Surah 40. Ghafir

---

Verses [Section]: 1-9[1], 10-20 [2], 21-27 [3], 28-37 [4], 38-50 [5], 51-60 [6], 61-68 [7], 69-78 [8], 79-85 [9]

---

Quran Text of Verse 69-78اَلَمْDo notتَرَyou seeاِلَی[to]الَّذِیْنَthose whoیُجَادِلُوْنَdisputeفِیْۤconcerningاٰیٰتِ(the) Signsاللّٰهِ ؕ(of) AllahاَنّٰیHowیُصْرَفُوْنَthey are turned away الَّذِیْنَThose whoكَذَّبُوْاdenyبِالْكِتٰبِthe Bookوَ بِمَاۤand with whatاَرْسَلْنَاWe sentبِهٖwith itرُسُلَنَا ۛ۫Our Messengersفَسَوْفَbut soonیَعْلَمُوْنَۙthey will know اِذِWhenالْاَغْلٰلُthe iron collarsفِیْۤ(will be) aroundاَعْنَاقِهِمْtheir necksوَ السَّلٰسِلُ ؕand the chainsیُسْحَبُوْنَۙthey will be dragged فِیInالْحَمِیْمِ ۙ۬the boiling waterثُمَّthenفِیinالنَّارِthe Fireیُسْجَرُوْنَۚthey will be burned ثُمَّThenقِیْلَit will be saidلَهُمْto themاَیْنَWhereمَا(is) that whichكُنْتُمْyou used (to)تُشْرِكُوْنَۙassociate مِنْOther thanدُوْنِOther thanاللّٰهِ ؕAllahقَالُوْاThey will sayضَلُّوْاThey have departedعَنَّاfrom usبَلْNayلَّمْNotنَكُنْwe usedنَّدْعُوْا[we] (to) callمِنْbeforeقَبْلُbeforeشَیْـًٔا ؕanythingكَذٰلِكَThusیُضِلُّAllah lets go astrayاللّٰهُAllah lets go astrayالْكٰفِرِیْنَ the disbelievers ذٰلِكُمْThat wasبِمَاbecauseكُنْتُمْyou used (to)تَفْرَحُوْنَrejoiceفِیinالْاَرْضِthe earthبِغَیْرِwithoutالْحَقِّrightوَ بِمَاand becauseكُنْتُمْyou used (to)تَمْرَحُوْنَۚbe insolent اُدْخُلُوْۤاEnterاَبْوَابَ(the) gatesجَهَنَّمَ(of) Hellخٰلِدِیْنَ(to) abide foreverفِیْهَا ۚin itفَبِئْسَand wretched isمَثْوَی(the) abodeالْمُتَكَبِّرِیْنَ (of) the arrogant فَاصْبِرْSo be patientاِنَّindeedوَعْدَ(the) Promiseاللّٰهِ(of) Allahحَقٌّ ۚ(is) trueفَاِمَّاAnd whetherنُرِیَنَّكَWe show youبَعْضَsomeالَّذِیْ(of) whatنَعِدُهُمْWe have promised themاَوْorنَتَوَفَّیَنَّكَWe cause you to dieفَاِلَیْنَاthen to Usیُرْجَعُوْنَ they will be returned 40. Ghafir Page 476وَ لَقَدْAnd certainlyاَرْسَلْنَاWe have sentرُسُلًاMessengersمِّنْbefore youقَبْلِكَbefore youمِنْهُمْAmong themمَّنْ(are) someقَصَصْنَاWe have relatedعَلَیْكَto youوَ مِنْهُمْand among themمَّنْ(are) someلَّمْnotنَقْصُصْWe have relatedعَلَیْكَ ؕto youوَ مَاAnd notكَانَisلِرَسُوْلٍfor any Messengerاَنْthatیَّاْتِیَhe bringsبِاٰیَةٍa Signاِلَّاexceptبِاِذْنِby (the) permissionاللّٰهِ ۚ(of) AllahفَاِذَاSo whenجَآءَcomesاَمْرُ(the) Commandاللّٰهِ(of) Allahقُضِیَit will be decidedبِالْحَقِّin truthوَ خَسِرَand will loseهُنَالِكَthereالْمُبْطِلُوْنَ۠the falsifiers

---

Translation of Verse 69-78

(40:69) Did you not see those who dispute concerning Allah's Signs? Whence are they, then, being turned astray?⁹⁹

(40:70) Those who gave the lie to this Book and all the Books which We had sent with Our Messengers¹⁰⁰ shall soon come to know the Truth

(40:71) when fetters and chains shall be on their necks, and they shall be dragged into

(40:72) boiling water, and cast into the Fire.¹⁰¹

(40:73) It will then be said to them: “Where are those whom you

(40:74) associated with Allah in His Divinity?”¹⁰² They will say: “We have lost them; rather, we never used to call upon anyone before.”¹⁰³ Thus will Allah cause them to stumble in error.

