Surah 30. Ar-Rum

---

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

---

Quran Text of Verse 28-40ضَرَبَHe sets forthلَكُمْto youمَّثَلًاan exampleمِّنْfromاَنْفُسِكُمْ ؕyourselvesهَلْIsلَّكُمْfor youمِّنْamongمَّاwhatمَلَكَتْpossesاَیْمَانُكُمْyour right handsمِّنْanyشُرَكَآءَpartnersفِیْinمَاwhatرَزَقْنٰكُمْWe have provided youفَاَنْتُمْso youفِیْهِin itسَوَآءٌ(are) equalتَخَافُوْنَهُمْyou fear themكَخِیْفَتِكُمْas you fearاَنْفُسَكُمْ ؕyourselvesكَذٰلِكَThusنُفَصِّلُWe explainالْاٰیٰتِthe Versesلِقَوْمٍfor a peopleیَّعْقِلُوْنَ (who) use reason بَلِNayاتَّبَعَfollowالَّذِیْنَthose whoظَلَمُوْۤاdo wrongاَهْوَآءَهُمْtheir desiresبِغَیْرِwithoutعِلْمٍ ۚknowledgeفَمَنْThen whoیَّهْدِیْ(can) guideمَنْ(one) whomاَضَلَّAllah has let go astrayاللّٰهُ ؕAllah has let go astrayوَ مَاAnd notلَهُمْfor themمِّنْanyنّٰصِرِیْنَ helpers فَاَقِمْSo setوَجْهَكَyour faceلِلدِّیْنِto the religionحَنِیْفًا ؕuprightفِطْرَتَNatureاللّٰهِ(made by) Allahالَّتِیْ(upon) whichفَطَرَHe has createdالنَّاسَmankindعَلَیْهَا ؕ[on it]لَاNoتَبْدِیْلَchangeلِخَلْقِ(should there be) in the creationاللّٰهِ ؕ(of) AllahذٰلِكَThatالدِّیْنُ(is) the religionالْقَیِّمُ ۙۗthe correctوَ لٰكِنَّbutاَكْثَرَmostالنَّاسِmenلَا(do) notیَعْلَمُوْنَۗۙknow مُنِیْبِیْنَTurningاِلَیْهِto Himوَ اتَّقُوْهُand fear Himوَ اَقِیْمُواand establishالصَّلٰوةَthe prayerوَ لَاand (do) notتَكُوْنُوْاbeمِنَofالْمُشْرِكِیْنَۙthe polytheists مِنَOfالَّذِیْنَthose whoفَرَّقُوْاdivideدِیْنَهُمْtheir religionوَ كَانُوْاand becomeشِیَعًا ؕsectsكُلُّeachحِزْبٍۭpartyبِمَاin whatلَدَیْهِمْthey haveفَرِحُوْنَ rejoicing 30. Ar-Rum Page 408وَ اِذَاAnd whenمَسَّtouchesالنَّاسَmenضُرٌّhardshipدَعَوْاthey callرَبَّهُمْtheir Lordمُّنِیْبِیْنَturningاِلَیْهِto HimثُمَّThenاِذَاۤwhenاَذَاقَهُمْHe causes them to tasteمِّنْهُfrom HimرَحْمَةًMercyاِذَاbehold!فَرِیْقٌA partyمِّنْهُمْof themبِرَبِّهِمْwith their Lordیُشْرِكُوْنَۙassociate partners لِیَكْفُرُوْاSo as to denyبِمَاۤ[in] whatاٰتَیْنٰهُمْ ؕWe have granted themفَتَمَتَّعُوْا ۥThen enjoyفَسَوْفَbut soonتَعْلَمُوْنَ you will know اَمْOrاَنْزَلْنَاhave We sentعَلَیْهِمْto themسُلْطٰنًاan authorityفَهُوَand itیَتَكَلَّمُspeaksبِمَاof whatكَانُوْاthey wereبِهٖwith Himیُشْرِكُوْنَ associating وَ اِذَاۤAnd whenاَذَقْنَاWe cause men to tasteالنَّاسَWe cause men to tasteرَحْمَةًmercyفَرِحُوْاthey rejoiceبِهَا ؕthereinوَ اِنْBut ifتُصِبْهُمْafflicts themسَیِّئَةٌۢan evilبِمَاfor whatقَدَّمَتْhave sent forthاَیْدِیْهِمْtheir handsاِذَاbeholdهُمْTheyیَقْنَطُوْنَ despair اَوَ لَمْDo notیَرَوْاthey seeاَنَّthatاللّٰهَAllahیَبْسُطُextendsالرِّزْقَthe provisionلِمَنْfor whomیَّشَآءُHe willsوَ یَقْدِرُ ؕand straitens (it)اِنَّIndeedفِیْinذٰلِكَthatلَاٰیٰتٍsurely (are) Signsلِّقَوْمٍfor a peopleیُّؤْمِنُوْنَ who believe فَاٰتِSo giveذَاthe relativeالْقُرْبٰىthe relativeحَقَّهٗhis rightوَ الْمِسْكِیْنَand the poorوَ ابْنَand the wayfarerالسَّبِیْلِ ؕand the wayfarerذٰلِكَThatخَیْرٌ(is) bestلِّلَّذِیْنَfor those whoیُرِیْدُوْنَdesireوَجْهَ(the) Countenanceاللّٰهِ ؗ(of) Allahوَ اُولٰٓىِٕكَAnd thoseهُمُtheyالْمُفْلِحُوْنَ (are) the successful ones وَ مَاۤAnd whatاٰتَیْتُمْyou giveمِّنْforرِّبًاusuryلِّیَرْبُوَاۡto increaseفِیْۤinاَمْوَالِ(the) wealthالنَّاسِ(of) peopleفَلَاnotیَرْبُوْا(will) increaseعِنْدَwithاللّٰهِ ۚAllahوَ مَاۤBut whatاٰتَیْتُمْyou giveمِّنْofزَكٰوةٍzakahتُرِیْدُوْنَdesiringوَجْهَ(the) Countenanceاللّٰهِ(of) Allahفَاُولٰٓىِٕكَthen thoseهُمُ[they]الْمُضْعِفُوْنَ (will) get manifold اَللّٰهُAllahالَّذِیْ(is) the One Whoخَلَقَكُمْcreated youثُمَّthenرَزَقَكُمْHe provided (for) youثُمَّthenیُمِیْتُكُمْHe will cause you to dieثُمَّthenیُحْیِیْكُمْ ؕHe will give you lifeهَلْIs (there)مِنْanyشُرَكَآىِٕكُمْ(of) your partnersمَّنْwhoیَّفْعَلُdoesمِنْofذٰلِكُمْthatمِّنْanyشَیْءٍ ؕthingسُبْحٰنَهٗGlory be to Himوَ تَعٰلٰىand exalted is Heعَمَّاabove whatیُشْرِكُوْنَ۠they associate

