Surah 74. Al-Muddaththir

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Verses [Section]: 1-31[1], 32-56 [2]

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Quran Text of Verse 32-56كَلَّاNay!وَ الْقَمَرِۙBy the moon وَ الَّیْلِAnd the nightاِذْwhenاَدْبَرَۙit departs وَ الصُّبْحِAnd the morningاِذَاۤwhenاَسْفَرَۙit brightens اِنَّهَاIndeed itلَاِحْدَی(is) surely oneالْكُبَرِۙ(of) the greatest نَذِیْرًاA warningلِّلْبَشَرِۙto (the) human being لِمَنْTo whoeverشَآءَwillsمِنْكُمْamong youاَنْtoیَّتَقَدَّمَproceedاَوْorیَتَاَخَّرَؕstay behind كُلُّEveryنَفْسٍۭsoulبِمَاfor whatكَسَبَتْit has earnedرَهِیْنَةٌۙ(is) pledged اِلَّاۤExceptاَصْحٰبَ(the) companionsالْیَمِیْنِؕۛ(of) the right فِیْInجَنّٰتٍ ۛؕ۫Gardensیَتَسَآءَلُوْنَۙasking each other عَنِAboutالْمُجْرِمِیْنَۙthe criminals مَاWhatسَلَكَكُمْled youفِیْintoسَقَرَ Hell قَالُوْاThey will sayلَمْNotنَكُwe wereمِنَofالْمُصَلِّیْنَۙthose who prayed وَلَمْAnd notنَكُwe usedنُطْعِمُ(to) feedالْمِسْكِیْنَۙthe poor وَ كُنَّاAnd we used (to)نَخُوْضُindulge in vain talkمَعَwithالْخَآىِٕضِیْنَۙthe vain talkers وَ كُنَّاAnd we used (to)نُكَذِّبُdenyبِیَوْمِ(the) Dayالدِّیْنِۙ(of) the Judgment حَتّٰۤیUntilاَتٰىنَاthere came to usالْیَقِیْنُؕthe certainty 74. Al-Muddaththir Page 577فَمَاThen notتَنْفَعُهُمْwill benefit themشَفَاعَةُintercessionالشّٰفِعِیْنَؕ(of) the intercessors فَمَاThen whatلَهُمْ(is) for themعَنِ(that) fromالتَّذْكِرَةِthe Reminderمُعْرِضِیْنَۙthey (are) turning away كَاَنَّهُمْAs if they (were)حُمُرٌdonkeysمُّسْتَنْفِرَةٌۙfrightened فَرَّتْFleeingمِنْfromقَسْوَرَةٍؕa lion بَلْNay!یُرِیْدُDesiresكُلُّeveryامْرِئٍpersonمِّنْهُمْof themاَنْthatیُّؤْتٰیhe may be givenصُحُفًاpagesمُّنَشَّرَةًۙspread out كَلَّا ؕNay!بَلْButلَّاnotیَخَافُوْنَthey fearالْاٰخِرَةَؕthe Hereafter كَلَّاۤNay!اِنَّهٗIndeed itتَذْكِرَةٌۚ(is) a Reminder فَمَنْSo whoeverشَآءَwillsذَكَرَهٗؕ(may) pay heed to it وَ مَاAnd notیَذْكُرُوْنَwill pay heedاِلَّاۤexceptاَنْthatیَّشَآءَwillsاللّٰهُ ؕAllahهُوَHeاَهْلُ(is) worthyالتَّقْوٰیto be fearedوَ اَهْلُand worthyالْمَغْفِرَةِ۠to forgive

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Translation of Verse 32-56

(74:32) Nay,²⁷ by the moon,

(74:33) and by the night when it recedes,

(74:34) and by the day when it dawns (with its radiance),

(74:35) surely (Hell) is one of the greatest Signs,²⁸

(74:36) a warning to humankind,

(74:37) a warning to everyone of you whether he would like to come forward or lag behind.²⁹

(74:38) Each one is a hostage to one's deeds,³⁰

(74:39) save the People of the Right Hand

(74:40) who shall be in the Gardens,³¹ and shall ask

(74:41) about the guilty ones:³²

(74:42) “What drove you to Hell?”

