Surah 39. Az-Zumar

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Verses [Section]: 1-9[1], 10-21 [2], 22-31 [3], 32-41 [4], 42-52 [5], 53-63 [6], 64-70 [7], 71-75 [8]

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Quran Text of Verse 1-939. Az-Zumarبِسْمِ اللّٰهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِیْمِتَنْزِیْلُ(The) revelationالْكِتٰبِ(of) the Bookمِنَ(is) fromاللّٰهِAllahالْعَزِیْزِthe All-Mightyالْحَكِیْمِ the All-Wise اِنَّاۤIndeed Weاَنْزَلْنَاۤ[We] have revealedاِلَیْكَto youالْكِتٰبَthe Bookبِالْحَقِّin truthفَاعْبُدِso worshipاللّٰهَAllahمُخْلِصًا(being) sincereلَّهُto Himالدِّیْنَؕ(in) the religion اَلَاUnquestionablyلِلّٰهِfor Allahالدِّیْنُ(is) the religionالْخَالِصُ ؕthe pureوَ الَّذِیْنَAnd those whoاتَّخَذُوْاtakeمِنْbesides Himدُوْنِهٖۤbesides Himاَوْلِیَآءَ ۘprotectorsمَاNotنَعْبُدُهُمْwe worship themاِلَّاexceptلِیُقَرِّبُوْنَاۤthat they may bring us nearاِلَیtoاللّٰهِAllahزُلْفٰی ؕ(in) positionاِنَّIndeedاللّٰهَAllahیَحْكُمُwill judgeبَیْنَهُمْbetween themفِیْinمَاwhatهُمْtheyفِیْهِ[in it]یَخْتَلِفُوْنَ ؕ۬differاِنَّIndeedاللّٰهَAllahلَا(does) notیَهْدِیْguideمَنْ(one) whoهُوَ[he]كٰذِبٌ(is) a liarكَفَّارٌ and a disbeliever لَوْIfاَرَادَAllah (had) intendedاللّٰهُAllah (had) intendedاَنْtoیَّتَّخِذَtakeوَلَدًاa sonلَّاصْطَفٰیsurely, He (could) have chosenمِمَّاfrom whatیَخْلُقُHe createsمَاwhateverیَشَآءُ ۙHe willedسُبْحٰنَهٗ ؕGlory be to HimهُوَHeاللّٰهُ(is) Allahالْوَاحِدُthe Oneالْقَهَّارُ the Irresistible خَلَقَHe createdالسَّمٰوٰتِthe heavensوَ الْاَرْضَand the earthبِالْحَقِّ ۚin [the] truthیُكَوِّرُHe wrapsالَّیْلَthe nightعَلَیoverالنَّهَارِthe dayوَ یُكَوِّرُand wrapsالنَّهَارَthe dayعَلَیoverالَّیْلِthe nightوَ سَخَّرَAnd He subjectedالشَّمْسَthe sunوَ الْقَمَرَ ؕand the moonكُلٌّeachیَّجْرِیْrunningلِاَجَلٍfor a termمُّسَمًّی ؕspecifiedاَلَاUnquestionablyهُوَHeالْعَزِیْزُ(is) the All-Mightyالْغَفَّارُ the Oft-Forgiving 39. Az-Zumar Page 459خَلَقَكُمْHe created youمِّنْfromنَّفْسٍa soulوَّاحِدَةٍsingleثُمَّThenجَعَلَHe madeمِنْهَاfrom itزَوْجَهَاits mateوَ اَنْزَلَAnd He sent downلَكُمْfor