---

Translation of Verse 28-40

(30:28) He sets forth³⁹ for you a parable from your own lives. Do you have among your slaves some who share with you the sustenance that We have bestowed on you so that you become equals in it, all being alike, and then you would hold them in fear as you fear each other?⁴⁰ Thus do We make plain the Signs for those who use reason.

(30:29) But the wrong-doers follow their desires without any knowledge. Who, then, can show the way to him whom Allah lets go astray?⁴¹ Such shall have no helpers.

(30:30) (O Prophet and his followers),⁴² turn your face singlemindedly⁴³ to the true Faith⁴⁴ and adhere to the true nature on which Allah has created human beings.⁴⁵ The mould fashioned by Allah cannot be altered.⁴⁶ That is the True, Straight Faith,⁴⁷ although most people do not know.

(30:31) (Adhere to the True Faith and) turn to Him,⁴⁸ and hold Him in awe,⁴⁹ and establish Prayer,⁵⁰ and do not be of those who associate others with Allah in His Divinity,

(30:32) those who have split up their religion and have become divided into sects, each party exulting in what they have.⁵¹

(30:33) (Such are human beings) that when any misfortune befalls them, they cry to their Lord, penitently turning to Him.⁵² But no sooner that He lets them have a taste of His Mercy than some of them begin associating others with their Lord in His Divinity⁵³

(30:34) so that they may show ingratitude to Us for the favours We had bestowed upon them. So, enjoy yourselves a while; but then you shall soon come to know.