(74:43) They will answer: “We were not among those who observed Prayer,³³

(74:44) and we did not feed the poor,³⁴

(74:45) and we indulged in vain talk with those who indulged in vain talk,

(74:46) and we gave the lie to the Day of Judgement

(74:47) until the inevitable event overtook us.”³⁵

(74:48) The intercession of the intercessors shall then be of no avail to them.³⁶

(74:49) What is the matter with people that they are turning away from this Exhortation,

(74:50) as though they were frightened wild asses,

(74:51) fleeing from a lion?³⁷

(74:52) No indeed; each one of them desires that open letters be sent to each of them.³⁸

(74:53) No indeed; the truth is that they have no fear of the Hereafter.³⁹

(74:54) Nay;⁴⁰ this is an Exhortation.

(74:55) So, whoever wills may benefit from it.

(74:56) But they will not benefit from it unless Allah Himself so wills.⁴¹ He is worthy to be feared;⁴² and He is worthy to forgive (those that fear Him).⁴³

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Commentary

27. What is being said here is not baseless prattle or irresponsible gossip. There was no occasion, therefore, to subject it to ridicule.

28. In the same way that the moon and the night and the day are all among the great signs of God’s power, so too is Hell. The existence of the moon and the constant alternation of night and day are not something improbable, then why, in your view, has the existence of Hell become impossible? Man is not struck with wonder on observing something so amazing as the moon and the alternation of day and night. These things in themselves are miracles of the great marvels of God’s creative power. Had man not observed first-hand the sun and the moon and been informed of the existence of the moon in the universe, or that there is a sun, when it sets, it leaves the world in complete darkness, and when it rises, it illuminates the world with a bright light, then he would have subjected this report to the same ridicule, with which they dismiss the existence of Hell.

29. Man is eloquently warned against Hell. It is now up to him to heed and come forward onto the correct path or to lag behind in error and disbelief.

30. For details see Towards Understanding the Qur’an, Surah al-Tur 52: n. 16.

31. The people of the left hand will be seized for their misdeeds whereas those of the right hand will salvage themselves by dint of their faith and good deeds. (For the explanation of the people of the left and the right hand see Towards Understanding the Qur'an, Surah al-Waqi'ah 56: nn. 5-6.)

32. As mentioned at several places in the Qur'an, the dwellers of Paradise will be able, even while remaining there, to see and communicate with the inmates of Hell, notwithstanding the very long distance between them and the lack of any device for communication. (For examples see Towards Understanding the Qur'an, vol. III, Surah al-A'raf 7: n. 35, pp. 30-31 and vol. IX, Surah al-Ṣaffat 37: n. 32, p. 292.)

33. They were not regular in offering daily prayers as the foremost duty imposed by God, and they were not firm believers in God, His Messenger, and His Book. It is worth stating that one who does not truly believe cannot offer prayer at all. It is an essential trait of a believer that he offers prayer regularly. If one abandons prayer, even though he may be a believer, it is clarified that he cannot escape the Hellfire.

34. This underscores the enormity of the crime in Islam of a person who finds a hungry person and does not feed him, despite having the means. It is mentioned in particular as one of the sins which will drag one to Hell.

35. They clung to the wrong path until their death, of which they were oblivious. "The inevitable event" stands for both death and the Hereafter.

