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 42-52اَللّٰهُAllahیَتَوَفَّیtakesالْاَنْفُسَthe soulsحِیْنَ(at the) timeمَوْتِهَا(of) their deathوَ الَّتِیْand the one whoلَمْ(does) notتَمُتْdieفِیْinمَنَامِهَا ۚtheir sleepفَیُمْسِكُThen He keepsالَّتِیْthe one whomقَضٰیHe has decreedعَلَیْهَاfor themالْمَوْتَthe deathوَ یُرْسِلُand sendsالْاُخْرٰۤیthe othersاِلٰۤیforاَجَلٍa termمُّسَمًّی ؕspecifiedاِنَّIndeedفِیْinذٰلِكَthatلَاٰیٰتٍsurely (are) signsلِّقَوْمٍfor a peopleیَّتَفَكَّرُوْنَ who ponder اَمِOrاتَّخَذُوْاhave they takenمِنْbesidesدُوْنِbesidesاللّٰهِAllahشُفَعَآءَ ؕintercessorsقُلْSayاَوَ لَوْEven thoughكَانُوْاthey wereلَاnotیَمْلِكُوْنَpossessingشَیْـًٔاanythingوَّ لَاand notیَعْقِلُوْنَ they understand قُلْSayلِّلّٰهِTo Allah (belongs)الشَّفَاعَةُthe intercessionجَمِیْعًا ؕallلَهٗFor Himمُلْكُ(is the) dominionالسَّمٰوٰتِ(of) the heavensوَ الْاَرْضِ ؕand the earthثُمَّThenاِلَیْهِto Himتُرْجَعُوْنَ you will be returned وَ اِذَاAnd whenذُكِرَAllah is mentionedاللّٰهُAllah is mentionedوَحْدَهُAloneاشْمَاَزَّتْshrink with aversionقُلُوْبُ(the) heartsالَّذِیْنَ(of) those whoلَا(do) notیُؤْمِنُوْنَbelieveبِالْاٰخِرَةِ ۚin the Hereafterوَ اِذَاand whenذُكِرَare mentionedالَّذِیْنَthoseمِنْbesides Himدُوْنِهٖۤbesides HimاِذَاbeholdهُمْTheyیَسْتَبْشِرُوْنَ rejoice قُلِSayاللّٰهُمَّO Allah!فَاطِرَCreatorالسَّمٰوٰتِ(of) the heavensوَ الْاَرْضِand the earthعٰلِمَKnowerالْغَیْبِ(of) the unseenوَ الشَّهَادَةِand the witnessedاَنْتَYouتَحْكُمُwill judgeبَیْنَbetweenعِبَادِكَYour slavesفِیْinمَاwhatكَانُوْاthey used (to)فِیْهِthereinیَخْتَلِفُوْنَ differ وَ لَوْAnd ifاَنَّAnd ifلِلَّذِیْنَthose whoظَلَمُوْاdid wrongمَا(had) whateverفِی(is) inالْاَرْضِthe earthجَمِیْعًاallوَّ مِثْلَهٗand (the) like of itمَعَهٗwith itلَافْتَدَوْاthey would ransomبِهٖwith itمِنْfromسُوْٓءِ(the) evilالْعَذَابِ(of) the punishmentیَوْمَ(on the) Dayالْقِیٰمَةِ ؕ(of) the Resurrectionوَ بَدَاAnd (will) appearلَهُمْto themمِّنَfromاللّٰهِAllahمَاwhatلَمْnotیَكُوْنُوْاthey hadیَحْتَسِبُوْنَ taken into account 39. Az-Zumar Page 464وَ بَدَاAnd will become apparentلَهُمْto themسَیِّاٰتُ(the) evilsمَا(of) whatكَسَبُوْاthey earnedوَ حَاقَand will surroundبِهِمْthemمَّاwhatكَانُوْاthey used (to)بِهٖ[in it]یَسْتَهْزِءُوْنَ mock فَاِذَاSo whenمَسَّtouchesالْاِنْسَانَ[the] manضُرٌّadversityدَعَانَا ؗhe calls upon UsثُمَّthenاِذَاwhenخَوَّلْنٰهُWe bestow (on) himنِعْمَةًa favorمِّنَّا ۙfrom Usقَالَhe saysاِنَّمَاۤOnlyاُوْتِیْتُهٗI have been given itعَلٰیforعِلْمٍ ؕknowledgeبَلْNayهِیَitفِتْنَةٌ(is) a trialوَّ لٰكِنَّbutاَكْثَرَهُمْmost of themلَا(do) notیَعْلَمُوْنَ know قَدْIndeedقَالَهَاsaid itالَّذِیْنَthoseمِنْbefore themقَبْلِهِمْbefore themفَمَاۤbut (did) notاَغْنٰیavailعَنْهُمْthemمَّاwhatكَانُوْاthey used (to)یَكْسِبُوْنَ earn فَاَصَابَهُمْThen struck themسَیِّاٰتُ(the) evilsمَا(of) whatكَسَبُوْا ؕthey earnedوَ الَّذِیْنَAnd those whoظَلَمُوْاhave wrongedمِنْofهٰۤؤُلَآءِtheseسَیُصِیْبُهُمْwill strike themسَیِّاٰتُ(the) evilsمَا(of) whatكَسَبُوْا ۙthey earnedوَ مَاand notهُمْtheyبِمُعْجِزِیْنَ will be able to escape اَوَ لَمْDo notیَعْلَمُوْۤاthey knowاَنَّthatاللّٰهَAllahیَبْسُطُextendsالرِّزْقَthe provisionلِمَنْfor whomیَّشَآءُHe willsوَ یَقْدِرُ ؕand restrictsاِنَّIndeedفِیْinذٰلِكَthatلَاٰیٰتٍsurely (are) signsلِّقَوْمٍfor a peopleیُّؤْمِنُوْنَ۠who believe