(30:35) Have We sent down any sanction which provides support to their associating others with Allah in His Divinity?⁵⁴

(30:36) When We make people have a taste of Our Mercy, they exult in it; and when any misfortune befalls them in consequence of their deeds, then lo and behold, they despair.⁵⁵

(30:37) Do they not see that Allah enlarges and straitens the sustenance of those whom He pleases? There are Signs in this for those who believe.⁵⁶

(30:38) So give his due to the near of kin, and to the needy, and to the wayfarer.⁵⁷ That is better for those who desire to please Allah. It is they who will prosper.⁵⁸

(30:39) Whatever you pay as interest so that it may increase the wealth of people does not increase in the sight of Allah.⁵⁹ As for the Zakah that you give, seeking with it Allah's good pleasure, that is multiplied manifold.⁶⁰

(30:40) It is Allah⁶¹ Who created you, then bestowed upon you your sustenance,⁶² and He will cause you to die and then will bring you back to life. Can any of those whom you associate with Allah in His Divinity! do any such thing?⁶³ Glory be to Him and exalted be He above whatever they associate with Allah in His Divinity.

---

Commentary

39. The Qur’anic discourse up until this point covers the twin subjects of affirming God’s unity and the Hereafter. The Signs invoked in the preceding verses also contain evidence to corroborate God’s unity. They also indicate that the Afterlife cannot be brushed aside as beyond the range of the possible. From now on until the end of the surah the discourse focuses on only one subject — an affirmation of God’s unity.

40. The polytheists recognized that God is the Creator and Lord of the heavens and the earth and everything therein. In spite of this, they ascribed Divinity to some of God’s creatures, declaring them to be associates in His Divinity. They addressed their prayers to these so called partners, made offerings to them, and took them as their objects of worship.

We have some idea of the Arabian polytheists’ belief about these so-called partners of God by the words they used to utter while circumambulating the Ka ‘bah: “Here we are, O Allah, here we are. You have none as partner except the Partner Who is Yours, he whom You own along with all his possessions.” (See Sulayman b. Ahmad al-Tabarani, al-Mu jam al-Kabir, II edn., Mosul: Maktabat al-‘Ulam wa al-Hikam, 1401/1982, traditions 12348 and 12883 - Ed.) - In the present verse God refutes this brand of polytheism precisely.

The purpose of this parable is to highlight the self-contradiction to which the polytheists had fallen prey. On the one hand, they believed that those human beings who had accidentally become their slaves could not be regarded as co-sharers of their properties. On the other hand, they believed that God had made some of His own creatures partners in His Godhead. They should better see reason before entertaining such silly notions. (For further elaboration of this point see Towards Understanding the Qur’an, Vol. IV, al-Nahl 16: n. 62, pp. 344-346.)

41. When a man neither exercises his own reason and common sense nor is prepared to give heed to the advice of others, God places a curse on his ability to think straight. After that, whatever ordinarily enables a rational being to arrive at the truth, increasingly drives that obstinate lover of falsehood towards the mire of error. This is the state which has been described by saying: “But the wrong-doers follow their desires without any knowledge. Who, then, can show him the way whom Allah lets go astray?” When a person is disposed to the Truth and seeks God’s Guidance, God facilitates his quest commensurate with the extent of his quest’s genuineness. By the same token, when a person is disposed to error and insists on following such a course, God grants him the means whereby he might progressively pursue that path. This increasingly drives him away from the Truth.

42. The use of fa (“so”) here implies that since the truth had been conclusively established and it had become evident to them that God alone is the sole Creator, Master and Lord of the Universe and mankind, it follows that they should turn exclusively to Him in devotion.

43. This refers to the True Faith which the Qur’an expounds, one whose core is to consecrate one’s service, worship and obedience for God alone, recognizing none as an associate in His Divinity, His sovereign authority or His claims against His creatures. This is the faith that requires man to voluntarily commit himself to follow God’s guidance and law in all aspects of his life.

