Surah 30. Ar-Rum

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Verses [Section]: 1-10[1], 11-19 [2], 20-27 [3], 28-40 [4], 41-53 [5], 54-60 [6]

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Quran Text of Verse 11-19اَللّٰهُAllahیَبْدَؤُاoriginatesالْخَلْقَthe creationثُمَّthenیُعِیْدُهٗHe repeats itثُمَّthenاِلَیْهِto Himتُرْجَعُوْنَ you will be returned وَ یَوْمَAnd (the) Dayتَقُوْمُwill (be) establishedالسَّاعَةُthe Hourیُبْلِسُwill (be in) despairالْمُجْرِمُوْنَ the criminals وَ لَمْAnd notیَكُنْwill beلَّهُمْfor themمِّنْamongشُرَكَآىِٕهِمْtheirs partnersشُفَعٰٓؤُاany intercessorsوَ كَانُوْاand they will beبِشُرَكَآىِٕهِمْin their partnersكٰفِرِیْنَ disbelievers وَ یَوْمَAnd (the) Dayتَقُوْمُwill (be) establishedالسَّاعَةُthe Hourیَوْمَىِٕذٍthat Dayیَّتَفَرَّقُوْنَ they will become separated فَاَمَّاThen as forالَّذِیْنَthose whoاٰمَنُوْاbelievedوَ عَمِلُواand didالصَّلِحٰتِrighteous deedsفَهُمْso theyفِیْinرَوْضَةٍa Gardenیُّحْبَرُوْنَ will be delighted 30. Ar-Rum Page 406وَ اَمَّاBut as forالَّذِیْنَthose whoكَفَرُوْاdisbelievedوَ كَذَّبُوْاand deniedبِاٰیٰتِنَاOur Signsوَ لِقَآئِand (the) meetingالْاٰخِرَةِ(of) the Hereafterفَاُولٰٓىِٕكَthen thoseفِیinالْعَذَابِthe punishmentمُحْضَرُوْنَ (will be) brought forth فَسُبْحٰنَSo glory be toاللّٰهِAllahحِیْنَwhenتُمْسُوْنَyou reach the eveningوَ حِیْنَand whenتُصْبِحُوْنَ you reach the morning وَ لَهُAnd for Himالْحَمْدُ(are) all praisesفِیinالسَّمٰوٰتِthe heavensوَ الْاَرْضِand the earthوَ عَشِیًّاand (at) nightوَّ حِیْنَand whenتُظْهِرُوْنَ you are at noon یُخْرِجُHe brings forthالْحَیَّthe livingمِنَfromالْمَیِّتِthe deadوَ یُخْرِجُand He brings forthالْمَیِّتَthe deadمِنَfromالْحَیِّthe livingوَ یُحْیِand He gives lifeالْاَرْضَ(to) the earthبَعْدَafterمَوْتِهَا ؕits deathوَ كَذٰلِكَand thusتُخْرَجُوْنَ۠you will be brought forth

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Translation of Verse 11-19

(30:11) Allah creates in the first instance and will later repeat it.¹³ Thereafter it is to Him that you shall be sent back.

(30:12) On that Day when the Hour will come to pass,¹⁴ the criminals shall be dumbfounded.¹⁵

(30:13) None whom they had associated with Allah in His Divinity will intercede on their behalf;¹⁶ rather, they will disown those whom they had set up as Allah's associates in His Divinity.¹⁷

(30:14) On that Day when the Hour will come to pass, people will be split into groups.¹⁸

(30:15) Then those who believed and acted righteously will be placed in a Garden¹⁹ and will be happy and jubilant.²⁰

(30:16) As for those who disbelieved²¹ and gave the lie to Our Signs and to the encounter of the Hereafter, they will be arraigned for chastisement.

(30:17) So²² glorify Allah²³ in the evening and the morning.

(30:18) His is all praise in the heavens and in the earth; (and glorify Him) in the afternoon and when the sun begins to decline.²⁴

(30:19) He brings forth the living from the dead and brings forth the dead from the living, and revives the earth after it is dead.²⁵ Likewise will you be raised to life (after you die).

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Commentary

13. This statement is couched in terms of an assertion. However, the assertion is also inclusive of its supportive argument. For common sense requires that He Who was able to bring all His creatures into existence in the first instance will definitely be able to recreate them. The initial act of creation is obviously a fact that is recognized by all. In fact, even the unbelievers and polytheists acknowledge this to be God’s act, the act of the Supreme Deity. It would be absolutely puerile, then, to contend that God, Who in their own belief is the initial Creator of all, lacks the power to recreate them.