36. No intercessor’s plea can avail those culprits who clung to the wrong faith until their last breath. The Qur’an has clearly spelled-out the doctrine of intercession at several places. In its light, one can easily find out who can intercede and who cannot, when one can intercede and when he cannot, for whom he can intercede and for whom he cannot, for whom it is beneficial and for whom it is not. Since this doctrine has misled many into error, the Qur’an has clarified all that is required to know, leaving no room for any doubt. It will be in order to study the following Quranic passages on intercession: Verses 255 of Surah al-Baqarah, 94 of Surah al- An‘am, 53 of Surah al-A ‘raf, 3 and 18 of Surah Yunus, 87 of Surah Maryam; @ 109 of Surah Ta Ha, 28 of Surah al-Anbiya’, 23 of Surah Saba’, 43-44 of Surah al-Zumar, 18 of Surah al-Mu'min, 41-42 of Surah al-Dukhan, 26 of Surah al-Najm and 37-38 of Surah al-Naba’, and the explanatory notes on these.

37. This is an idiomatic Arabic expression. No sooner do wild asses sense danger then they are totally stupefied and flee in fright in a manner that no other animals do. The Arabs therefore liken panic-stricken persons to wild asses fleeing from the smell of a lion, or the sound of a hunter.

38. The Makkan chiefs were of the opinion that if God had indeed designated Muhammad (peace be upon him) as a Prophet, He should have sent a letter to each of the chiefs and elders of Makkah informing them of this. The letter should be such that it convinces them that it is written by God Himself. Only then would they accept him as a Prophet. At another place the Qur’an reproduces this demand of the Makkan disbelievers in this way: “We will not believe until we are given what was given to the Messengers of God.” (Surah al-An’am 6: 124) Their other demand was: “We will not believe until you (the Prophet) ascend to the sky and bring down a book for them that they can read.” (Surah Bani Isra’il 17: 93)

39. The main reason for their refusal to believe was not because of the non-fulfillment of their demands. Rather, they had no fear of the Hereafter. For them this world was all that there is. They were totally heedless of the Afterlife and that they have to face full accountability for their deeds. This lay at the core of their carelessness and irresponsibility in the world. For them the issue of truth and falsehood was meaningless for they were unaware of any truth which definitely brought them some gains in this world, or any falsehood which necessarily brought any evil in the world. They were simply not interested in the issue of truth and falsehood. Only one who regards this life as ephemeral and the Afterlife as eternal feels concerned about real truth and falsehood, for he believes in the recompense of reward for good and punishment for bad. Accordingly, such a person is likely to embrace faith on studying the cogent arguments and noble teachings presented in the Qur’an. He will use his common sense and reflect ‘on what is actually wrong in the beliefs and deeds which the Qur’an brands as false. In contrast, one who disbelieves in the Hereafter and is not serious in the quest of truth will lay down preconditions for accepting faith and will not feel convinced, even if all of his demands are met. He will still find some other pretext for not embracing faith. The same truth is highlighted in the Qur’an thus: “O Messenger, had We sent down to you a book inscribed on parchment, and had they touched it with their own hands, the disbelievers would still have said: This is nothing but plain magic.’ (Surah al-An‘am 6: 7)

40. “No indeed” is said here to stress that God will never accede to any such requests.

41. One's taking heed and following guidance does not depend solely on his own inclination. When Allah wills so, he follows the guidance for it is He Who, through His grace, enables him to derive guidance. In other words, it is stressed that man cannot do anything solely on his own volition. It is God’s will that helps one accomplish what he sets out to do. It is a very delicate issue. Those unable to appreciate this are liable to falter. Had everyone been absolutely free to do what he desires, it would have disturbed the working of the world. The present order is in place owing to God’s supreme will. Man may achieve something only when God wills so. The same holds true for man’s guidance and error. Man’s own inclination to be guided is not sufficient. Only when God decides to confer guidance upon him, he is blessed with it. Likewise, when God decides to let him wander into error in view of his proclivity for error, he takes to the wrong path. It is God Who enables man to do as much as He wills according to His supreme wisdom and experience.

42. Allah does not stand in need of man deriving guidance. Therefore, man’s refusal to be guided does not harm Him at all. Man is admonished because God wills that man should seek His pleasure and shun all that displeases Him.

43. It befits God to shower His mercy on a sinner when he mends his way, irrespective of the quantum of his disobedience. God is merciful and not vindictive towards His servants; He is not eager to punish them.