Tafheem ul Quran

Surah 35 Fatir, Ayat 38-45

اِنَّ اللّٰهَ عٰلِمُ غَيۡبِ السَّمٰوٰتِ وَالۡاَرۡضِؕ اِنَّهٗ عَلِيۡمٌۢ بِذَاتِ الصُّدُوۡرِ‏ ﴿35:38﴾ هُوَ الَّذِىۡ جَعَلَـكُمۡ خَلٰٓـئِفَ فِى الۡاَرۡضِ ؕ فَمَنۡ كَفَرَ فَعَلَيۡهِ كُفۡرُهٗ ؕ وَلَا يَزِيۡدُ الۡـكٰفِرِيۡنَ كُفۡرُهُمۡ عِنۡدَ رَبِّهِمۡ اِلَّا مَقۡتًا ۚ وَلَا يَزِيۡدُ الۡـكٰفِرِيۡنَ كُفۡرُهُمۡ اِلَّا خَسَارًا‏ ﴿35:39﴾ قُلۡ اَرَءَيۡتُمۡ شُرَكَآءَكُمُ الَّذِيۡنَ تَدۡعُوۡنَ مِنۡ دُوۡنِ اللّٰهِ ؕ اَرُوۡنِىۡ مَاذَا خَلَقُوۡا مِنَ الۡاَرۡضِ اَمۡ لَهُمۡ شِرۡكٌ فِى السَّمٰوٰتِ​ ۚ اَمۡ اٰتَيۡنٰهُمۡ كِتٰبًا فَهُمۡ عَلٰى بَيِّنَتٍ مِّنۡهُ ۚ بَلۡ اِنۡ يَّعِدُ الظّٰلِمُوۡنَ بَعۡضُهُمۡ بَعۡضًا اِلَّا غُرُوۡرًا‏ ﴿35:40﴾ اِنَّ اللّٰهَ يُمۡسِكُ السَّمٰوٰتِ وَالۡاَرۡضَ اَنۡ تَزُوۡلَا ۚوَلَـئِنۡ زَالَـتَاۤ اِنۡ اَمۡسَكَهُمَا مِنۡ اَحَدٍ مِّنۡۢ بَعۡدِهٖ ؕ اِنَّهٗ كَانَ حَلِيۡمًا غَفُوۡرًا‏ ﴿35:41﴾ وَاَ قۡسَمُوۡا بِاللّٰهِ جَهۡدَ اَيۡمَانِهِمۡ لَـئِنۡ جَآءَهُمۡ نَذِيۡرٌ لَّيَكُوۡنُنَّ اَهۡدٰى مِنۡ اِحۡدَى الۡاُمَمِۚ فَلَمَّا جَآءَهُمۡ نَذِيۡرٌ مَّا زَادَهُمۡ اِلَّا نُفُوۡرًا ۙ‏ ﴿35:42﴾ اۨسۡتِكۡبَارًا فِى الۡاَرۡضِ وَمَكۡرَ السَّيّیٴِؕ وَلَا يَحِيۡقُ الۡمَكۡرُ السَّيِّـئُ اِلَّا بِاَهۡلِهٖ ؕ فَهَلۡ يَنۡظُرُوۡنَ اِلَّا سُنَّتَ الۡاَوَّلِيۡنَ ۚ فَلَنۡ تَجِدَ لِسُنَّتِ اللّٰهِ تَبۡدِيۡلًا ۚ وَلَنۡ تَجِدَ لِسُنَّتِ اللّٰهِ تَحۡوِيۡلًا‏ ﴿35:43﴾ اَوَلَمۡ يَسِيۡرُوۡا فِى الۡاَرۡضِ فَيَنۡظُرُوۡا كَيۡفَ كَانَ عَاقِبَةُ الَّذِيۡنَ مِنۡ قَبۡلِهِمۡ وَكَانُوۡۤا اَشَدَّ مِنۡهُمۡ قُوَّةً ؕ وَمَا كَانَ اللّٰهُ لِيُعۡجِزَهٗ مِنۡ شَىۡءٍ فِى السَّمٰوٰتِ وَلَا فِى الۡاَرۡضِ ؕ اِنَّهٗ كَانَ عَلِيۡمًا قَدِيۡرًا‏  ﴿35:44﴾ وَلَوۡ يُـؤَاخِذُ اللّٰهُ النَّاسَ بِمَا كَسَبُوۡا مَا تَرَكَ عَلٰى ظَهۡرِهَا مِنۡ دَآ بَّةٍ وَّلٰـكِنۡ يُّؤَخِّرُهُمۡ اِلٰٓى اَجَلٍ مُّسَمًّىۚ فَاِذَا جَآءَ اَجَلُهُمۡ فَاِنَّ اللّٰهَ كَانَ بِعِبَادِهٖ بَصِيۡرًا‏ ﴿35:45﴾