14. That is, the Hour when everyone will be returned to God to face His reckoning.

15. The verb used here is derived from the verbal noun iblas which denotes puzzlement caused by the shock of grief, utter perplexity in the face of total despair, bewilderment at the inability to explain one’s conduct. When this verb is used in the context of a culprit, it brings out the image of a criminal caught red-handed. Such is his predicament that there is no way for him either to flee or to obtain his release by satisfactorily explaining his conduct. He is thus left speechless in a state of utter despair and quandary.

It would be pertinent to clarify at this stage what is meant by the word mujrimun (criminals). The significance of this term is not confined to those who are guilty of murder, theft, robbery and other crimes of the kind.

The term also applies to those who are guilty of rebellion against God, who disown the teachings and guidance of His Messengers, who deny or are heedless of accountability in the Next Life, who serve others rather than the One True God, and who worship their own carnal desires. Such people are criminals in God’s sight regardless of whether their basically erroneous attitude is combined with what is designated in common parlance as “crime” or not. The term “criminals” is also applicable to those who, despite affirming belief in God, in the Messengers, and in the Hereafter, deliberately disobey God and persist in this disobedience till their very last breath.

16. Three types of beings are usually associated with God in His Divinity. To the first category belong angels, Prophets, saints, martyrs and pious people whom the polytheists invest with Divine attributes, and for whom they consecrate worship rituals. On the Day of Judgement, these beings will plainly tell their devotees that the latter had engaged in polytheistic acts without the consent of the objects themselves; rather, that they had done so in violation of their teachings. They will thus disown them altogether. They will also make it quite clear that they will.

not intercede with God on their behalf.

The second category is comprised of objects that are devoid of consciousness or even life - the sun, the moon, the planets, trees, stones and animals. Polytheists elevated these objects to Godhead, worshipped them, and addressed prayers to them. Those objects, however, are totally _ unaware that human beings, whom God designated as His vicegerent, are engaged in such adoration. As things stand, none of these objects will be in a position to intercede with God on behalf of their devotees in the Next Life.

The third category consists of those who are notorious for their evil, those who exerted their efforts, had recourse to deception, falsehood and trickery and did not shrink from using force in order to make God's creatures serve and worship them. These include Satan, false religious leaders and tyrannical and oppressive rulers. In the Next Life they will be absolutely helpless; in fact, they will face severe reckoning and punishment. They will be in no position to speak on behalf of their devotees. If anything, they will rather seek to save themselves or secure relief for themselves by pleading that their devotees were responsible for the crimes that they committed, and that they should not be taken to task for their devotees’ waywardness. In sum, on the Day of Judgement the polytheists will receive no help from any quarter.

17. On the Day of Judgement, the polytheists will confess their mistake of associating others with God in His Divinity. It will then be quite evident to them that their false gods do not even have the least share in Divinity.

They will thus disown in the Next World the very polytheism to which they obdurately cling in the present world.

18. All collective entities that have held people together in the world entities based on an affinity to a common nation, race, homeland, language, tribe, vocation or community of economic and political interests — will dissolve on the Day of Judgement. Human beings will then be grouped together afresh in consideration of their faith and conduct alone. To one group will belong pious believers from all nations down the ages. The other group will comprise all those who held on to a variety of erroneous beliefs and a whole range of erroneous behavior. Islam recognizes only one legitimate basis for distinguishing between people— their beliefs and their conduct. It recognizes this as the primary reason for considering a group of people to belong to one collectivity as distinct from the other in this world as well as in the Next. The votaries of Ignorance, however, vehemently disagree with this view.

From the Islamic viewpoint, faith and morals constitute the core that unifies or divides some people from others. All those who embrace the true faith and seek to mold their lives in accordance with God’s Guidance constitute a single community, no matter to which part of the globe they belong. Likewise, those who reject the true faith and disobey God constitute another community, regardless of the territory or race to which they belong.

These two communities are distinct from each other; they cannot be a common entity. The members of these two entities neither have a common way of life in this world nor will they encounter the same end in the Hereafter. Their paths as well as their destiny are different from this world to the Next. However, the devotees of Ignorance have insisted throughout history, as they do now, that human beings should be grouped together on the basis of their affinity to race, country or language.

All those who share such commonalities should be considered as one collective entity irrespective of their creed as against people belonging to other collective entities. Such an entity then should have a common pattern of life that is able to accommodate the devotees of the One True God and the polytheists as well as those who do not believe in God and all under one umbrella.