44. “.... Turning one’s face single-mindedly to Allah” implies that after one decides to submit to God, one may not turn one’s face in any other direction. Once a person decides to follow this course in his life, he should not pay even scant attention to any other way of life. Once a person has opted for Islam, it should guide his thinking, his likes and dislikes.

His values and standards should be derived from Islam, his character and conduct too should bear Islam’s stamp, and both his individual and collective life should be subservient to it.

45. All human beings have been created with that true innate nature which prompts them to believe that the One True God alone is the Creator, - the Lord and the only object of worship and obedience, requiring them to adhere to that attitude. Should they decide to consider themselves invested with sovereign authority, they would be deviating from their true nature. Likewise, should they decide to submit to the authority of any other than the One True God, they would again be deviating from the true nature with which they were born.

This truth has been elucidated in several traditions narrated from the Prophet (peace be on him). According to both Bukhari and Muslim, the Prophet (peace be on him) said: “There is no child but is born on his true nature, and then his parents either make him into a Christian or a Jew or a Magian. This is like what happens with an animal who begets an animal with a whole, sound body [and subsequently people slit their ears]. Do you see any born with slit ears?” (See Muslim, K. al-Qadar, Bab: Ma‘na kullu Mawlud yuladu ‘ala al-Fitrah. See also Bukhari, K. al-Jana’iz, Bab: Idha aslama al-Sabi fa mata hal yusalla ‘alayh Ed.) (It may be noted that the pre-Islamic pagans of Arabia used to slit the ears of new-born animals because of some polytheistic superstition.) According to another tradition, narrated by Ahmad ibn Hanbal and Nasa‘i, the Muslims killed a large number of their enemies in a battle, including children. On learning this, the Prophet (peace be on him) was infuriated and said: “What happened to people today that they exceeded.

all limits in killing so much that they even killed children?” Thereupon someone pointed out that those killed were, after all, the children of polytheists. The Prophet (peace be on him) replied: “The best among you are the children of polytheists. Every living being is born with a true nature until he starts speaking and then his parents turn him into a Jew or a Christian.” (See Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Musnad, vol. 3, p. 435 and Nasa’i, al-Sunan al-Kubra, Beirut: Dar al-Kutub al-‘Ilmiyah, 1411/1991, hadith 8616, Muslim, K. al-Jannah wa Sifat Na‘imiha Bab: al-Sifat allati yu ‘arafu biha fi al-Dunya ahl al-Jannah wa ahl al-Nar — Ed.) Another tradition in Ahmad ibn Hanbal’s Musnad, which has been narrated on the authority of ‘Iyad ibn Himéar al-Mujashi 4, mentions that once during the course of his sermon the Prophet (peace be on him) said: “My Lord says: I created all of My servants as hanif (worshippers of the One True God alone). Then devils came to them and led them astray from their True Faith: they prohibited what I had made lawful and commanded them to associate others with Me in My Divinity for which I had sent down no sanction.” (See Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Musnad, vol. 4, p. 162.)

46. God has appointed man to be His servant, having created mankind to serve Him exclusively. No matter what is done, it is impossible to alter the natural pattern inherent in man. Nor can man become anything else than God’s servant, nor can any other person or object become his god because of the mere fact that someone has chosen that person or object to be so. Man may make as many deities as he pleases, but the inalterable fact remains that he is the servant of none but the One True God. Out of folly and ignorance, man may invest whomsoever he wishes with God's attributes and authority and regard whomsoever he wants as possessed of the power to make or mar his destiny. The fact is that neither anyone other than God is possessed of Divine attributes nor of the power to determine man’s destiny.

As for the present verse, it can also be translated as follows: “Let there be no alteration in the mold fashioned by Allah”; that is, it is not proper for anyone to try to alter, let alone corrupt and distort man’s natural mold.

47. That is, to adhere to the true nature on which human beings were created is the right and straight way for mankind.

48. To turn to God means the-following: anyone who opts to act independently of God’s directives and thus deviates from the path prescribed for him by God, or whoever betrays God by accepting to serve aught apart from the One True God, should give up that attitude and revert to serving God Whose born servant he is.

