Surah 25. Al-Furqan

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Verses [Section]: 1-9[1], 10-20 [2], 21-34 [3], 35-44 [4], 45-60 [5], 61-77 [6]

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Quran Text of Verse 45-60اَلَمْDo you notتَرَseeاِلٰی[to]رَبِّكَyour LordكَیْفَhowمَدَّHe extendsالظِّلَّ ۚthe shadowوَ لَوْAnd ifشَآءَHe willedلَجَعَلَهٗsurely He (could) have made itسَاكِنًا ۚstationaryثُمَّThenجَعَلْنَاWe madeالشَّمْسَthe sunعَلَیْهِfor itدَلِیْلًاۙan indication ثُمَّThenقَبَضْنٰهُWe withdraw itاِلَیْنَاto Usقَبْضًاa withdrawalیَّسِیْرًا gradual وَ هُوَAnd Heالَّذِیْ(is) the One Whoجَعَلَmadeلَكُمُfor youالَّیْلَthe nightلِبَاسًا(as) a coveringوَّ النَّوْمَand the sleepسُبَاتًاa restوَّ جَعَلَand madeالنَّهَارَthe dayنُشُوْرًا a resurrection وَ هُوَAnd Heالَّذِیْۤ(is) the One Whoاَرْسَلَsendsالرِّیٰحَthe windsبُشْرًۢا(as) glad tidingsبَیْنَbeforeیَدَیْbeforeرَحْمَتِهٖ ۚHis Mercyوَ اَنْزَلْنَاand We send downمِنَfromالسَّمَآءِthe skyمَآءًwaterطَهُوْرًاۙpure لِّنُحْیِ َۧThat We may give lifeبِهٖtherebyبَلْدَةً(to) a landمَّیْتًاdeadوَّ نُسْقِیَهٗand We give drinkمِمَّاthereofخَلَقْنَاۤ(to those) We createdاَنْعَامًاcattleوَّ اَنَاسِیَّand menكَثِیْرًا many وَ لَقَدْAnd verilyصَرَّفْنٰهُWe have distributed itبَیْنَهُمْamong themلِیَذَّكَّرُوْا ۖؗthat they may rememberفَاَبٰۤیbut refuseاَكْثَرُmostالنَّاسِ(of) the peopleاِلَّاexceptكُفُوْرًا disbelief وَ لَوْAnd ifشِئْنَاWe willedلَبَعَثْنَاsurely We (would) have raisedفِیْinكُلِّeveryقَرْیَةٍtownنَّذِیْرًاؗۖa warner فَلَاSo (do) notتُطِعِobeyالْكٰفِرِیْنَthe disbelieversوَ جَاهِدْهُمْand strive (against) themبِهٖwith itجِهَادًاa strivingكَبِیْرًا great وَ هُوَAnd Heالَّذِیْ(is) the One Whoمَرَجَ(has) releasedالْبَحْرَیْنِthe two seasهٰذَا[this] (one)عَذْبٌpalatableفُرَاتٌand sweetوَّ هٰذَاand [this] (one)مِلْحٌsaltyاُجَاجٌ ۚ(and) bitterوَ جَعَلَand He has madeبَیْنَهُمَاbetween themبَرْزَخًاa barrierوَّ حِجْرًاand a partitionمَّحْجُوْرًا forbidden وَ هُوَAnd Heالَّذِیْ(is) the One Whoخَلَقَhas createdمِنَfromالْمَآءِthe waterبَشَرًاhuman beingفَجَعَلَهٗand has made (for) himنَسَبًاblood relationshipوَّ صِهْرًا ؕand marriage relationshipوَ كَانَAnd isرَبُّكَyour Lordقَدِیْرًا All-Powerful وَ یَعْبُدُوْنَBut they worshipمِنْbesides Allahدُوْنِbesides Allahاللّٰهِbesides Allahمَاwhatلَاnot profits themیَنْفَعُهُمْnot profits themوَ لَاand notیَضُرُّهُمْ ؕharms themوَ كَانَand isالْكَافِرُthe disbelieverعَلٰیagainstرَبِّهٖhis Lordظَهِیْرًا a helper 25. Al-Furqan Page 365وَ مَاۤAnd notاَرْسَلْنٰكَWe sent youاِلَّاexceptمُبَشِّرًا(as) a bearer of glad tidingsوَّ نَذِیْرًا and a warner قُلْSayمَاۤNotاَسْـَٔلُكُمْI ask (of) youعَلَیْهِfor itمِنْanyاَجْرٍpaymentاِلَّاexceptمَنْ(that) whoever willsشَآءَ(that) whoever willsاَنْtoیَّتَّخِذَtakeاِلٰیtoرَبِّهٖhis Lordسَبِیْلًا a way وَ تَوَكَّلْAnd put your trustعَلَیinالْحَیِّthe Ever-Livingالَّذِیْthe One Whoلَاdoes not dieیَمُوْتُdoes not dieوَ سَبِّحْand glorifyبِحَمْدِهٖ ؕwith His Praiseوَ كَفٰیAnd sufficient isبِهٖHeبِذُنُوْبِregarding the sinsعِبَادِهٖ(of) His slavesخَبِیْرَاAll-Aware لَّذِیْThe One Whoخَلَقَcreatedالسَّمٰوٰتِthe heavensوَ الْاَرْضَand the earthوَ مَاand whateverبَیْنَهُمَا(is) between themفِیْinسِتَّةِsixاَیَّامٍperiodsثُمَّthenاسْتَوٰیHe established Himselfعَلَیoverالْعَرْشِ ۛۚthe Throneاَلرَّحْمٰنُthe Most Graciousفَسْـَٔلْso askبِهٖHimخَبِیْرًا (as He is) All-Aware وَ اِذَاAnd whenقِیْلَit is saidلَهُمُto themاسْجُدُوْاProstrateلِلرَّحْمٰنِto the Most GraciousقَالُوْاThey sayوَ مَاAnd whatالرَّحْمٰنُ ۗ(is) the Most GraciousاَنَسْجُدُShould we prostrateلِمَاto whatتَاْمُرُنَاyou order usوَ زَادَهُمْAnd it increases themنُفُوْرًا۠۩(in) aversion

