Surah 41. Fussilat

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Verses [Section]: 1-8[1], 9-18 [2], 19-25 [3], 26-32 [4], 33-44 [5], 45-54 [6]

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Quran Text of Verse 1-841. Fussilat Page 47741. Fussilatبِسْمِ اللّٰهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِیْمِحٰمٓۚHa Meem تَنْزِیْلٌA revelationمِّنَfromالرَّحْمٰنِthe Most Graciousالرَّحِیْمِۚthe Most Merciful كِتٰبٌA Bookفُصِّلَتْare detailedاٰیٰتُهٗits Versesقُرْاٰنًاa Quranعَرَبِیًّا(in) Arabicلِّقَوْمٍfor a peopleیَّعْلَمُوْنَۙwho know بَشِیْرًاA giver of glad tidingsوَّ نَذِیْرًا ۚand a warnerفَاَعْرَضَbut turn awayاَكْثَرُهُمْmost of themفَهُمْso theyلَا(do) notیَسْمَعُوْنَ hear وَ قَالُوْاAnd they sayقُلُوْبُنَاOur heartsفِیْۤ(are) inاَكِنَّةٍcoveringsمِّمَّاfrom whatتَدْعُوْنَاۤyou call usاِلَیْهِto itوَ فِیْۤand inاٰذَانِنَاour earsوَقْرٌ(is) deafnessوَّ مِنْۢand between usبَیْنِنَاand between usوَ بَیْنِكَand between youحِجَابٌ(is) a screenفَاعْمَلْSo workاِنَّنَاindeed, weعٰمِلُوْنَ (are) working قُلْSayاِنَّمَاۤOnlyاَنَاI amبَشَرٌa manمِّثْلُكُمْlike youیُوْحٰۤیit is revealedاِلَیَّto meاَنَّمَاۤthatاِلٰهُكُمْyour godاِلٰهٌ(is) GodوَّاحِدٌOneفَاسْتَقِیْمُوْۤاso take a Straight Pathاِلَیْهِto Himوَ اسْتَغْفِرُوْهُ ؕand ask His forgivenessوَ وَیْلٌAnd woeلِّلْمُشْرِكِیْنَۙto the polytheists الَّذِیْنَThose whoلَا(do) notیُؤْتُوْنَgiveالزَّكٰوةَthe zakahوَ هُمْand theyبِالْاٰخِرَةِin the Hereafterهُمْtheyكٰفِرُوْنَ (are) disbelievers اِنَّIndeedالَّذِیْنَthose whoاٰمَنُوْاbelieveوَ عَمِلُواand doالصّٰلِحٰتِrighteous deedsلَهُمْfor themاَجْرٌ(is) a rewardغَیْرُnever endingمَمْنُوْنٍ۠never ending

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Translation of Verse 1-8In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

(41:1) Ha'. Mim.

(41:2) This is a revelation from the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate,

(41:3) a Book whose verses have been well-expounded; an Arabic Qur'an for those who have knowledge,

(41:4) one bearing good news and warning.¹ Yet most of them turned away and are not wont to give heed.

(41:5) They say: “Our hearts are securely wrapped up against what you call us to,² and in our ears is a heaviness, and between you and us there is a veil.³ So act; we too are acting.”⁴

(41:6) Tell them, (O Prophet): “I am only a human being like you.⁵ It is revealed to me that your God is One God;⁶ so direct yourselves straight to Him,⁷ and seek His forgiveness. Woe to those who associate others with Allah in His Divinity,⁸

(41:7) who do not pay Zakah,⁹ and who deny the Hereafter.

(41:8) As to those who have faith and do good works, surely theirs shall be a never-ending reward.¹⁰

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Commentary

1. This is a brief introduction to the Surah. Were one to carefully reflect over the discourse that follows, it will become clear how closely interlinked the introductory statement and the later discourse are.

The first point emphasized is that the Qur’an is revelation from God.

Notwithstanding the unbelievers’ parrot-like cry that it is the product of the Prophet’s own mind, the plain fact is that it was sent down by none other than God. Implicit in this is the warning that if the unbelievers resent the fact that it was revealed, their resentment is in fact not directed against the Prophet (peace be on him); but, it is directed against God Himself. If the unbelievers reject the Qur’an, they are not rejecting the word of Muhammad (peace be on him), but God’s Own Word. The One they are contemptuously turning away from is thus God and not another human being.

Another truth enunciated here is that the One Who caused the j | Qur’an’s revelation is Most Compassionate and Merciful towards His creatures. This pointed reference to God’s Compassion and Mercy.

conveys the idea that the Qur’an was revealed as a necessary corollary of His Mercy and Compassion. By means of this observation the unbelievers are told that if they pay no heed to the Qur’an or reject it or raise their eyebrows at it, they will court their own ruin. The Qur’an is an immense bounty that God has bestowed out of His abundant grace upon mankind for their welfare and guidance. Had God been indifferent to human beings’ well-being, He could have left them to grope about in darkness, with indifference to the calamitous end that might meet them because of the non-availability of adequate guidance. However, the fact is that God is much concerned with mankind’s welfare. As a result, He not only provided for man’s sustenance but took upon Himself the task of providing the knowledge that would set his life on the right course. It is with this end in view that He revealed this Book to one of His servants.