(40:75) (They will be told): “This is because while you were on earth you took delight in untruth and exulted in it.¹⁰⁴

(40:76) Enter Hell now to abide in it. How woeful is the abode of those who wax proud!

(40:77) So be patient,¹⁰⁵ (O Prophet). Surely Allah's promise is true. Whether We show them a part of the woeful consequences against which We warn them (while you are still in their midst) or We recall you (from this world) before that, eventually it is to Us that they shall be brought back.¹⁰⁶

(40:78) Indeed We sent many Messengers before you: of them there are some whose account We have narrated to you and there are others whose account We have not narrated to you.¹⁰⁷ It did not lie in any Messenger's power to bring any Sign¹⁰⁸ except with Allah's leave. So when Allah's decree came, the matter was decided with justice, and those steeped in error courted utter loss,¹⁰⁹ then and there.

---

Commentary

99. This lays bare the root cause of the unbelievers’ erroneous | perception and conduct, one that has caused them to fall in the ditch of waywardness? It goes without saying that the address here is not directed 4 specifically to the Prophet (peace be on him); it is, rather, directed to every 4 serious student of the Qur’an.

100. This is the root cause of the unbelievers’ error. They refuse to believe in the Qur’an and the teachings of the Messengers and contest} God’s Signs instead of seriously reflecting upon them. As a result, they are led astray and it is no longer possible for them to pursue the Straight Way.

101. Driven by extreme thirst, those who had contested God’s Signs will ask for water but the custodians of Hell will drag them by their 3 fetters and take them to springs of hot, - boiling water. After partaking of this, they will be dragged back and hurled into Hellfire.

102. That is, if they were really gods or God’s associates in His Divinity whom they worshipped under the impression that they would rescue them from their distress, why is it that those gods or God's associates are doing nothing to deliver them from their woeful predicament?

103. This does not mean that they will deny that in their world: life they had associated others with God in His Divinity. What it rather means is that they have come to know fully well that their false gods are totally helpless, even though they had invoked them in the phase of their worldly existence. For such false gods have simply turn good-for-nothing as corpses.

104. They were not simply content with pursuing falsehood, but were so intoxicated with devotion to untruth that they impudently spurned the truth and exulted in their devotion to falsehood.

105. The Prophet (peace be on him) is directed to persevere in the face of the petty contentiousness of his opponents who are out to humiliate « and degrade him by recourse to ignoble means.

106. It is clarified that God will not necessarily punish each of the Prophet's enemies in this world or during the Prophet's life-time. What is, nonetheless, quite certain is that they cannot escape being seized by Him. For, after all, everyone is destined to return to God. No way will be left for these culprits to escape full punishment for their misdeeds.

107. The Qur’an here broaches another subject. The Makka unbelievers used to say to the Prophet (peace be on him) that they would not accept him as God’s Messenger until he presented them with a miracle of their choosing. In the verses that follow, the Qur’an responds to this contention without directly referring to it. As to the miracles demand by the Makkan unbelievers, these are discussed elsewhere in the Quran. (See Hud 11: 12; al-Hijr 15: 7; Bani Isra’il 17: 90-5 and al-Furqan 25: 21.)

108. No Prophets have ever produced miracles of their own accord; they are simply not authorized to do so. It is by God’s leave alone that Prophets present miracles. A miracle is presented when God decides that it may be produced before an unbelieving community. This, then, is the first rejoinder to the unbelievers’ demand for a miracle.

109. No miracle was ever presented by way of mere sport and play. Rather, a miracle is something of a grave and decisive character.

a community persists in unbelief even after witnessing a miracle, it’s obliterated. The Makkan unbelievers’ demand for miracle lacked seriousness. They failed to realize that by making this demand they were inviting destruction upon themselves. This is another rejoinder to e unbelievers’ demand for miracles. (The same point is also made in the following surah’s of the Qur’an: al-Hijr 15, nn. 5, 30 and 33, Towards inderstanding the Our’an, vol. IV, pp. 282-3 and 295; al-Anbiya’ 21, n. 8, ol. V, pp. 254-5; al-Furqan 25, n. 36 and al-Shu‘ara’ 26, n. 29, vol. VII, pp. 9 and 64-5.