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Translation of Verse 45-60

(25:45) Have you not seen how your Lord spreads the shade? If He will, He could have made it stationary; instead, We have made the sun its pilot.⁵⁸

(25:46) So (as the sun rises), We gradually roll up that shade unto Us.⁵⁹

(25:47) It is Allah Who has made night a garment for you,⁶⁰ and sleep the repose (of death), and has made day the time of rising to life.⁶¹

(25:48) And He it is Who sends forth the winds as glad tidings, heralding His Mercy. Then We send down pure water⁶² from the sky

(25:49) that We may revive through it a dead land and give it for drink to many cattle and human beings from among Our creation.⁶³

(25:50) We present this wondrous phenomenon to them over and over again⁶⁴ that they may learn a lesson from it. But most people simply decline everything except disbelief and ingratitude.⁶⁵

(25:51) Had We so willed, We would have raised up in every town a warner.⁶⁶

(25:52) So, (O Prophet), do not follow the unbelievers but engage in a mighty striving against them with this Qur'an.⁶⁷

(25:53) And He it is Who has joined the two seas: one sweet and palatable and the other saltish and bitter; and He has set a barrier and an insurmountable obstruction between the two that keeps them apart.⁶⁸

(25:54) And He it is Who has created man from water and then produced from him two sorts of kindred: by descent and by marriage. Your Lord is All-Powerful.⁶⁹

(25:55) And yet people worship deities other than Allah that can neither benefit them nor hurt them. Besides, the unbeliever is ever prone to come to the support of everyone who rebels against his Lord.⁷⁰

(25:56) We have not sent you, (O Muhammad), except as a bearer of good tidings and a warner.⁷¹

(25:57) Say to them: "I ask of you no reward for my work. My only reward is that whoever so wills may follow the way leading to His Lord."71a

(25:58) (O Muhammad), put your trust in Him Who is Ever-Living, Who will never die, and glorify Him with His praise. He suffices as the Knower of the sins of His servants,

(25:59) He Who created the heavens and the earth and all that is in between them in six days, and then ascended the Throne;⁷² the Merciful One. Ask concerning Him the one who knows.

(25:60) When they are told: "Prostrate yourselves before the Merciful One," they say: "What is the Merciful One? Shall we prostrate ourselves before whomsoever you command us to prostrate?"⁷³ This even further increases their aversion.⁷⁴

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Commentary

58. The word dalil has been used here in exactly the same sense in which the word "pilot" is used in English. In seafaring terminology, dalil is the person who guides the boats. To say that the sun is a dalil of the shade means that the lengthening and shortening of the shade is dependent on the rise and decline of the sun. 'Shade', here denotes the state between light and darkness, the state that we observe before sunrise, or which we find during the day by the side of buildings or under trees.

