Surah Qaf 50:1-15 - Quran Translation Commentary

(50:14) And the Companions of the Thicket,¹⁰ and the people of Tubba`.¹¹ Each one laid the lie against the Messengers, so the threat came to be fulfilled.

(50:15) What, were We wearied by the first creation? Nay, but they are in a confused doubt about a new creation.

Commentary

2. “Majid (translated as ‘Glorious’) is one of the beautiful appellations of the Qur’an. Its glory is that of the rising sun: the more it rises on your mental and spiritual horizon, the more you are lost in admiration of its glory. Its meanings are manifest and inexhaustible. The greater your experience, the more light is your spiritual eye able to bear. And in that glory is a beauty that none can tell who has not experienced it in his soul. It is in itself the proof of the mission of the holy Prophet” (Yusuf Ali).

3. That is, Allah knows what of their body the earth consumes [and what is left out: Au.], and it is recorded in a book that preserves well (Ibn Jarir, Qurtubi, Ibn Kathir); and, therefore, why should He, who knows where every atom of a dead man’s dust lies, have any difficulty in resurrecting him? (Au.).

4. “If they deny what has been made clear to them, their minds must necessarily get into confusion. All nature declares the glory and goodness of Allah. Revelation explains the inequalities of this life and how they will be redressed in the Hereafter. If they do not accept this, they are not in a logical position. They cannot reconcile the known with the unknown” (Yusuf Ali).

5. Yusuf Ali again: “The greatest philosophers have found a difficulty in understanding the skeptical position when they contemplate the wonder and mystery of the skies with all the countless beautiful stars and planets and light in them, and laws of order, motion, and symmetry, that respond to the highest mathematical abstractions without a flaw. Can blind Chance give rise to such conditions?”

6. In the language of science, this refers to the homogeneity prevalent in the universe; that is, on a large scale, the universe is similar and symmetric, no matter in which direction we look. This has been a problem in cosmology and a challenge to the Big Bang theory. This theory states that the universe can be traced back in time to a compressed form at Planck time 10-43 s, at Planck temp. 1032 K, and Plannk density 1097 kg. m-3. At that time the universe blew up releasing pure energy. After a microsecond of the Big Bang event, the newly formed universe consisted of protons, neutrons, electrons and their antiparticles. This was the result of cooling. Within a second, all antiparticles had been annihilated, as also muons and positrons, leaving only protons, electrons, neutrons, neutrinos, photons and gravitons. This is the matter that coalesced as it further cooled to form atoms, elements, cosmic dust, stars and galaxies, while the universe kept expanding, which it still does.

Now, if the universe did start from a single invisible point of energy compressed to an unimaginable degree measurable as 1097 kg. m-3 at an equally unimaginable temperature 1032 K, just before it blew up, which assures haphazard dispersal of matter … if that really is true, then how do we explain at the galactic level the homogeneity of the universe, now as large as 15 billion light years across?

To explain with a simple example, if a little bomb is exploded, the material that is released from within the bomb cannot be predicted to be present in equal quantity in all directions. Of course, this is not a precise example, because, the Big Bang only released energy. This energy coalesced into matter over a period as the universe cooled. What is inexplicable is that when matter that was spread over one million light years or so, it coalesced in such perfect manner that we ended up with equal amount of matter no matter where we look. In the language of the Qur'an, it has no crack or flaw. Who did it? A few scientists have the answer, but they do not have the courage to say so in public. Perhaps because a priest never betrays his ignorance to his parish when it comes to an ecclesiastical matter. Today’s scientists occupy the position of priests of the past (Au.).

7. That is, he who turned to Allah often (Au.).

8. That is, emergence from the graves (Au.).

9. “Russ” is for an unplastered well.

`Ikrimah and Mujahid said that the allusion is to the well in which the unbelievers of the time killed the Messenger sent to them (Ibn Jarir). Shafi` Deobandi believes that As-hab al-Russ were the remnants of the people of Thamud. Dahh ak said that when the latter were destroyed, Saleh (asws) moved out with 4000 of his followers to a new location in Hadrmawt, and camped near a well. Subsequently a town developed around. After Saleh’s death, newer generations reverted to paganism. Allah (swt) sent them a Messenger, but they killed him, so they were destroyed.

There have been several other opinions. See Surah 25, note 41 of this work.

10. That is, the people of Shu`ayb who lived near a thicket.

11. See Surah 44, note 27 of this work for identification of Tubba`.