youمِّنَofالْاَنْعَامِthe cattleثَمٰنِیَةَeightاَزْوَاجٍ ؕkindsیَخْلُقُكُمْHe creates youفِیْinبُطُوْنِ(the) wombsاُمَّهٰتِكُمْ(of) your mothersخَلْقًاcreationمِّنْۢafterبَعْدِafterخَلْقٍcreationفِیْinظُلُمٰتٍdarkness[es]ثَلٰثٍ ؕthreeذٰلِكُمُThatاللّٰهُ(is) Allahرَبُّكُمْyour Lordلَهُfor Himالْمُلْكُ ؕ(is) the dominionلَاۤ(There is) noاِلٰهَgodاِلَّاexceptهُوَ ۚHeفَاَنّٰیThen howتُصْرَفُوْنَ are you turning away اِنْIfتَكْفُرُوْاyou disbelieveفَاِنَّthen indeedاللّٰهَAllahغَنِیٌّ(is) free from needعَنْكُمْ ۫of youوَ لَاAnd notیَرْضٰیHe likesلِعِبَادِهِin His slavesالْكُفْرَ ۚungratefulnessوَ اِنْAnd ifتَشْكُرُوْاyou are gratefulیَرْضَهُHe likes itلَكُمْ ؕin youوَ لَاAnd notتَزِرُwill bearوَازِرَةٌbearer of burdensوِّزْرَ(the) burdenاُخْرٰی ؕ(of) anotherثُمَّThenاِلٰیtoرَبِّكُمْyour Lordمَّرْجِعُكُمْ(is) your returnفَیُنَبِّئُكُمْthen He will inform youبِمَاabout whatكُنْتُمْyou used (to)تَعْمَلُوْنَ ؕdoاِنَّهٗIndeed, Heعَلِیْمٌۢ(is) the All-Knowerبِذَاتِof what (is) in the breastsالصُّدُوْرِ of what (is) in the breasts وَ اِذَاAnd whenمَسَّtouchesالْاِنْسَانَ[the] manضُرٌّadversityدَعَاhe callsرَبَّهٗ(to) his Lordمُنِیْبًاturningاِلَیْهِto HimثُمَّthenاِذَاwhenخَوَّلَهٗHe bestows on himنِعْمَةًa favorمِّنْهُfrom Himselfنَسِیَhe forgetsمَا(for) whatكَانَhe used to callیَدْعُوْۤاhe used to callاِلَیْهِ[to] Himمِنْbeforeقَبْلُbeforeوَ جَعَلَand he sets upلِلّٰهِto Allahاَنْدَادًاrivalsلِّیُضِلَّto misleadعَنْfromسَبِیْلِهٖ ؕHis PathقُلْSayتَمَتَّعْEnjoyبِكُفْرِكَin your disbeliefقَلِیْلًا ۖۗ(for) a littleاِنَّكَIndeed, youمِنْ(are) ofاَصْحٰبِ(the) companionsالنَّارِ (of) the Fire اَمَّنْIs (one) whoهُوَ[he]قَانِتٌ(is) devoutly obedientاٰنَآءَ(during) hoursالَّیْلِ(of) the nightسَاجِدًاprostratingوَّ قَآىِٕمًاand standingیَّحْذَرُfearingالْاٰخِرَةَthe Hereafterوَ یَرْجُوْاand hopingرَحْمَةَ(for the) Mercyرَبِّهٖ ؕ(of) his LordقُلْSayهَلْAreیَسْتَوِیequalالَّذِیْنَthose whoیَعْلَمُوْنَknowوَ الَّذِیْنَand those whoلَا(do) notیَعْلَمُوْنَ ؕknowاِنَّمَاOnlyیَتَذَكَّرُwill take heedاُولُواthose of understandingالْاَلْبَابِ۠those of understanding

