Surah 37. As-Saffat

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Verses [Section]: 1-21[1], 22-74 [2], 75-113 [3], 114-138 [4], 139-182 [5]

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Quran Text of Verse 114-138وَ لَقَدْAnd verilyمَنَنَّاWe conferred FavorعَلٰیuponمُوْسٰیMusaوَ هٰرُوْنَۚand Harun وَ نَجَّیْنٰهُمَاAnd We saved both of themوَ قَوْمَهُمَاand their peopleمِنَfromالْكَرْبِthe distressالْعَظِیْمِۚthe great وَ نَصَرْنٰهُمْAnd We helped themفَكَانُوْاso they becameهُمُso they becameالْغٰلِبِیْنَۚthe victors وَ اٰتَیْنٰهُمَاAnd We gave both of themالْكِتٰبَthe Bookالْمُسْتَبِیْنَۚthe clear وَ هَدَیْنٰهُمَاAnd We guided both of themالصِّرَاطَ(to) the Pathالْمُسْتَقِیْمَۚthe Straight وَ تَرَكْنَاAnd We leftعَلَیْهِمَاfor both of themفِیamongالْاٰخِرِیْنَۙthe later generations سَلٰمٌPeace beعَلٰیuponمُوْسٰیMusaوَ هٰرُوْنَ and Harun اِنَّاIndeed Weكَذٰلِكَthusنَجْزِیrewardالْمُحْسِنِیْنَ the good-doers اِنَّهُمَاIndeed both of themمِنْ(were) ofعِبَادِنَاOur slavesالْمُؤْمِنِیْنَ believing وَ اِنَّAnd indeedاِلْیَاسَIlyasلَمِنَ(was) surely ofالْمُرْسَلِیْنَؕthe Messengers اِذْWhenقَالَhe saidلِقَوْمِهٖۤto his peopleاَلَاWill notتَتَّقُوْنَ you fear اَتَدْعُوْنَDo you callبَعْلًاBaalوَّ تَذَرُوْنَand you forsakeاَحْسَنَ(the) Bestالْخَالِقِیْنَۙ(of) Creators اللّٰهَAllahرَبَّكُمْyour Lordوَ رَبَّand (the) Lordاٰبَآىِٕكُمُ(of) your forefathersالْاَوَّلِیْنَ (of) your forefathers 37. As-Saffat Page 451فَكَذَّبُوْهُBut they denied himفَاِنَّهُمْso indeed theyلَمُحْضَرُوْنَۙ(will) surely be brought اِلَّاExceptعِبَادَ(the) slavesاللّٰهِ(of) Allahالْمُخْلَصِیْنَ the chosen ones وَ تَرَكْنَاAnd We leftعَلَیْهِfor himفِیamongالْاٰخِرِیْنَۙthe later generations سَلٰمٌPeace beعَلٰۤیuponاِلْیَاسِیْنَ Ilyas اِنَّاIndeed Weكَذٰلِكَthusنَجْزِیrewardالْمُحْسِنِیْنَ the good-doers اِنَّهٗIndeed he (was)مِنْofعِبَادِنَاOur slavesالْمُؤْمِنِیْنَ believing وَ اِنَّAnd indeedلُوْطًاLutلَّمِنَ(was) ofالْمُرْسَلِیْنَؕthe Messengers اِذْWhenنَجَّیْنٰهُWe saved himوَ اَهْلَهٗۤand his familyاَجْمَعِیْنَۙall اِلَّاExceptعَجُوْزًاan old womanفِی(was) amongالْغٰبِرِیْنَ those who remained behind ثُمَّThenدَمَّرْنَاWe destroyedالْاٰخَرِیْنَ the others وَ اِنَّكُمْAnd indeed youلَتَمُرُّوْنَsurely passعَلَیْهِمْby themمُّصْبِحِیْنَ (in the) morning وَ بِالَّیْلِ ؕAnd at nightاَفَلَاThen will notتَعْقِلُوْنَ۠you use reason

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Translation of Verse 114-138

(37:114) Verily We bestowed Our favours on Moses and Aaron

(37:115) and We delivered both of them and their people from the great calamity.⁶⁹

(37:116) We succoured them, and they gained the upper hand (against their enemies).