49. Man should dread the punishment which he will incur by acting independently of, or worshipping others besides God, despite the fact that it is God Who brought him into being. Man should, therefore, shun all attitudes that lead to God’s wrath.

50. Turning to God and holding His wrath in awe are acts of the heart.

In order that this state of heart might become manifest and be reinforced, one needs to engage in physical acts which indicate that one has truly returned to the service and worship of the One True God, One Who has no associates in His Divinity. The regular performance of these acts helps develop in man the state of returning to and fearing God. This is why soon after directing man to bring about an attitudinal change, God asks him to engage in an outward, physical act — the establishment of Prayer.

As long as an idea is confined purely to the realm of the intellect, it lacks strength and stability. Such an idea might suffer dilution or might change altogether. However, as soon as a person begins to put that idea into effect, it takes root in his personality. Thereafter, as he persists in translating that idea into practice, its hold upon him is further consolidated and then a time comes when the dilution or change of that idea or belief becomes incrementally difficult.

Viewed in this context, the performance of the five daily Prayers at their stated times is the most effective means to develop God-consciousness and God-fearing. No other act is more effective for this purpose than regularly performing the five daily Prayers. These Prayers, as we know, are performed regularly after every few hours and are performed in one and the same form. Thanks to this, man rehearses over and over again, at short intervals, the Qur’an’s teaching that man should believe in God and submit to Him in his day-to-day life. All this is repeated on a daily basis in order that man might not forget this imperative.

Observance of prayer also demonstrates to all — believers as well as unbelievers — who has given up defiance of God and committed themselves to obeying Him. This is useful for believers in order that they might become a congregation and a community at the collective level and cooperate with one another in God’s cause. Moreover, it also proves useful when any believer slackens in his devotion and others become aware of this in Prayer. This visible display of faith - observance of Prayer — is equally useful for unbelievers because this spectacle of people turning to God might awaken in them their dormant but inherently ingrained God consciousness.

However, even if they do not take heed, the devotional activities of believers are likely to inspire in them a sense of awe. For these purposes too the establishment of Prayer is highly useful.

It ought to be borne in mind that the directive to establish Prayer was given in that phase of the Makkan life of the Prophet (peace be on him) when there were no more than a handful of Muslims. Besides, these _ Muslims were at that time reeling under the most brutal oppression at the hands of the unbelieving Quraysh, which they continued to endure for the following nine years. At the time when the directive regarding Prayers was given, the possibility that Islam would become a state was hard even to imagine. Had the performance of Prayers been contingent on the existence of the Islamic state, as some ignoramuses have come to fancy, or had the establishment of Salah meant the establishment of a system of Divine Providence as the rejecters of the Sunnah claim, it would have been meaningless at this stage to order people to establish Prayer.

One also wonders why the Prophet (peace be on him) and other Muslims carried out this command for nine more years of the Makkan period after its promulgation when no Islamic state was in existence.

51. This alludes to the fact that True Faith alone is compatible with man’s inherent nature as stated earlier (see v. 30 above). Contrary to the speculation of those who have imaginatively weaved a whole philosophy of religion, the fact is that True Faith did not originate with polytheism and, thereafter, gradually evolve into monotheism. On the contrary, the polytheistic religions found in the world today are merely distorted versions of the true ‘original faith centered on monotheism. Distortions crept into the religious domain because people added their innovations to the natural truths embodied in the original faith. Rather than adhere to the true original faith, they became enamored of these innovations.

Thanks to this, religious divisions emerged among mankind and every _ group turned into a new, distinct sect or community. The only way that now remains for those who care for true guidance is to return to that core truth, which was the foundation of the original True Faith, and to abjure all subsequent religious innovations. Any affinity with those who are responsible for distorting the True Faith will have a corrupting influence _on one’s own religious faith and practice.

52. This amply proves that in the depths of their hearts all testify to the truth of monotheism. Whenever faced with utter despair, their own inner voice tells them that the sovereignty of the One True God embraces the whole Universe and it is His help alone that can deliver them from distress.

53. However, once they are rescued from their distress by dint of God’s mercy, they soon begin to make offerings to their false gods, claiming that it is because of the intercession or blessing of such and such a saint or of such and such a saint’s resting place that they have been rescued from their distress.