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Translation of Verse 1-9In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

(39:1) The revelation of this Book is from Allah, the Most Mighty, the Most Wise.¹

(39:2) (O Prophet), it is We Who have revealed this Book to you with Truth.² So serve only Allah, consecrating your devotion to Him.³

(39:3) Lo, religion is exclusively devoted to Allah.⁴ Your religion is entirely consecrated to Him. As for those who have taken others than Allah for their guardians, (they say): “We worship them only that they may bring us nearer to Allah.”⁵ Allah will judge between them concerning what they differ about.⁶ Verily Allah does not guide anyone who is given to sheer lying, is an utter unbeliever.⁷

(39:4) If Allah had wanted to take to Himself a son, He could have chosen anyone He wanted out of those whom He creates.⁸ Glory be to Him (that He should have a son). He is Allah: the One, the Overpowering.⁹

(39:5) He created the heavens and the earth with Truth,¹⁰ and He folds up the day over the night and folds up the night over the day. He has subjected the sun and the moon, each is running its course until an appointed time. Lo, He is the Most Mighty, the Most Forgiving.¹¹

(39:6) He it is Who created you from a single being, and He it is Who made from it its mate.¹² He it is Who created for you eight heads of cattle in pairs.¹³ He creates you in your mothers' wombs, giving you one form after another in threefold depths of darkness.¹⁴ That, then, is Allah, your Lord.¹⁵ His is the kingdom.¹⁶ There is no god but He.¹⁷ So, whence are you being turned astray?¹⁸

(39:7) If you disbelieve, know well that Allah has no need of you.¹⁹ Yet He does not like unbelief in His servants.²⁰ But if you are thankful, your thankfulness will please Him.²¹ No one shall bear another's burden.²² You are destined to return to your Lord and He will tell you what you used to do. He is well aware even of what lies hidden in your breasts.

(39:8) When any affliction befalls man,²³ he cries out to his Lord, penitently turning to Him.²⁴ But when his Lord bestows His favour upon him, he forgets the affliction regarding which he had cried out²⁵ and sets up compeers to Allah²⁶ that they may lead others astray from His Path.²⁷ Say, (O Prophet): “Enjoy your unbelief for a while. Surely you will be among the inmates of the Fire.”

(39:9) Is such a person (preferable or he) who is obedient, and prostrates himself in the watches of the night, stands (in Prayer), is fearful of the Hereafter, and looks forward to the mercy of His Lord? Ask them: “Are those who know equal to those who do not know?”²⁸ Only those endowed with understanding take heed.

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Commentary

1. This constitutes a short introduction to the surah. It emphasizes that, contrary to the contention of his opponents, the Prophet (peace be on him) had no hand in the authorship of the Quran. Far from that, it is God’s Own Word that He Himself revealed. It is forcefully stressed that people should not treat the Qur’an lightly; instead, they should take its contents with utter seriousness. In this connection two attributes of God have been mentioned in order to highlight two realities pertaining to the Qur’an. One, that God Who has revealed the Qur’an, is ‘Most Mighty’; hence, no power can prevent His will from being done or His decrees from coming into effect.

Two, that God is ‘Most Wise’; hence, the Qur’an’s guidance is steeped in wisdom. So it is only those who are ignorant or foolish that turn away from it. (For further details see al-Sajdah 32, n. 1, Towards Understanding the Qur'an, vol. VILL, pp. 156-7.)

2. That is, the Qur’an is all truth and veracity, altogether unblemished by falsehood.

3. This is a very important verse which enunciates the objective of Islam’s mission. One should, therefore, pay due attention rather than cursorily pass over it. It comprises two basic points which need to be grasped in order to understand this verse: (i) Man is asked to worship God. (ii) The worship that he is required to render is characterized by exclusive and total devotion and obedience to God.

‘Abd is the root word of ‘ibadah. The word ‘abd is used in Arabic as an antonym of the one who is free, hence denoting a slave, one who is in someone else’s ownership. Hence ‘ibadah has two meanings: (i) worship and devotion as mentioned in the renowned standard dictionary of Arabic Lisan al- ‘Arab. To say about someone: ‘abada Allah (he worshipped God) means ta’allaha lahu (he held him to be God). As for the word ta‘abbud, it means tanassuk (to be pious, devout and otherworldly); (ii) to render service with utter humility, to obey someone cheerfully. According to Lisan al-‘Arab, ‘ibadah is obedience. The linguistic meaning of ‘ibadah is obedience with submissiveness and humility. He who obeyed (dana) a king is his ‘abid (wa qawmuhuma lana ‘abidun!). An ‘abid is he who humbles himself before his Lord, surrendering himself and obeying His command.

A person is said to have worshipped Taghut (Satan) if he obeys Satan by following his commands and doing whatever he entices and misleads him to do. To say iyyaka na’budu (we worship You alone) means that we obey You with humility. U‘budu rabbakum means ‘obey Your Lord.’ Thus according to these authoritative lexical explanations, what is required of man is not only to worship God and be devoted to Him but also to obey Him unquestioningly and willingly and to adhere to His law and carry out His commands with all his heart and soul.