(37:117) We granted them a Clear Book,

(37:118) and showed them the Straight Way,

(37:119) and preserved for them a good name among posterity.

(37:120) Peace be upon Moses and Aaron.

(37:121) Thus do We reward the good-doers.

(37:122) Surely both of them were among Our believing servants.

(37:123) Surely, Elias too was among the Messengers.⁷⁰

(37:124) (Call to mind) when he said to his people: “Will you not fear Allah?

(37:125) Do you call upon Baal⁷¹ and forsake the Best of the Creators?

(37:126) Allah is your Lord and the Lord of your ancestors of yore.”

(37:127) But they denounced him as a liar, so they will surely be arraigned (for punishment),

(37:128) except Allah's chosen servants.⁷²

(37:129) We preserved a good name for him among posterity.⁷³

(37:130) Peace be upon Elias.⁷⁴

(37:131) Thus do We reward the good-doers.

(37:132) He was one of Our believing servants.

(37:133) And Lot too was one of the Messengers.

(37:134) (Call to mind) when We delivered him and all his kinsfolk,

(37:135) except for an old woman who was among those that stayed behind.⁷⁵

(37:136) Then We utterly destroyed the rest of them.

(37:137) You pass by their desolate habitations in the morning⁷⁶

(37:138) and at night. Do you still not understand?

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Commentary

69. In other words, their deliverance from the great calamity they suffered at the hands of Pharaoh and his people.

70. The Prophet Elias/Elijah was raised among the Children of Israel. His name occurs at only two places in the Qur'ān - in the present verse and in Surah al-An ‘am 6:85. Scholars of the present time believe that he flourished between 875-850 B.C. He hailed from Gilead which is now part of the northern districts of Jordan and lies to the south of the Yarmouk River. In the Bible, he is referred to as Elijah the Tishbite. Here is a brief account of the Prophet Elias/Elijah as gleaned from the Bible.

After the Prophet Solomon's death, his son, Rehoboam proved incompetent in handling the affairs of the kingdom with the result that it split into two. One part of the kingdom, which comprised Jerusalem and southern Palestine, fell under the control of the Prophet David's descendants. The other, comprising northern Palestine, emerged as an independent state called Israel, with Samaria as its capital. Although both states were plagued with problems, Israel's orientation from the very beginning was perverted. As a result, it became inundated with polytheism and idolatry, tyranny and oppression, sin and wickedness.

When King Ahab married Jezebel, daughter of the king of Sidon (located in present-day Lebanon), this marked the lowest ebb in its history. For, under the evil influence of his polytheistic wife, Jezebel, King Ahab also succumbed to polytheism. He built a temple and an altar devoted to Ba'al in Samaria and spared no effort in promoting the worship of Ba'al instead of the One True God. Offerings dedicated to Ba'al were made publicly throughout the kingdom.

This was the time when the Prophet Elias/Elijah (peace be on him) appeared on the scene. He arrived in Samaria from Gilead and warned Ahab that his kingdom would not receive any rainfall as a punishment for his outrageous misdeeds, so much so that his land would even be deprived of dew-drops. This warning, issued by a Prophet of God, came true. For more than three years there was no rainfall in the kingdom. This brought Ahab back to his senses and he sent for Elias/Elijah. Before praying to God for rainfall, however, Elias/Elijah gathered people together in an assembly with a view to helping them discern the tremendous difference between the Lord of the universe and Ba'al. Accordingly, he asked the devotees of Ba’al to present an offering to their deity in that assembly whereas he would dedicate his offering to the One True Lord. Then, he proposed the following test: whichever of the two offerings was consumed by fire from on high, without any human intervention, would be deemed to be true.