This was also the view entertained at the time of the Prophet (peace be on him) by people like Abu Jahl and Abu Lahab and the chiefs of the Quraysh. Hence why they reproached the Prophet Muhammad (peace be on him), contending that he had created division in the ranks of their people. By way of response, the Qur’an makes it clear that in the Hereafter all false entities that had come into vogue in this world will be dissolved and people will ultimately be grouped together according to their creed and worldview, their character and conduct. This is what Islam seeks to accomplish. The premise being that the ways of life of those who will ultimately have different ends cannot be the same in this world.

19. Here the glory and splendor of the Garden are emphasized. Since this Garden is mentioned as a reward from God, it is not to be interpreted literally to mean that there will only be one Garden in the Next World.

Instead, what is really intended by the expression “a Garden” is the unique value of what people will receive as reward —a Garden that will simply make them feel ecstatic with joy.

20. The Qur’anic expression yuhbarun encompasses elements of happiness, delight, honor, glory and veneration. Thus, those who will be placed in Paradise will be shown honor, they will be happy and jubilant, and will enjoy all kinds of joy and delight.

21. It is noteworthy that belief is bracketed with acting righteously, and those who possess both are promised immense reward on that account (see v. 15). However, while speaking of the terrible consequences of disbelief, no reference has been made to evil deeds ensuing from it (see v. 16). This indicates that disbelieving will suffice to wreck one’s ultimate end, whether one commits other misdeeds along with it or not.

22. Use of the word fa (“so”) in the verse signifies the following: they have now come to know that belief coupled with righteous action leads to one kind of end and disbelieving and decrying the true faith as false to another. This should make them glorify God both in the evening and in the morning.

Use of the word fa (“so”) also has another significance. The unbelievers dismissed the Hereafter as something improbable. In so doing they perceived God as One devoid of absolute power, as One unable to enforce His will. The believers are being told that the way to undermine this false notion is to celebrate God’s glory and proclaim that He is free from every weakness. This directive is addressed to the Prophet (peace be on him) and through him to all believers.

23. To glorify God encompasses the declaration that He is above and beyond all the shortcomings, defects and weaknesses which the polytheists attribute to Him; this because of their adherence to polytheism and their denial of the Hereafter.

The best way to glorify God is to observe Prayer. For this reason, ‘Abd Allah ibn ‘Abbas, Mujahid, Qatadah, Ibn Zayd and some other Qur’anic scholars maintain that the celebration of God’s glory in this verse means to observe Prayer. This interpretation is borne out by the Qur’anic text itself. For the verse specifies certain hours to celebrate God’s glory. Had the intention been merely to state the principle that the believers should’ look upon God as absolutely perfect and free from every weakness and imperfection, that would not have called for prescribing morning, evening, afternoon and when the sun begins to decline as the scheduled times to celebrate His glory. For evidently to hold on to the belief that God is free from every imperfection and weakness, it would make little sense to tie it with morning, evening, afternoon and with the time when the sun begins to decline. As the verse links glorifying God with these appointed hours the unmistakable reference here is to a definite form in which this act is required to be performed and that can be none other than Prayer.

24. The verse makes a pointed reference to the appointed times of four Prayers that ought to be performed —- Fajr, Maghrib, ‘Asr and Zuhr.

Additional allusions to times of Prayers have been made in the following Qur’anic verses: “Establish Prayer from the declining of the sun to the darkness of the night; and hold fast to the recitation of the Qur’an at dawn”, (Surah Bani Isra’il 17:78). “Establish the Prayer at the two ends of the day and in the first hours of the night”, (Hud 11:114). “Glorify your Lord, praising Him before sunrise and before sunset, and glorify Him in the watches of the night and at the ends of the day”, (Ta Ha 20:130).

Of these, the verse in Bani Isra’il (17:78) indicates the time of Maghrib Prayer: “from the declining of the sun to the darkness of the night; and hold fast to the recitation of the Qur’an at dawn’. It also indicates the time of Fajr Prayer. Hud 11:114 speaks of Fajr, Maghrib and ‘Isha’ Prayers while the verse Ta Ha 20:130, refers to the appointed hours of Fajr and ‘Asr Prayers. As to the Prayers “in the watches of the night”, they obviously refer to Maghrib and ‘Isha’ Prayers. The three ends of the day are dawn, noon and sunset which allude to the appointed times of Fajr, Zuhr and Maghrib Prayers.

Thus the Qur’an alludes to the times of all five Prayers that Muslims offer every day the world over. However, it is obvious that were a person to merely read the above Qur’anic passages, it would not be possible for him to precisely fix the time of these five Prayers unless he were to look to the words and deeds of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be on him), whom God raised as the teacher of the Qur’an. By his precept and practice, he further explained and elucidated the appointed times of the five daily Prayers.