59. To "roll up that shade unto Us" means to cause a thing to vanish, to for whatever vanishes or becomes extinct returns to drive it out of God. From Him everything issues and to Him everything ultimately returns.

There are two levels of meaning in this verse. In its exoteric sense, it is addressed to the unbelievers who are immersed in heedlessness and negligence and it tells them: If you had not been living like cattle and if you had even carefully observed the movement of the shade you would have realized that the Message of the Oneness of God which the Prophet (peace be on him) has brought to you is true. Your own lives depend on the lengthening and shortening of the shade. Now, had the shade been made permanent, no life or vegetation would have been left on earth for life's continuation requires both the heat and the light of the sun. In like manner, were there to be no shade, there would be no life.

Constant exposure to the light and heat of the sun would kill everything. No living being or vegetation would have survived perpetual sunshine; and water too would have vanished. Additionally, were there to be dramatic changes so that sunshine and shade suddenly alternated with one another, this too would not have allowed life to continue. So it is the Creator and the Lord Who by dint of His Infinite Power and Wisdom has established such a sustained correlation between the earth and the sun that each moves strictly in its orbit, and shade gradually passes through the phases of lengthening and shortening, and sunshine too gradually increases and decreases. This delicate system could not have come into existence by itself, nor could it have been the outcome of the blind working of nature. Nor could it have continued with such precision had there been a multiplicity of gods each endowed with some degree of power and authority.

Behind this apparent meaning there is a further subtle undertone which suggests that the present dark shade of ignorance and unbelief will not endure. The sun of guidance has appeared in the person of Muhammad (peace be on him) and although the dark shade apparently embraces a vast territory, it is bound to be rolled up as the sun of guidance rises. One needs, however, to be patient because God's Law does not bring about sudden changes. In the physical world we see that both the sun rises and the shade shrinks slowly. The same will happen in the realm of thought, belief and morality: as the sun of guidance slowly rises, the dark shade of error will begin to shrink slowly and will gradually disappear.

60. The term "garment" denotes that which covers and hides.

61. This verse contains three meanings. First, it is an argument in support taw experience to prove that Life after Death is possible. Third, it is a subtle hint to the tidings that the night of ignorance has come to its end, and that the Second, it has recourse to common human observation and experience to prove that life after death is possible. It is a subtle hint to the tidings that the night of ignorance has come to its end, and that the bright day of knowledge, guidance and wisdom has risen. Hence, it is now inevitable that all those who are presently in slumber will sooner or later wake up, all except those whose sleep is the sleep of death. However, those who fail to wake up will suffer loss, for the business of the day will continue without them.

62. That is, God sends water from the sky which is free from impurities, harmful elements, and germs. It cleans and purifies whatever it comes into contact with, and also serves as a source of life and nourishment for humans, animals and plants.

63. This verse also carries the same three aspects of meanings as the preceding verse. It furnishes arguments for taw hid and the Hereafter. It also contains a subtle suggestion to the effect that the time of ignorance was, in fact, a time of famine and drought in which humanity was struck by barrenness. God has now sent down the clouds of Mercy through Prophet hood and the pure water of revelation has begun to pour down. If not all, then at least a great many of God's creatures will benefit from this.

64. La-qad surrafnahu ("We present this wondrous phenomenon to them over and over") has three possible interpretations. First, that God has repeatedly mentioned rainfall in the Qur’an as the cause of the resurrection of the land that had become dead to drive home certain truths to them. Second, that God shows, over and over, the wondrous results of the interplay of heat and drought, and of cloud and rain which causes life to bloom in all its splendor. Third that God constantly keeps the rainfall rotating. Sometimes He sends it down in one place in abundance, sometimes in just the right quantity, and sometimes He does not send any rain at all, and sometimes He sends down water in huge quantities, causing floods. All of these give rise to diverse results.