Now, who would be more thankless and more inimical to himself than he who fails to benefit from this treasure of grace, and rises instead, in rebellion against it? The third point stressed here is that the verses of the Qur’an are ‘well expounded.’ In other words, there is no ambiguity or complication in the Qur’anic teachings. Hence, no one can excuse himself from not accepting the Qur’an on the grounds that its contents are incomprehensible. On the contrary, the Qur’an clearly enunciates what is true and what is false; explains which are the right articles of belief and which are the wrong ones; what are good and what are bad morals; which kind of behavior leads to success and well-being and which kind of behavior to suffering, loss and failure. If someone tries to prevent others from accepting such clear and unambiguous guidance or adopts apathy towards it, he has no justifiable excuse for so doing. His attitude simply demonstrates that he wants to persist in error.

The fourth point emphasized is that the Qur’an is an ‘Arabic Qur’an.’ What this implies is that had the Qur’an been delivered in some foreign tongue, the Arabs could have claimed that they were unable to comprehend it, not knowing the language of the Book. The Qur’an, however, was given to them in their own language. Hence, they could not advance the pretext that they cannot understand what it says. (Verse 44 of this surah also drives home the same point although it has been expressed in a somewhat different form. See also Yusuf 12: n. 5, Towards Understanding the Qur'an, vol. IV, pp. 152-3 and the author’s work in Urdu, Rasa’il-o Masa’il, Lahore: Islamic Publications Limited, n.d., vol. I, pp. 20-5.); The fifth point emphasized is that the Qur’an is meant for only those who are endowed with knowledge. In other words, only those who have ‘common sense and reason can draw upon it. So for the ignorant, the Qur’an is as useless as a precious stone is for those who do not know the difference between a diamond and a piece of rock.

The sixth point emphasized is that the Qur’an announces good tidings as well as deliver warnings. To put it differently, the Qur’an is not the figment of a rich creative imagination, or a philosophical idea, or a literary masterpiece whose acceptance or rejection has no practical bearing on human life. On the contrary, the Qur’an vehemently claims that its acceptance will yield magnificent results and its rejection will lead to horrendous consequences. Only an imbecile can summarily set aside such a Book.

2. That is, none of the avenues that can carry the Qur’an to their hearts - has been left unused.

3. The unbelievers claimed that the Prophet’s message created a wedge between them and him. As a result, it was impossible for the two opposing camps to come to any point of agreement.

4. This carries the following two meanings: (i) That the two groups had nothing to do with each other. (ii) That if the Prophet (peace be on him) cannot desist from working for his cause, he may do so. In this case, however, the unbelievers too will not desist from opposing him and will not cease their efforts to reduce his mission to naught.

5. The Prophet (peace be on him) made it clear that it did not lie in his power to remove the coverings that had sealed their hearts, or to restore hearing to their deaf ears, or to tear down the barriers they had erected between themselves and him. After all, he was merely a human being. He can drive home his point only to those who are prepared to pay attention; communicate his message only to those who are prepared to listen; and can meet and explain things only to those who care to meet him.

6. Even if they seal their hearts and make their ears deaf to the truth, this will not change the fact that there is only One True God and that human beings are His born servants. This is not a philosophical doctrine invented by the Prophet (peace be on him) after due thought and reflection. Had that been the case, there was clearly the possibility of its being either right or wrong. However, what the Prophet (peace be on him) was communicating to people was the truth that had been disclosed to him through revelation and hence was immune from error.

7. The unbelievers are asked not to take aught as God or to serve and worship aught but God, nor to invoke others than God to come to their aid. Likewise, they are required not to bind themselves to the unreserved obedience of anyone other than God, nor to consider any custom or usage, any law or regulation which is devoid of God’s sanction as necessarily binding upon them.

8. That is, they should seek God's forgiveness for the disloyalty they had shown Him, for the polytheism, disbelief and disobedience of which they had been guilty.

9. The Qur’anic commentators differ in their opinions as regards what zakah means here. Ibn ‘Abbas and his distinguished students, ‘Ikrimah and Mujahid, believe that the word zakah here denotes the purity of self-one attains by dint of subscribing to monotheism and obeying God. (Tabari, Tafsir, comments on Surah Ha Mim al-Sajdah 41: 7.) Taken in this sense, the meaning would be as follows: ‘Woe to the associates with Allah in His Divinity who fail to attain self-purification.’ However, Qatadah, Suddi, al-Hasan al-Basri, Dahhak, Muqatil and Ibn al-Sa’ib interpret zakah in the usual sense of paying obligatory alms from one’s wealth. (Tabari, Tafsir, comments on Surah Ha Mim al-Sajdah 41: 7.) In their opinion, the verse conveys the message that those who associate others with God in His Divinity and do not pay zakah, thereby depriving their fellow human beings of their due, are doomed to destruction.

10. Those who have faith and do good are promised 'a never-ending reward.' This expression admits of two meanings: (i) That the reward will never decrease. (ii) That none will discomfort the recipients of the reward by offensively impressing that its grant was an act of favor. This is so unlike the grudging grant of a gift made by a miser, who never ceases to rub the fact that a favor has been granted to the gift's recipient.