(35:38) Surely Allah knows the Unseen in the heavens and the earth. He even knows the secrets hidden in people's breasts. (35:39) It is He Who made you vicegerents in the earth.64 So whoever disbelieves will bear the burden of his unbelief.65 The unbelievers' unbelief adds nothing but Allah's wrath against them. The unbelievers' unbelief adds nothing but their own loss. (35:40) Say to them (O Prophet): “Have you ever seen those of your associates 66 upon whom you call apart from Allah? Show me what have they created in the earth? Or do they have any partnership (with Allah) in the heavens? Or have We given them a Book so that they have a clear proof (for associating others with Allah in His Divinity)?”67 Nay, what these wrong-doers promise each other is nothing but delusion.68 (35:41) Surely Allah holds the heavens and the earth, lest they should be displaced there, for if they were displaced none would be able to hold them after Him.69Surely He is Most Forbearing, Most Forgiving.70 (35:42) Swearing by Allah their strongest oaths they claimed that if a warner came to them they would be better-guided than any other people.71 But when a warner did come to them, his coming only increased their aversion (to the Truth). (35:43) They began to wax even more proud on earth and contrived evil designs although the contriving of evil designs only overtakes their authors. Are they waiting, then, for anything except what happened to the nations before them?72 You shall not find any change in the Way of Allah; and you shall not find anything that can ever alter the Way of Allah. (35:44) Have they not journeyed in the earth to behold the end of those who went before them though they were stronger than them in might? Nothing in the heavens nor on earth can frustrate Him in the least. He is All-Knowing, All-Powerful. (35:45) If Allah were to take people to task for their deeds, He would not leave any living creature on earth, but He grants them respite to an appointed time. When their appointed time comes to an end, surely Allah fully observes His servants.

Notes

64. This can have two meanings:

(1) Now He has settled you on His earth after the passing away of the previous generations and nations.

(2) The powers and authority that He has given to you over different things in the earth are not meant to make you the owners of these things but are meant to enable you to function as the representatives of their real Owner.

65. If the previous sentence is taken to mean that you have been made successors to the previous nations, this sentence would mean this: The one who did not learn any lesson from the fate of the previous nations and adopted the conduct of disbelief due to which those nations have gone to their doom, will himself see the evil end of his folly. And if the sentence is taken to mean this that Allah has delegated to you powers and authority as His vicegerents in the earth, this sentence would mean: He who forgot this position of vicegerency and became independent, or he who adopted service of someone else, apart from his real Master, would see the evil end of his rebellious conduct himself.

66. “Associates of yours”, because they are not in fact the associates of Allah, but the ones whom the polytheists themselves have made associates of Allah.

67. That is, do they possess a written sanction from Us in which We might have indicated that We have given such and such persons the powers to heal the sick, or to get jobs for the jobless, or to fulfill needs of the needy, or that We have made such and such beings Our representatives in such and such parts of the earth and now it is in their hands to make or mar the destinies of the people of those parts; therefore, Our servants now should pray to them and present gifts and offerings before them, and for whatever blessings they receive they should thank those demigods only? If you possess any such sanction, produce it. And if you have no such sanction, you should consider on what grounds you have invented these polytheistic creeds and practices. When you are asked as to what sign is there in the heavens and the earth that may point to your self invented gods as being God’s associates, you cannot point out any. When you are asked to produce any divine sanction from any Book of Allah, or from your own possession, or from the possession of your self-invented gods, which may testify to God s having Himself delegated to them those powers which you assign to them, you do not produce any. What then is the basis of your these creeds and concepts? Are you the owners of the divine rights and powers that you may assign and distribute them to whomsoever you please?

68. That is, these religious guides, saints, priests, sorcerers, preachers and attendants of shrines and their agents are fooling the people for selfish motives, and are concocting stories to give them false hopes that if they became the followers of such and such personalities, apart from God, they would have all their wishes and needs fulfilled in the world, and all their sins, no matter-how grave and numerous, forgiven by Allah in the Hereafter.

69. That is, this limitless universe is being sustained by Allah alone. No angel, or jinn, or prophet, or saint can sustain it. Not to speak of sustaining the universe these helpless creatures do not even have the power to sustain their own selves. Each one of them is entirely dependent on Allah Almighty for his birth and survival every moment. To think that any one of them has any share in the attributes and powers of divinity is sheer folly and deception.

70. That is, it is Allah’s Clemency and Forbearance that He is not seizing the culprits immediately in punishment in spite of All kinds of disobedience which are being shown towards Him.

71. Before the advent of the Prophet (peace be upon him), the same thing used to be said by the Arabs, in general, and by the Quraish, in particular, when they witnessed the moral degeneration of the Jews and the Christians. Mention of this saying of theirs has also been made in( Surah Al-Anaam, Ayats 156-157) and in (Surah As-Saffat, Ayats 167-169).

72. That is, this Law of Allah that the nation which repudiates its Prophet, is destroyed should be applied in their case as well.