65. There are three aspects this verse. As an argument for tawhid, it invites the unbelievers to ponder over the whole system of rainfall. Even this simple phenomenon provides so many proofs of God's existence, of His different attributes, and of His being the only Lord of the Universe that nothing else is needed to persuade people to believe in the message of tawhid brought by the Prophet (peace be on him). However, despite the repeated invitation to reflect on this Message and despite the fact that the people frequently witness this wondrous system of water distribution throughout the world, they learn no lesson from their observations. Nor are they persuaded to believe in the Truth and Reality. Nor are they thankful for the cognitive abilities that God has granted them nor for the favor that the Qur’an explains to them whatever had eluded their understanding.

In its second aspect, the verse furnishes an argument for the Hereafter. Considered in this context, it explains to the unbelievers several observable realities: every year they observe the death of many plants and insects and small creeping animals due to heat and drought. This is followed by their rebirth as a result of rainfall. Yet even after observing this, they remain adamant in their rejection and disbelief and continue to hold the After-Life as impossible. They also continue to be thankless for God's endowment of reason and understanding. Nor do they gratefully respond to the Truth even though God has adequately imparted it to them and duly reminded them of their duty towards it.

The third aspect of the verse associates drought with ignorance and rain with Revelation and Prophet hood. Seen in this context, the verse means that whenever humanity was bereft of the blessings of Divine Books and Prophets, it became barren and devoid of lofty ideals and a wholesome body of morals derived from that source. Conversely, whenever mankind turned to revelation and Divine Guidance, human life blossomed, ignorance was replaced with knowledge, injustice with justice and immorality with the observance of moral virtues.

The coming of the Prophets has always been of immense benefit to mankind. It has always heralded a new era characterized by righteousness and has inspired a revolution in the moral and intellectual life of society Never in human history has the coming of a Prophet led to any evil. On the contrary, humanity has always suffered by ignoring and denying the Message of the Prophets. This is a truth which is well borne out by history and the Qur’an repeatedly asserts it. But even though this Truth is testified to by thousands of years of human history, the unbelievers continue to deny it. Not surprisingly, the same happened in Arabia. When the people of Arabia were blessed with a Prophet and a Divine Book, instead of being grateful to God they seemed bent on remaining ungrateful to Him.

66. It was not beyond God's power to do so. Had He so willed, He would have raised a Prophet in every nook and corner of the world. But He did not do so and instead raised a Prophet for the whole world. Just like one sun is enough for the whole earth, this one sun of guidance was deemed sufficient for the whole of humanity.

67. The "mighty striving" mentioned in this verse has three connotations: (i) to exert one's utmost, sparing no effort; (ii) to launch a vigorous struggle to which all one's resources are devoted; and (iii) to engage in a pervasive striving in which one leaves nothing to chance but to which one pays attention to all its fronts devoting one's available resources. "Mighty striving", thus, means to fight the enemy on all fronts in order to raise the banner of Truth regardless of whether that involves fighting with the pen or the tongue, fighting with one's wealth or life. Such a fight is not confined to but does include armed struggle.

68. This happens wherever a larger river flows into the sea. There are springs of sweet water at several locations in different seas where the sweet water remains separate from the salty water of the sea. Sayyidi 'Ali Ra'is, a Turkish admiral of the sixteenth century, mentions in his work, Mir'at al-Mamalik.

one such place in the Persian Gulf. He writes that he found springs of sweet water under the salty water of the sea and drew drinking water from there for his fellow sailors. In more recent times, when the Arabian American Oil Company began drilling oil wells in Saudi Arabia, they used the water of the same springs of the Persian Gulf as drinking water until the wells in the vicinity of Dhahran were dug. Also, near Bahrain, there are springs of sweet water under the sea from which people have drawn upon for ages.

This verse identifies this wondrous manifestation of God's omnipotence as evidence of His Unicity. But there is an additional, albeit more subtle, meaning implicit in the verse too. No matter how bitter and salty the ocean of human society may become, God can always produce a righteous group of people in the same manner that He can produce a spring of sweet water in the depths of a salty ocean. This spring of sweet water cannot be gulped down by the waves of salty water no matter what.

69. That is to say, it was enough of a wonder to create human beings out of a mean and abject drop of liquid. But wonder upon wonders, God created not one but two kinds of human beings - male and female. They are similar insofar as the nature of each is human, but different' in their physiological and psychological characteristics. Furthermore, the differences that exist between the two, instead of making them mutually opposed in fact make them into complementary entities characterizing mutual harmony and consonance. It is by the union between these two that God has created millions of men and women who are bound to each other in relationships ranging from spouses to children to grandchildren and to in-laws. Additionally, God has created unifying bonds among them in such a way as gives rise to races, civilizations and empires. There is also a subtle point here which hints at the wisdom behind the interplay of the opposites in the universe. The fact that results are obtained by the union of opposites should strengthen the believers' hearts by reminding them that opposition to their message will eventually lead to some positive result.

