that day the followers of falsehood shall lose out.³⁷

(45:28) You will see every nation on its knees.³⁸ Every nation summoned to its record: ‘Today you shall be recompensed for what you were doing.

(45:29) This Our Book speaks with truth against you. We were indeed recording all that you were doing.’³⁹

(45:30) Then, as for those who believed and did righteous deeds, their Lord will admit them to His mercy. That is the clear triumph

(45:31) As for those who disbelieved, ‘Were not My revelations recited to you? But you waxed proud.⁴⁰ You were a criminal people.

(45:32) When it was said, "Verily, Allah’s promise is true, and there is no doubt about the Hour," you replied, "We do not know what the Hour is. We only think it is a conjecture. We are by no means certain.’”

(45:33) And the evils of what they were doing became evident to them, and they shall be enveloped by what they were mocking.

(45:34) It will be said, ‘Today We shall forget you as you forgot the meeting of this your Day.⁴¹ Your abode is the Fire and you shall have no helpers.

(45:35) That, because you took the revelations of Allah in jest and the worldly life deceived you.’ So, today, they shall not be removed from it nor shall they be asked to make amends.

(45:36) So praise for Allah, Lord of the heavens and Lord of the earth, Lord of the worlds.⁴²

(45:37) His is the Majesty in the heavens and earth, and He is the Mighty, the Wise.

Commentary

37. “Mubtil” is difficult to translate in a single phrase such as “indulgent in falsehood.” In its most general sense, it has the meaning of indulgence in anything that is of no benefit, which is devoid of any aspect of being useful one way or another, but has every chance of being untrue in expression. So “mubtil” is someone who deals in vanities, though in this context it has the sense expressed in the translation. Ibn Kathir reports from Ibn Abi Hatim that when Sufyan Thawri visited Madinah and heard that Mu`afiri indulges in what would make people laugh, he told him, “Ya Sheikh! Are you not aware that Allah has a Day in which the ‘mubtilun’ will be in loss?” It is said that the effect of the censure could be seen in Mu`afiri’s face until the end of his life.

38. Dahhak said that this being on the knees will be at the time of reckoning (Ibn Jarir, Qurtubi). Ibn `Abbas however said that the term “jathiyyah” means “collected together” (Ibn Kathir, Qurtubi and others). Alusi shows that in classical Arabic times the term was in fact used in the sense suggested by Ibn `Abbas. Another meaning, especially among the Quraysh was “humbled.”

39. Ibn Jarir has a narrative from Ibn `Abbas which is so amazingly close to the activities at the genetic level in the cells of living organizations that one finds it hard to attribute it to coincidence. He said in reference to this verse that Allah created the Pen and commanded it to write all that was to happen. Then, after He had created the humans, He placed guardian angels over each of them and guardians over the Preserved Tablet. Every new day the guardian angels copy from the Preserved Tablet everything a man is going to do. Then, when the term is over, the provision is exhausted, and the hour has arrived, the guardian angels reach up as usual to copy down the man’s deeds of the day. The guardians of the Preserved Tablet tell them, “Its all exhausted. We do not find anything here for your man.” The guardian angels of the concerned person return to him and find him dead. Then Ibn `Abbas added, “You are Arabs. Do you not know that “istinsakh” is used for copying from a principal source?” The report is also in Ibn al-Mundhir as well as Ibn Abi Hatim (Alusi).

The above comes close to the activities in the cell where genetic message is time and again delivered by Messenger Genes, commanding what of the proteins are to be manufactured by the cell. The Messenger Genes are themselves copied from the master genes (in the DNA strands) within the well preserved nucleus (Au.).

In any case, whatever the type of recording, whenever done, and by whomsoever, once this recording itself used to be questioned. How could it be done at all? But now, with the unraveling of the mystery of DNA recording evoking incredibility, the mystery of the recording might deepen, but the occurrence cannot not evoke any skepticism. An invisible DNA chain has enough information to build a whole man. If the coded message were to be expanded, the tiny DNA has hundreds of volumes of information for making an individual. As we know pen and paper are not the only means of recording; many other possibilities have widened the scope and method of making records, even if some methods, like employed by the DNA, will ever remain mysterious (Au.).

40. It is matter of remarkable interest that although a proud man receives universal disapprobation, pride is the most common characteristic of today’s man. Although the system of life generated by the Western man brought humanity nothing but disaster, in every branch of life, man is yet not ready to admit the failure and adopt the Islamic way, despite good examples visible to him in his own country and neighborhood, for no other reason but that his racial pride cannot accept that an Arab be his guide, his prophet (Au.).

41. As a hadith of Muslim says:

“Then He (Allah) will meet with a slave and say, ‘O so and so, did I not honor you, make a leader of you, provid you a spouse, subject the horses and camels to you and allow you leadership to obtain one-fourth (of booty). He will say, ‘Surely yes.’ He will ask, ‘Did you ever consider that you will meet Me?’ He will answer, ‘No.’ He will say, ‘So I shall forget you just like you forgot Me’” (Ibn Kathir).

42. Majid comments: Even so simple a truth as that the earth is a created being stood in the need of special emphasis in view of the widely-spread worship of the ‘Mother World.’ The significant fact, says a distinguished archaeologist, about the Indus civilization is that ‘it was based on a religion precisely characteristic of present-day Hinduism. Numerous effigies of the great Mother-goddess have been found … That same devotion which Indians are now showing to Mother India they have for at least 5000 years shown to the Mother-World – the Mother Universe – which has brought both Mother India and themselves into existence and sustained and inspired them through life. This Mother-World they personified in the time of the ancient Indian civilization as the Mother-goddess, and in more recent times as Kali.’”