As for the word din, it carries several meanings in Arabic: for example, dominance, authority, over lordship and the power to enforce one’s decisions over others. Lisan al-‘Arab says dana al-nasa, meaning that ‘he overpowered people to obedience.’ Likewise, to say dintuhum means that ‘I overpowered them.’ To say dintuhum also means that ‘I subjugated them and became their master and possessed them.’ It is said in a hadith: ‘al-kayyis man dana nafsahu,’ meaning ‘the clever one is he who subdued his self,’ that is, ‘humbles it and enslaves it.’ The word al-dayyan means judge, arbitrator or ruler. To say: ‘wa la anta dayyani’ means: “You are not someone who has overpowered me so that you would rule over my affairs.’ To say: ‘ma kana liya’khudhu akhahu fi din al-malik’ means that ‘his brother did not have the authority to bring him to be judged by the law of the king.’ The other connotation of din is that of obedience, servitude and slavery. According to Lisan al-'Arab, din means obedience. To say dintuhu or dintu lahu means: ‘obeyed him.’ Al-din li Allah means that obedience and worship are consecrated for God. In a hadith it is said: ‘uridu min Quraysh kalimatan: tadinu lahum biha al- ‘Arab.’ This means: ‘I want from Quraysh the affirmation of a word that would lead the Arabs to become subservient to them.’ To say: thumma danat ba‘d al-rabab means: ‘then the rabab became subservient to him and obeyed him.’ The expression ‘yamragiina min aldin’ means ‘they went out of the [fold of] religion,’ meaning that ‘they went out of the obedience of the imam whose obedience is obligatory.’ The word al-madin means slave. In the statement: ‘fa law lain kuntum ghayr madinin’ the word madinin means slaves. The third meaning of din is the way or custom which men generally follow.

In view of these three meanings of the word din, in this verse it signifies the attitude and way of life one adopts in recognition of someone’s supremacy. The words, ‘So serve only Allah, consecrating your devotion to Him’ means that one should not mix service to any others with service to God. Man is required to serve and worship God alone, to follow only His Guidance and to obey only His injunctions and commands.

4. Man is directed to exclusively worship God for He alone deserves this. No one has any share in the worship and obedience that are due to Him. None other than God is entitled to be served and he who serves any others besides God is guilty of a serious wrong. The same holds true with regard to him who adulterates service to God with service to others. This verse is best explained by the following hadith cited by Ibn Marduwayah on the authority of Yazid al-Raqqashi: ‘Someone asked the Prophet (peace be on him) whether he would receive any reward for the money he donates in order to attain renown. To this he replied in the negative. When the same person asked about his act of charity which was motivated by earning God’s reward as well as fame in this world, the Prophet (peace be on him) clarified: “God accepts only what one does exclusively for His sake.” After making this observation the Prophet (peace be on him) recited the verse under discussion’. (See al-Suyuti, al-Durr al-Manthur, comments on Surah al-Zumar 39: 2-3.)

5. Although the polytheists of Makkah, (and the polytheists of the world over for that matter), recognized God as the Creator and looked upon Him as their Lord, they claimed that they did not worship any objects or beings other than God as their Creator, and that the purpose of their worship of their deities was simply to have access to the Creator through them.

6. It should be clearly understood that monotheism alone can lead to unity and concord among human beings. As for polytheism, it cannot bring about any consensus. Polytheists can never agree as to who has the power to grant them access to God. Although some credit their gods and goddesses with this ability, they differ as regards the exact identity of those gods and goddesses. Some look upon the moon, the sun, or Mars and Venus as their intercessors with God. Nevertheless, they cannot fully decide which one of these occupies the highest position in the hierarchy. Some believe that the saints of the past can draw them close to God, although there are fierce differences among them on this matter.

Some believe in one saint and others in another. These disagreements are quite understandable for the assumptions about these holy people are not based on any authentic knowledge, nor did God provide them with a list of those holy people who are highly stationed with Him and who could therefore serve as intermediaries for access to Him. In fact, notions such as the ones mentioned above gained currency among people merely because of superstitious-ness, blind adoration and uncritical following of eminent people of the past. This being the case, serious disagreements were bound to occur in determining who were the true intermediaries between God's creatures and their Lord.