Ahab accepted the test. Accordingly, 850 priests, who owed allegiance to Ba’al, assembled at Mount Carmel. This test was held in a public gathering of Israelites, marking the encounter between the worshippers of Ba’al and the Prophet Elias / Elijah (peace be on him). In this test, Ba’al’s devotees were thoroughly exposed and disgraced because the Prophet Elias/Elijah (peace be on him) publicly demonstrated that Ba’al was a false god. This event also established the truth of the One True Lord and of Elias’ /Elijah’s credentials as God’s Messenger. In the same assembly he had Ba’al’s worshippers put to the sword and then prayed to God for rainfall. His prayer was readily answered. The whole kingdom of Israel was subsequently blessed with rain.

Even after witnessing these miracles, Ahab was still under the sway of his idolatrous wife. She became so hostile towards the Prophet Elias / Elijah (peace be on him) that she vowed to have him killed, just as the devotees of Ba’al had been put to death. The Prophet Elias / Elijah (peace be on him), therefore, had to leave Israel and take refuge in a cave in Mount Sinai for several years. His plight is reflected in his supplication, as recorded in the Bible: The people of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thy altars, and slain thy Prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away. (I Kings 19:10.) During the same period, Jehoram, the ruler of the Jewish state of Jerusalem, married the daughter of Ahab, the King of Israel. This led to the spread of polytheism and idolatry in Jerusalem as well. The Prophet Elias/Elijah (peace be on him) warned against this evil as a part of his Prophetic mission. He wrote, for example, the following letter to Jehoram, admonishing him: Thus says the Lord, the God of David your father, ‘Because you have not walked in the ways of Jehoshaphat your father, or in the ways of Asa, King of Judah, but have walked in the ways of the kings of Israel, and have led Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem into unfaithfulness, just as the house of Ahab led Israel into unfaithfulness, and also you have killed your brothers, of your father’s house, who were better than yourself; behold, the Lord will bring a great plague on your people, your children, your wives, and all your possessions, and you yourself will have a severe sickness with a disease of your bowels, until your bowels come out because of the disease, day by day. (2 Chronicles 21:12-15.) All that this letter forewarned came true. First, Jehoram’s kingdom was destroyed as a result of invasions. Even Jehoram’s wives were taken captives. At a later date, Jehoram died, suffering from a disease of the bowels.

Later on, the Prophet Elias/Elijah (peace be on him) returned to Israel and tried his level best to direct Ahab and his son, Ahaziab, to the Straight Way. They were, however, too deeply steeped in iniquity to pay any attention to his call. Eventually, Elias’/Elijah’s curse also brought an end to the state of Israel. It was at this juncture that God recalled him from the world. (For further details of the events relating to the Prophet Elias /Elijah (peace be on him), see 1 Kings 17-19 and 21; 2 Kings 1-2, and 2 Chronicles 21.)

71. Literally, Ba’al means “master”. It is also used for husband. This expression features in the last-mentioned sense in the Qur’an itself.

(Instances in point are: al-Baqarah 2:228; al-Nisa’ 4:127; Hud 11:72, and al-Nur 24:31.) Ancient Semitic nations, however, used this word as a synonym for God. They designated a certain idol as Ba’al. Special mention in this context should be made of the Phoenicians, the inhabitants of Lebanon. Ba’al and his spouse Ash’taroth were taken by them respectively as their chief god and goddess. Scholars differ in identifying Ba’al with either the Sun or Jupiter and Ash’taroth with either the Moon or Venus.

