Surah 70. Al-Ma'arij

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Verses [Section]: 1-35[1], 36-44 [2]

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Quran Text of Verse 36-44فَمَالِSo what is withالَّذِیْنَthose whoكَفَرُوْاdisbelieveقِبَلَكَbefore youمُهْطِعِیْنَۙ(they) hasten عَنِOnالْیَمِیْنِthe rightوَ عَنِand onالشِّمَالِthe leftعِزِیْنَ (in) separate groups اَیَطْمَعُDoes longكُلُّeveryامْرِئٍpersonمِّنْهُمْamong themاَنْthatیُّدْخَلَhe entersجَنَّةَa Gardenنَعِیْمٍۙ(of) Delight كَلَّا ؕBy no means!اِنَّاIndeed Weخَلَقْنٰهُمْ[We] have created themمِّمَّاfrom whatیَعْلَمُوْنَ they know 70. Al-Ma'arij Page 570فَلَاۤBut nay!اُقْسِمُI swearبِرَبِّby (the) Lordالْمَشٰرِقِ(of) the risingوَ الْمَغٰرِبِand the settingsاِنَّاthat Weلَقٰدِرُوْنَۙ(are) surely Able عَلٰۤیToاَنْthatنُّبَدِّلَWe replaceخَیْرًا(with) betterمِّنْهُمْ ۙthan them;وَ مَاand notنَحْنُWeبِمَسْبُوْقِیْنَ (are) to be outrun فَذَرْهُمْSo leave themیَخُوْضُوْا(to) converse vainlyوَ یَلْعَبُوْاand amuse themselvesحَتّٰیuntilیُلٰقُوْاthey meetیَوْمَهُمُtheir Dayالَّذِیْwhichیُوْعَدُوْنَۙthey are promised یَوْمَ(The) Dayیَخْرُجُوْنَthey will come outمِنَfromالْاَجْدَاثِthe gravesسِرَاعًاrapidlyكَاَنَّهُمْas if they (were)اِلٰیtoنُصُبٍa goalیُّوْفِضُوْنَۙhastening خَاشِعَةًHumbledاَبْصَارُهُمْtheir eyesتَرْهَقُهُمْwill cover themذِلَّةٌ ؕhumiliationذٰلِكَThatالْیَوْمُ(is) the Dayالَّذِیْwhichكَانُوْاthey wereیُوْعَدُوْنَ۠promised

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Translation of Verse 36-44

(70:36) But what is the matter with the unbelievers who are hurrying towards you

(70:37) in crowds, both on the right and on the left?²⁴

(70:38) Does everyone of them wish to enter the Garden of Bliss?²⁵

(70:39) By no means! They know that which We have created them from.²⁶

(70:40) I swear²⁷ by the Lord of the easts and the wests²⁸ that We have the power

(70:41) to replace them by others who would be better than they; and We shall certainly not be overpowered.²⁹

(70:42) So leave them to engage in vain talk and to amuse themselves until they come face to face with the Day which they are promised,

(70:43) the Day on which they will hastily come forth from their graves, as though they were hurrying on to the altars of their deities.³⁰

(70:44) Their eyes will be downcast and disgrace will overwhelm them. Such is the Day that they were promised.

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Commentary

24. This refers to those disbelievers who, whenever they heard the Prophet (peace be upon him) reciting the Qur’an or saw him inviting people to embrace his teachings, rushed towards him, subjecting him to ridicule and banter.

25. God’s Paradise is exclusively for such servants of God whose traits are described in the above Qur’anic passage. Those who are not even willing to listen to the call to truth and who exert themselves in stifling this call cannot enter Paradise. God has not made Paradise for such people. For a better understanding of these verses, they should be studied together with verses 34-41 of Surah al-Qalam, which contain a rejoinder to the Makkan disbelievers. The absurd notion of theirs is refuted, that even if there is any Life after Death, they will enjoy it in the Hereafter, and that those who believe in the Prophet (peace be upon him) will have a miserable life, similar to what they had been experiencing in Makkah.

26. This verse is open to two meanings. On studying it, in conjunction with the preceding verses, it may mean that it is true that all men are alike in that all of them have been created from the same substance. Were this to be taken as the criterion for admission to Paradise, everyone, be they pious or evil, just or unjust, criminals or innocent, should enter Paradise. However, common sense tells us that one’s good conduct alone, and nothing else, will decide whether he is eligible or not eligible for entering Paradise. On reading this verse, together with the subsequent verses, it may be taken as a warning to the disbelievers who regard themselves immune from the divine punishment and who laugh at the Prophet (peace be upon him) when he warns them about God’s chastisement. Indeed, God is capable of punishing the disbelievers whenever He wills. He may resurrect them at His will at any time. They recognize that God has created them out of a small drop of sperm and allowed them to mature into adulthood with the power of moving around. Had they reflected on how they have been created, they would not have suffered from the delusion that they can ever escape God's grip or that He has no power to create them again.

27. i.e., what the disbelievers think is not the truth.

28. God has taken an oath here with reference to His own being.

The words “easts” and “wests” are used in the plural with good reason. Each day of the year, the angle of the rising and setting of the sun varies. Furthermore, the angles at which it rises and sets in different parts of the earth also vary. In this sense, there is not one but many easts; there is not one but many wests. It is worth noting that in verse 28 of Surah al-Shua’ara’ and verse 19 of Surah al-Muzzammil, God is spoken of as the Lord of the east and the west. For, like north and south, there are two opposing directions of east and west. In another sense, however, there are two easts and two wests. For as the sun sets in one hemisphere of the Earth, it rises in the other. Accordingly, in verse 17 of Surah al-Rahman, God is designated as the Lord of the two easts and two wests. (For further details see Surah al-Rahman 55: n. 17.)

29. This is the truth affirmed with reference to the oath invoking God ~ as the Lord of the easts and the wests, He therefore exercises His absolute control over the earth. It is not possible at all for man to flee from His grip. He may destroy man at His will and may replace mankind with other beings who would be better than they are.

30. The commentators of the Qur’an have given various explanations for the Qur’anic expression nusub. Some take it to mean deities in the sense that the disbelievers will rush to the designated place on the Day of Judgement, the way they rush today to the altars of their deities. Others however, take it as a mark signifying the end point of a race. All those racing try their best to reach that mark first.