7. God brands polytheists as liars and utter unbelievers. They are also called kuffar. This word has two meanings: (i) that they are diehard unbelievers, for even after monotheism has been expounded to them, they still cling to their false polytheistic notions. (ii) They are an ungrateful lot.

This because while they receive all possible bounties from God they do not give thanks to Him. They rather give thanks to those deities whom they have come to believe to be the means for these bounties.

8. That God betook a son is simply out of the question. At most, God might elevate some creature’s rank with Him. However, no exalted person, howsoever high his station, can be God’s issue, for there is a; world of difference between the Creator and the creature. Having a child necessarily implies that the two belong to the same species, which is impossible in this case.

The present verse makes it quite clear that God never intended to - take anyone as His son: ‘If Allah had wanted to take to Himself a son, He could have chosen anyone He wanted out of those whom He creates.’ It is clear, therefore, that God never wanted to take to Himself anyone as His son. Far from taking anyone as His son, He never even entertained such an idea.

9. These arguments totally repudiate the notion of God’s son ship. The first and foremost argument is that God is free from every imperfection, flaw or weakness. It is obvious that the person who needs a son does so because of his weakness and dependence on another. Since he himself is bound to die he wants a son so as to ensure the perpetuity of his family and lineage. The same holds true of those who adopt someone because there is none to inherit them or some do so out of their overflowing love and affection for a particular child. To ascribe these weaknesses to God. and make the notion of son ship an article of faith simply betrays rank ignorance and intellectual short-sightedness.

The second argument is that God is unique. He does not belong to any particular species, while children are born to members of the same species. Moreover, a child is simply inconceivable without marriage with a spouse who should also belong to the same species. Therefore, only an ignorant and foolish person can ascribe children to God.

The third argument is that God is Overpowering. He exercises total control over everything in the universe. No one, whether high or low, has even the slightest resemblance to Him that might be suggestive of any kinship with God.

10. For further details see Ibrahim 14, n. 26 and al-Nahl 16, n. 6, Towards Understanding the Qur’an, vol. IV, pp. 263 and 313, and al-‘Ankabut 29, n.

75, vol. VII, p. 40.

11. God is so powerful that were He to decide to punish someone, no one can prevent Him from doing so. He is nonetheless so gracious and kind that despite a person’s blasphemy, He does not instantly seize him for punishment; instead, He continues to grant him respite. (The grant of respite rather than immediate punishment is mentioned here as a manifestation of God’s attribute of forgiveness.)

12. This does not mean that God first created human beings from Adam and then created Eve. Instead of a temporal sequence what we find here is a certain sequence of propositions. Examples of this are found in all languages. We shall illustrate this by the following sentence: “Your deeds of today are known to me and so are your deeds of yesterday.’ This does not mean that the deeds of yesterday followed the deeds of today though that happens to be the sequence in the sentence.

13. The reference here is to the camel, cow, sheep and goat. Four males and four females of each species make a total of eight heads of cattle.

14. The reference here is to the belly, the womb and the membrane - enveloping the foetus.

15. God is the Lord, the Sovereign and the Sustainer.

16. God alone has all authority. His command is in force throughout the universe.

17. In other words, the reasoning is that since God alone is the Lord and the Sovereign, He alone should be worshipped. Others have no share in Godhead since they have no share in His lordship and dominion. The unbelievers should know that God alone created the heavens and the earth, that He alone made the sun and the moon of service to man, that He alone alternates day and night, and that He alone brought all men, women and animals into being. In view of the above, none else but He deserves to be served and worshipped.

18. The point is made in the passive voice as the unbelievers are asked: ‘whence are you being turned astray?’ What the statement implies is that someone is misguiding them. Hence, they fail to grasp something that is | quite simple and straightforward, something that pertains to common sense. It is clear, nevertheless, that this Qur’anic discourse is addressed not to the evil ones who are misguiding people but to those who, under the spell and overwhelming influence of evil ones, are going astray. It would have been futile to. address those who were actively engaged in misguiding people. This because their pursuit was informed by their vested interests which required that they should try to turn people away from service to the One True God and entice them to serve and keep serving others than Him. It is obvious that such people were not amenable to reason, for their interests lay in not seeing reason. In fact, even if such people had seen any reason in what they were told, it would be most unlikely for them to sacrifice their interests for the sake of truth.