54. The polytheists are asked to reveal the source of their information that aught other than God can rescue mankind from their suffering and distress. Is such a claim supported by reason? Or, does any Scripture indicate that God has delegated His powers to some other beings who can use them to benefit mankind?

55. The preceding verse reproaches man for his ignorance and ingratitude, whereas the present verse takes him to task for his meanness and puerility. When he acquires wealth, power and esteem and everything seems to be going well, he forgets that he owes all this to God. He tends to think of himself as one inherently possessed of extraordinary qualities, which make him worthy of whatever he has come to possess and of which others remain deprived. Such delusions intoxicate him with arrogance and hauteur with the result that he neither pays any heed to God nor to God’s creatures. However, no sooner than his success begins to fade, does he feel totally shattered and despondent. Driven by frustration, he feels no qualms in committing the most degrading acts, including suicide.

56. That is, the believers are capable of drawing the right lesson from noting the impact of unbelief and polytheism on the one hand, and of belief in God on man’s conduct, on the other. Those who truly believe in God and regard Him alone as the sole Master of all resources of sustenance cannot stoop to the pettiness which often characterizes the attitude of those who are oblivious of Him. When such people are granted plentiful sustenance, rather than becoming haughty and arrogant they are thankful to God. Acquisition of wealth generates in them an attitude of humility and generosity towards their fellow-beings and they do not flinch from spending their wealth — which in fact belongs to God — to please God.

When such people are faced with straitened circumstances, even with starvation, they still remain patient, honest, trustworthy and dignified and always look forward to God's grace and bounty. Such moral loftiness cannot be displayed either by atheists or polytheists.

57. It is significant that here man is not being asked to give charity to near of kin, the needy and the wayfarer; instead, he is being asked to give them what is their due, to render them the right that he owes them.

While giving charity the thought that he is doing a favor to someone should not even cross his mind. Nor should he entertain the illusion that his wealth has made him a superior being who is lavishing benefactions on the lowly and the contemptible. Instead, he should be fully cognizant of the fact that if God, the True Owner of all wealth, has granted him a little more wealth than others then these others who have been granted less have a right over his additional wealth. This additional wealth has, in fact, been entrusted to him so that His Lord might test-him and see whether he is cognizant of the rights of others or not.

Anyone who reflects on this Divine directive, and on the spirit underlying it, cannot fail to note that the course of man’s moral and spiritual growth prescribed here assumes the existence of a free society and a free economy. The moral and spiritual growth envisaged here is simply inconceivable in a milieu wherein the right of individuals to own property has been abolished and the state has assumed proprietary rights over all resources, and the governmental machinery has taken over the responsibility of distributing income among people. Under such a system no one will be in a position to give anything to anyone as the latter’s “due”, nor will there be an occasion for anyone to have good-will for others on account of receiving any assistance from them.

The state of affairs we are talking about represents a patently communist economic system, which some people in our country are presently trying to promote under the deceptive euphemism of the Qur ‘anic system of Divine Providence (Qur’ani nizam-i rubibiyat). These people arbitrarily claim that this system is based on the Qur’an although, in fact, it is diametrically opposed to the scheme of things envisaged by the Qur’an. This, because under such a system there remains no scope for the growth of the individual’s morality or the refinement of human conduct.

The Quranic scheme of life can only come fully into force in a society where individuals have the right to own property and also have the freedom to use it, and yet they are willing to spend it of their own volition so as to sincerely discharge their obligations to God and to His creatures.

It is only in such a social setting that it is possible for individuals to develop in themselves traits of sympathy and compassion, of altruism and sacrifice, of recognizing the rights of others and having the will to render these to them. Again, it is only in such a social setting that those to whom any good is done will develop feelings of good-will and gratitude and a readiness to do similar good to those who have done good for them. In fact, it is possible that such a society might someday be able to achieve that ideal condition in which the prevention of evil and the promotion of good might not necessarily be contingent on the action of any coercive power. Instead, this might be realized by the members of that society by dint of their inner purity and good intention.