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Translation of Verse 42-52

(39:42) It is Allah Who takes away the souls of people at the hour of their death, and takes away at the time of sleep the souls of those that have not died.⁶⁰ Then He retains the souls of those against whom He had decreed death and returns the souls of others till an appointed time. Surely there are Signs in this for a people who reflect.⁶¹

(39:43) Or have they taken others instead of Allah as intercessors?⁶² Say: “Will they intercede though they may have no power and though they may not even understand?”

(39:44) Say: “All intercession lies with Allah.⁶³ His is the dominion of the heavens and the earth. And to Him will all of you be sent back.”

(39:45) When Allah alone is mentioned, the hearts of those who do not believe in the Hereafter contract with bitterness, but when deities apart from Allah are mentioned, they are filled with joy.⁶⁴

(39:46) Say: “O Allah, the Originator of the heavens and the earth, the Knower of the unseen and the seen, You it is Who will judge among Your servants concerning what they differed.

(39:47) If the wrong-doers possessed the treasures of the earth in their entirety and as much besides, they would gladly offer it on the Day of Resurrection to redeem themselves from the harrowing chastisement. This because there will appear to them from Allah something (exceedingly dismal which) they had never even imagined.

(39:48) The evil consequences of their deeds will become fully apparent to them, and what they had scoffed at will encompass them.

(39:49) When an affliction befalls man,⁶⁵ he cries out to Us; but when We grant him a favour from Us, he says: “I have been granted this on account of my knowledge.”⁶⁶ Nay; this (favour) is a test; but most of them do not know.⁶⁷

(39:50) Their predecessors also said the same, but their earnings proved of no avail to them,⁶⁸

(39:51) and the evil consequences of their deeds overtook them. The wrongdoers among these will also be overtaken by the evil consequences of their deeds. They will be utterly unable to frustrate (Us).

(39:52) Do they not know that Allah enlarges and straitens the provision of whomsoever He pleases?⁶⁹ Therein are Signs for those that believe.

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Commentary

60. To take away the souls of people at the time of sleep means that one’s consciousness, perception, understanding and volition remain suspended while one is asleep.

61. By so saying, God stresses that He exercises total control over man’s life and death. No one can say with certainty that the next day he will rise from his bed alive. Nor does anyone know whether after a moment he will be dead or alive. While one is awake or asleep, sitting in one’s home or moving around, it is not at all certain that some calamity or any untoward affliction from outside might not cause one’s sudden death. Thus, it would be sheer foolishness for man, whose life is always in God’s Hand, to become heedless or defiant of God.

62. The unbelievers are guilty of gratuitously imagining that there are sacred beings who enjoy a very high degree of influence with God.

Such is their influence that were they to intercede on behalf of any of their devotees their intercession will never be turned down. There is no basis, however, for any such belief. God has not sent down any sanction on the basis of which anyone can claim to have such an authority with God. More importantly, even those beings whose names are mentioned in this regard never claimed that they could effectively help others. The unbelievers are utterly foolish insofar as they fail to directly approach Him Who is the Lord of all, and instead direct their devotional feelings and entreaties to these so-called intercessors.