Those who really deserved sympathy, however, are the common people who had fallen prey to the enchanting delusions of those who were out to mislead.

19. Their unbelief has no bearing on God’s dominion. God continues to be the Supreme Lord, whether they accept: this or not. God’s over lordship needs no external support; it remains unaffected by its affirmation or denial by anyone. According to a hadith {qudsi], the Prophet (peace be on him) narrated that God said: ‘O My servants, if those of you of the earlier times and those of you of later times, the humans among you and the jinn among you become like the heart of the most wicked person among you, nothing will diminish of My Kingdom,’ (Muslim, Kitab al-Birr wa al-Silah wa al-Adab, Bab Tahrim al-Zulm.)

20. It is not out of consideration for any interest of God’s but rather in consideration of man’s own interest that God does not desire that humans succumb to unbelief, for unbelief is detrimental to the latter's own interest.

It should be noted that there is a difference between God’s will and His pleasure. Nothing can take place without God’s will. Man can, however, do what does not please God. Indeed, this happens quite often. There are tyrants, wrongdoers, thieves, highway robbers, murderers as well as people guilty of illicit sex. All this is because God has made it possible for people to commit evil in the natural scheme of things that He has created. By the same token, He makes it possible for the righteous to perform good deeds. Had He not provided opportunities for this, there would have been no good and evil in this world. The existence of good and evil is an integral part of God’s design. However, all that happens does not necessarily enjoy God’s pleasure. For example, if one resolves to earn one’s bread by unlawful means, God lets one do so. This is part of His dispensation. However, the person who draws his sustenance through robbery or bribery should not think that God approves of such means of earning. Likewise, He has granted man the freedom to disbelieve insofar as He does not force man to become a believer. However, God disapproves of His creatures refusing to believe in their Creator and Sustainer. Whilst this is ruinous for them it will not cause the least damage to God’s dominion.

21. The word used here as the opposite of kufr is shukr (thankfulness), rather than iman (faith, belief). This automatically shows that unbelief basically consists of denying God’s favors whereas faith is an expression of one’s gratefulness to God for His bounties: Thankfulness to God and faith in Him complement each other. In contrast, an unbeliever is devoid of gratefulness, and disbelief makes gratitude meaningless.

22. Every man bears responsibility for his own deeds. If someone chooses to disbelieve in order to please others or to avoid their displeasure others will not be taken to task for that person’s unbelief.

Rather they will ultimately leave that person to face the consequences of his unbelief. Anyone who recognizes the distinction between belief and unbelief should instantly give up unbelief and join the camp of belief. Furthermore, the person who chooses belief should not incur eternal perdition it f deference to one’s family, community or nation.

23. Reference here is to the unbelieving person who is thankless to God despite His bounties.

24. In times of crisis, even the polytheist abandons his false gods and turns in desperation to the One True God, the Lord of the universe.

This highlights the fact that in the depths of his heart even the polytheist realizes that his deities are powerless. Within him too there is the realization that God alone has all power and authority.

25. Once man tides over his straits, he tends to forget that in utter desperation he had eschewed all false gods and turned to the One True God in prayer.

26. He subsequently resumes worshipping and obeying and praying to beings other than God and making offerings to them.

27. Such a person’s error is not confined to himself. He also misleads others by telling them that some saint or idol had rescued him from his distress. This, in turn, leads others to adore those deities besides God.

This, then, is how ignorant people continually contribute to the growth of error by narrating their so-called experiences.

28. Let it be clear that here two types of people are being compared.

There is one who turns fervently to God in crisis, though he serves others than the One True God at other times. The other type of person is committed fully to obeying, worshipping and glorifying God alone. That he worships Him in the privacy of night underscores his sincere devotion to God. God brands the former kind as ignorant, as ‘those who do not know’, even if he might have devoured whole libraries. On the other hand, He characterizes the latter as ‘those who know’ even though they might be illiterate. For, true knowledge consists in grasping the truth and acting according to it. This is what man’s success and well-being depend on. In the sight of God, these two different types of people cannot be considered alike. Since they follow different ways in this life, they will not and cannot have the same end in the Next.