58. This does not mean that prosperity will be attained merely by fulfilling one’s obligations to the poor, the wayfarer and near of kin and that nothing else needs to be done in that regard. In fact, what the verse stresses is that those who do not recognize these rights cannot prosper.

Prosperity will be attained only by those who are cognizant of the rights of others and fulfil them, doing so solely in order to please God.

59. This is the first Qur’anic verse expressing disapproval of interest.

The verse confines itself to stressing only one point — that those who pay interest do so under the impression that the excess they pay to the lender over and above the principal will increase the latter’s wealth. Contrary to this, in God’s sight, it is zakah rather than interest that causes increase in wealth, Subsequently, when an injunction prohibiting interest was revealed during the Madinan period of the Prophet's life, the following addition was made: “Allah deprives interest of all blessing, whereas He blesses charity with growth”, (al-Baqarah 2:276). (For subsequent injunctions on interest see Al ‘Imran 3:130 and al-Baqarah 2:275-281.) Qur‘anic commentators offer the following two interpretations of the verse under discussion. According to one group, the word riba here does not refer to the kind of interest that the Shari‘ah has declared to be unlawful. Rather, here, the word riba signifies the gift or present or — donation given with the intention that its recipient give a greater amount in return, or render the benefactor some useful service; or it signifies the amount given in expectation that the recipient’s prosperity will ultimately be of profit to the benefactor. This is the opinion of ‘Abd Allah ibn ‘Abbas, Mujahid, Dahhak, Qatadah, ‘Ikrimah, Muhammad ibn Kab al-Qurazi and Sha bi. Their interpretation presumably rests on the assumption that the verse simply states that this action will not register any increase of wealth in God’s sight. Had the forbidden variety of interest been under discussion, the Qur’an would have specified that such an act would incur God's punishment. (See Tabari, Tafsir, comments on al-Rum 30:39 — Ed.) _ The other group, however, considers this to be the very same interest that is expressly forbidden in the Shari‘ah. This is the opinion of Hasan al-Basri and al-Suddi. Alusi, too, subscribes to the same view and points out that the Arabic word riba is used specifically for this purpose. Nisaburi, another Qur’anic commentator, endorses this view.

In our own opinion, too, the latter interpretation is the correct one. This, because the argument put forward by the first group is not sufficiently convincing to prove the point that here the word riba should not be understood in its well-known sense. It is pertinent to note that Sarah al- Rum was revealed at a time when the Qur’an had not declared interest as prohibited. That declaration was made a few years later. We notice that the Qur’an, before declaring anything unlawful, prepares the ground for this, and takes some time in doing so. With regard to wine, for instance, it was first indicated in the Qur’an that it is not a “wholesome sustenance”, (see al-Nahl 16:67). After a period of time, the Qur’an asserted that its evil is greater than its benefit (al-Baqarah 2:219). This was followed by the command that people may not draw near to Prayer when intoxicated (al- Nisa’ 4:43). It was after all this preparatory work had been completed that wine was finally and categorically declared unlawful. As for the present verse, it confines itself to declaring that interest does not bring about any increase in wealth; rather, it is through zakah that wealth increases manifold. Subsequently, compound interest was forbidden, (see Al ‘Imran 3:130). Thereafter, interest as such was finally outlawed in categorical terms (see al-Baqarah 2:275).

60. There is no upper limit to this multiplication of wealth. The greater a person’s sincerity, spirit of sacrifice, and desire to seek God's good pleasure when he spends his wealth in God’s cause, the greater will be his reward. Thus we find a tradition according to which the Prophet (peace be on him) said that if a person gives a single date in charity for God’s sake, God can increase its reward to him manifold, so much so that it will become equal to Mount Uhud.

61. Once again, the themes of monotheism and the Hereafter are resumed in order to elucidate them to unbelievers and polytheists.

62. God has provided man with all varieties of sustenance on earth.

Furthermore, He has devised a system whereby everyone receives some portion of this sustenance.

63. Those whom the unbelievers and polytheists associate with God in His Divinity have not created anything. Nor do they have any role in providing people with, their sustenance nor do they have any control over their life and death, nor do they possess the power to resurrect the dead. One wonders, then, why they should have been set up as deities when they are so absolutely powerless.