63. No one can even approach God with a request to intercede on ' anyone’s behalf, let alone that he should believe that anyone has the power to have his intercession inexorably accepted. It is God's prerogative alone to allow or disallow requests for intercession. (For a detailed discussion of the Islamic concept of intercession and its comparison with the polytheistic concept, see al-Baqarah 2, n. 281, Towards Understanding.

the Qur’an, vol. I, p. 196; al-An‘am 6, n. 33, vol. IL, p. 235; Yunus 10, nn. 5 and 24 and Hud 11, n. 84, vol. IV, pp. 7, 24 and 120-1; Ta Ha 20, nn. 85-6 and al-Anbiya’ 21, n. 27, vol. V, pp. 227-9 and p. 262; al-Hajj 22, n. 125, vol.

VI, p. 68; and Saba’ 34, n. 40, vol. IX, p. 184.)

64. ‘When Allah alone is mentioned, the hearts of those who do not believe in the Hereafter contract with bitterness, but when deities apart from Allah are mentioned, they are filled with joy’. This characteristic is common to all those who have a polytheistic disposition, so much so that unfortunately even those Muslims who share this disposition are not devoid of it. While they say that they believe in God, whenever God alone is remembered one notices a kind of discomfiture on their faces.

Such people do not fail to denounce those who fail to make mention of saints while remembering God. They protest that such people have no reverence for saints or else they would not simply talk of God alone. On the other hand, when the names of others are mentioned besides God they instantly react with gratification, their faces beaming with joy. This shows whom they truly love and care for. While commenting on this verse Alusi narrates a personal experience of his. He mentions that once he saw a person calling upon a deceased saint to deliver him from distress. Alusi counselled him to call upon God Who Himself says: ‘When My servants ask you about Me, tell them I indeed am quite near; I hear and answer the call of the caller when he calls Me’, (al-Baqarah 2: 186.) When that person heard this he was enraged. Later on, Alusi came to know from others that he accused him of disbelieving in saints. Some even heard him say that saints are quicker in responding [to prayers] than God.” (Al-Alusi, Ruh al-Ma‘ani, comments on Surah al-Zumar 39: 45.)

65. This refers to the person who feels ill at ease when he hears someone remembering God alone.

66. This statement can mean any of the following: First, that God knows that someone is worthy of a particular favor and He accordingly grants it to him. Had he been unworthy of that favor in God's sight because his beliefs are faulty or his behavior is wicked, God would have denied him that favor in the first place. Second, it can also mean that the bounties that he enjoys were bestowed upon him because he was worthy of them.

67. People mistakenly think that the one who is granted bounties is really worthy of them and that those bounties indicate that person’s position of nearness to God. The truth is that God’s bestowal of bounties on a person amounts to putting him to a test. This explains why we see many righteous people leading miserable lives, whereas wicked people are rolling in affluence and prosperity. Quite evidently, worldly bounties do not necessarily indicate how close a person is with God. All of us know that a great many people have been afflicted with misery although they were undeniably people of sterling character. In contrast, many people enjoy abundant luxuries of life although their wickedness is unmistakable.

Doubtlessly, this cannot be taken to mean that God loves the wicked or that He is annoyed with the pious.

68. When God’s chastisement seized such people, the exceptional ability of which they had boasted proved of no avail. Moreover, the misfortune that overtook them also demonstrated the hollowness of their claim that they enjoyed a position of special closeness with God. Had that been true, they would not have been confronted with the calamity that beset them.

69. Itis being explained that the bestowal of wherewithal is governed by an altogether different law of God, one which is based on a different set of considerations. The measure of sustenance granted to someone does not necessarily correspond to his worth in God’s sight nor do his earnings necessarily indicate that person’s nearness to God. (For a detailed discussion, see al-Tawbah 9, nn. 54, 75 and 89, Towards Understanding the Qur’an, vol. IIL, pp. 217-18, 228-9 and 239; Yunus 10, n. 23, Hud 11, n. 3, al-Ra‘d 13, n. 42, vol. IV, pp. 21-4, 80, and 238; al-Kahf 18, nn. 37-8, Maryam 19, n. 45, Ta Ha 20, nn. 113-14 and al-Anbiya’ 21, n. 99, vol. V, pp. 107; 169- 70 and 299-302; al-Mu’minun 23, nn. 1 and 50, vol. VI, pp. 77-8 and 105-7; al-Qasas: 28, nn. 97-8 and 101, vol. VIL, pp. 245 and 247; and Saba’ 34, nn.

54-60, vol. IX, pp. 193-6.)