What is, nonetheless, on record is that Ba’al worship had been in vogue from Babylonia to Egypt, virtually encompassing the whole of the Middle East. Polytheistic communities living in Lebanon, Syria and Palestine were prominent in their devotion of Ba’al. After migrating from Egypt, the Israelites settled in Palestine and Trans-Jordan. In defiance of the stringent prohibitions contained in the Torah they engaged in intermarriages with members of the polytheistic communities of the region. As a result, they took to idolatry. According to the Bible, moral and religious decline afflicted the Israelites soon after the death of Joshua, the Prophet Moses’ successor: And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and served the Ba’als ... They forsook the Lord, and served the Ba’als and the Ash’taroth. (Judges 2:11-13.) So the people of Israel dwelt among the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Per’izzites, the Hivites, and Jeb’usites; and they took their daughters to themselves for wives, and their own daughters they gave to their sons; and they served their gods.

(Judges 3:3-6.) Ba’al worship was so rampant at the time that an altar dedicated to Ba’al was erected in one of their towns where animal sacrifices were made. When a pious Israelite saw this he could not contain his anger and demolished the altar in the darkness of night. The next morning a huge crowd assembled there, demanding the beheading of the Israelite who had so destroyed their center of idolatry, (Judges 6:25-32). Eventually Samuel, Saul and the Prophets David and Solomon (peace be on them) managed to put an end to " this sad state of affairs. Not only did they reform the recalcitrant Israelites, but also suppressed polytheism and idolatry in their kingdom. After the Prophet Solomon’s death, polytheistic practices again resurfaced among the Israelites. Ba’al worship was particularly pronounced in northern Palestine, which formed part of the kingdom of Israel.

72. Only those who did not give the lie to the Prophet Elias /Elijah {peace be on him) and who were chosen by God from among that nation to serve Him were to be spared the punishment.

73. We have already noted to what extent the Children of Israel persecuted the Prophet Elias/Elijah (peace be on him). Subsequently, however, their attitude towards him changed altogether and they began to hold him in unusual esteem and respect. Other than Moses, they hardly held anyone in such high esteem. They believe that he was raised alive to the heavens by a whirlwind, (2 Kings 2). They also maintain that he will return to this world. The following Biblical passage throws further light on Jewish popular beliefs about him: Behold, I will send you Elijah the Prophet before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes. (Malachi 4:5.) Essentially, the Jews looked forward to the advent of the following three: (i) Elias/Elijah, (ii) the Christ, and (iii) the Prophet (that is, the Prophet Muhammad). As John the Baptist (peace be on him) embarked upon his Prophetic mission and baptized people, Jewish rabbis asked him: “Who are you? Are you the Christ?” He confessed, “I am not the Christ.” And they asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” And he answered, “No.” They asked him, “Then why are you baptizing, if you are neither — the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?” (John 1:19~25.) When the Prophet Jesus (peace be on him) launched his mission, the Jews thought that the Prophet Elias/Elijah (peace be on him) had reappeared (Mark 6:14-15). Even some disciples of the Prophet Jesus’ (peace be on him) had looked forward to Elias’ /Elijah’s advent. The Prophet Jesus (peace be on him) removed their misunderstanding, telling them that Elias/Elijah had already appeared, though few recognized him. He also informed them about John the Baptist, urging them not to mistake him for Elijah who had appeared 800 years earlier. (Matthew 11:14 and 17:10-13.)

74. The actual words are (Peace be upon Elias). Some Qur’an-commentators consider Ilyasin as another name for the Prophet Elias/Elijah, in the same way that another name for Abraham was Abram.

Other scholars, however, point out that it represents only a variant form of the same Hebrew name. They also point out that some Hebrew names were variously pronounced by the Arabs. The same angel, for instance, was known by three different names: Mikal, Mika’il and Mika’in. The same happened with the Prophet Elias/Elijah. In the Qur’an itself we find the same mountain mentioned both as Tur Sina and Tur Sinin. (Ibn Kathir, Tafsir, comments on verse 120.)

75. This allusion is to the Prophet Lot’s wife. She did not accompany her husband and preferred to stay behind with her people. Accordingly, she was seized by God’s scourge.

76. The Quraysh traders always passed through this same region in the course of their trade journeys to Syria and Palestine. The ruins of the Prophet Lot’s towns were located on the highway.