70. Wherever efforts are made to exalt the Word of God and to put His Law into effect, the unbelievers always oppose such efforts; they are the rebels against God. If someone tries to do something in accordance with the Law of God, the unbelievers resist, discourage and oppose such efforts even if it be no more than raising their brow in displeasure. Every news of disobedience to God brings them joy; conversely, every news of obedience hits them like an arrow.

71. It is not part of the Prophet's task to reward the believers or to punish the unbelievers. A Prophet is not appointed to force people to believe. His responsibility is no more than to give good tidings to those who would accept the Truth and warn those who would adamantly persist in their evil ways, thereby inviting God's punishment.

Wherever such things are mentioned in the Qur’an, the real addressees are the unbelievers. Verses such as these are meant to drive home to them that a Prophet is merely a selfless reformer whose only task is to convey God's Message to people and to inform them of the good and bad consequences of their deeds. God does not force people to accept His Message. If people believe, it will be to their own good: if they do not, it is they who will suffer the loss. Their attitudes, no matter what they might be, will not harm the Prophet for he has done his duty and now the matter rests between each individual and God.

Sometimes confusion arises when people fail to understand that the Prophet's (peace be on him) duty towards the Muslims too is no more than to simply convey God's Message and to announce good tidings. The Qur’an, however, repeatedly states that the role of the Prophet (peace be on him) in respect of the Muslims is not only that of a warner and bearer of good tidings, but also that he guides them, teaches them, purifies their lives and serves as their role model. He is also their magistrate, their judge and ruler whose command they are required to follow. Every command that he pronounces has the force of law which they should accept cheerfully. Hence, anyone who defines the relationship between the Prophet (peace be on him) and the Muslims in light of those verses which state that he "is bound only to deliver the Message" (for example, al-Ma 'idah 5:99) or such as the present one which identifies him only as "a bearer of good tidings and a warner" is altogether mistaken.

71(a). For more details, see Towards Understanding the Qur’an. Vol. VI, al- Mu'minun 23: n. 70, pp. I15-16.

72. For more details about God's ascension of His Throne see Towards Understanding the Qur’an, Vol. III, al-A'raf 7: nn. 41-2, pp. 33-4; Vol. IV.

Yunus, 10: n. 4, p. 7, and Had, 11: n. 7. pp. 82-3.

This verse, where the creation of the heavens and the earth in six days is mentioned belongs to that category of ambiguous verses (mutashābihat) and it is difficult to ascertain its true meaning. Perhaps the word "day" signifies a whole period of time, or denotes the same amount of time as we presently understand. (For more details see Tafhim al-Qur'an, Vol. IV, Ha Mim al-Sajdah 41: nn. 11-15.)

73. They said this in insolent playfulness and in a stubbornness rooted in staunch disbelief. This resembles Pharaoh's query to Moses: "Who is the Lord of the universe?" For quite evidently the Makkan unbelievers were not unaware of al-Rahman (the Merciful One) which the present query might be considered to imply, nor was Pharaoh unaware of the Lord of the Universe.

Some Qur’anic commentators have explained this statement by saying that use of the word al-Rahman for God was not wide spread among the Arabs at that time and hence why this query was raised. The tone of the verse indicates that the objection was not raised because of lack of knowledge but rather from defiance. For had the former been the case, God would not have chastised them for it; rather, He would have gently informed them that al-Rahman was one of His names. Besides, historically it is known that the word al-Rahman for God was commonly used among the Arabs from ancient times. (For more details see Tafhim al-Qur'an, Vol. IV, al-Sajdah 32: n. 5 and Saba' 34: n. 35.)

74. Scholars are agreed that anyone who recites or hears this verse recited should prostrate themselves. Prostration is enjoined here even though it is not considered obligatory. It is also a Sunnah that when one hears this verse one should say: "Zadanā Allahu khudu'an ma zada li al- a'da' nufaran" ("May Allah cause humility to grow in proportion to the growth of repugnance in the enemies"). (See Qurțubi, Tafsir, comments on Surah al-Furqan 25:60 - Ed.)