(For further information see Tabari, Tafsir, comments on al-Rum 30:17 - Ed.) Let us pause here for a moment and consider the audacity of those who reject Hadith as unreliable. They make fun of the Prayers offered by Muslims, claiming that they are not at all what the Qur’an had commanded. They contend that offering Prayers is quite different from the Qur’anic command “to establish Prayer” which, in their opinion, means establishing the system of Divine Providence* should this * Even though the author does not specifically mention the name of the group that expounded this view, it is quite obvious that he is referring here to Mr. Ghulam Ahmad Parwez (d. 1985) who expressed the ideas mentioned here in a great many of his writings but especially in the monthly journal Tulu ‘i Islam.

proposition be accepted. One might ask them: what kind of system is it that can be set up before sunrise or from sunset until early night or on Fridays? For the Qur’an pointedly asks that Friday Prayer be performed: “When the call is made to Prayer on Friday, hasten to the remembrance of Allah”, (Al-Jumu‘ah 62:9). If one were to accept the view that the establishment of Prayer means setting up a system of Divine Providence, it is inexplicable how such a system could be put into effect by washing one’s face and hands up to the elbows and feet up to the ankles and wiping over one’s head.

It is significant that without this washing ritual, wudu, one cannot ‘establish this system! We say so, because the Qur’an prescribes it as a precondition for Prayer: “When you stand up for Prayer, wash your faces and hands up to the elbows”, (al-Ma‘idah 5:6). Again, what is quite peculiar is that this system cannot be established if one is in a state of ritual defilement whereby one is obliged to take a bath before approaching “this system”. “Do not draw near to the Prayer...while you are defiled until you have washed yourselves save when you are travelling”, (al- Nisa’ 4:43). Equally intriguing is the fact that if one has had “contact with women” and is unable to obtain water, one should strike one’s hands on clean clay and wipe them over one’s face so that one might establish this system! Just consider this verse: “If you have had contact with women and can find no water, then betake yourselves to pure earth, passing with it lightly over your face and your hands”, (al-Nisa’ 4:43). Moreover, were one to accept the above interpretation of establishing Prayer as meaning the establishment of the system of Divine Providence, it is quaint that one is required to establish only half of the system, if one is on a journey! “When you go forth journeying in the land, there is no blame on you if you shorten the Prayer”, (al-Nisa’ 4:101).

It is patently absurd, therefore, to construe the performance of Prayer to mean the establishment of some system. For, the ludicrous implication of this assumption would be that during warfare, half of the soldiers, with their weapons on their persons should remain engaged in establishing the system while the rest should take on the enemy! Then, after the former division of the army performs one prostration, while setting up _ this system, they-should rise and resume fighting the enemy and the latter should replace them and start establishing the system behind the imam! Consider the following verse: “(O Messenger!) If you are among the believers and rise (in the state of war) to lead the Prayer for them, let a party of them stand with you to worship, keeping their arms. When they have prostrated, let them go behind you and let another party who have not yet prayed, pray with you, remaining | on guard and keeping their arms”, (al-Nisa 4:102).

It is perfectly clear from all the relevant verses that wherever the expression “iqamat al-salah” (establishment of Prayer) is used in the Qur’an, the obvious meaning is the establishment of those same Prayers that Muslims observe across the world. However, it is evident that those who reject the Hadith, would fain change the meaning of the Qur’an rather than try to change themselves in keeping with the imperatives of the Book.

Itis not until one becomes altogether impudent and audacious with God that one can come up with such a funny view regarding Prayer. Only those who in their heart of hearts do not consider the Qur’an to be the Word of God can indulge in such preposterous statements. Such people are in fact only exploiting the name of the Qur’an to mislead others. (In this regard see also n. 50 below.)

25. Man is reminded here of some of God’s acts such as bringing forth the living from the dead and the dead from the living-and reviving the earth after it is dead (that is, after it has been rendered bereft of all signs of fertility). All these acts of God are observed by everyone day in and day out. How, then, can it even be conceived that God will be unable to revive man after he dies? Let us not forget that it is the same God Who makes living humans and animals regularly discharge waste matter which has apparently no sign of life. At the same time, He infuses life into dead matter and brings into existence countless living beings — animals, plants, and human beings — even though the constituents of which these living beings are composed are devoid of life. God also grants man the opportunity to constantly observe that barren patches of dead land are instantly revived by water and begin to pour out a luxuriant treasure of plant and animal life. Anyone who observes all this and still remains unconvinced that the Omnipotent God Who superintends the entire scheme of existence would be powerless to resurrect human beings after they die certainly suffers from intellectual blindness.