قُلْ Say اَفَغَیْرَ Is (it) other than اللّٰهِ Allah تَاْمُرُوْٓنِّیْۤ you order me اَعْبُدُ (to) worship اَیُّهَا O الْجٰهِلُوْنَ ignorant ones وَ لَقَدْ And verily اُوْحِیَ it has been revealed اِلَیْكَ to you وَ اِلَی and to الَّذِیْنَ those who مِنْ (were) before you قَبْلِكَ ۚ (were) before you لَىِٕنْ if اَشْرَكْتَ you associate (with Allah) لَیَحْبَطَنَّ surely, will become worthless عَمَلُكَ your deeds وَ لَتَكُوْنَنَّ and you will surely be مِنَ among الْخٰسِرِیْنَ the losers بَلِ Nay اللّٰهَ But worship Allah فَاعْبُدْ But worship Allah وَ كُنْ and be مِّنَ among الشّٰكِرِیْنَ the thankful ones وَ مَا And not قَدَرُوا they appraised اللّٰهَ Allah حَقَّ (with) true قَدْرِهٖ ۖۗ appraisal وَ الْاَرْضُ while the earth جَمِیْعًا entirely قَبْضَتُهٗ (will be) in His Grip یَوْمَ (on the) Day الْقِیٰمَةِ (of) the Resurrection وَ السَّمٰوٰتُ and the heavens مَطْوِیّٰتٌۢ (will be) folded بِیَمِیْنِهٖ ؕ in His Right Hand سُبْحٰنَهٗ Glory be to Him! وَ تَعٰلٰی And High is He عَمَّا above what یُشْرِكُوْنَ they associate (with Him) 39. Az-Zumar Page 466 وَ نُفِخَ And (will) be blown فِی [in] الصُّوْرِ the trumpet فَصَعِقَ then (will) fall dead مَنْ whoever فِی (is) in السَّمٰوٰتِ the heavens وَ مَنْ and whoever فِی (is) on الْاَرْضِ the earth اِلَّا except مَنْ whom شَآءَ Allah wills اللّٰهُ ؕ Allah wills ثُمَّ Then نُفِخَ (it will) be blown فِیْهِ [in it] اُخْرٰی a second time فَاِذَا and behold هُمْ They قِیَامٌ (will be) standing یَّنْظُرُوْنَ waiting وَ اَشْرَقَتِ And (will) shine الْاَرْضُ the earth بِنُوْرِ with (the) light رَبِّهَا (of) its Lord وَ وُضِعَ and (will) be placed الْكِتٰبُ the Record وَ جِایْٓءَ and (will) be brought بِالنَّبِیّٖنَ the Prophets وَ الشُّهَدَآءِ and the witnesses وَ قُضِیَ and it (will) be judged بَیْنَهُمْ between them بِالْحَقِّ in truth وَ هُمْ and they لَا will not be wronged یُظْلَمُوْنَ will not be wronged وَ وُفِّیَتْ And (will) be paid in full كُلُّ every نَفْسٍ soul مَّا what عَمِلَتْ it did وَ هُوَ and He اَعْلَمُ (is the) Best-Knower بِمَا of what یَفْعَلُوْنَ۠ they do
(39:64) (O Prophet), say: “Ignorant people! Do you bid me to serve any other beside Allah?”
(39:65) (Tell them clearly that) it was revealed to you and to all Prophets before you: “If you associate any others with Allah in His Divinity, your works will surely come to naught74 and you will certainly be among the losers.”
(39:66) Therefore, serve Allah alone and be among those who give thanks.
(39:67) They did not recognise the true worth of Allah.75 (Such is Allah's power that) on the Day of Resurrection the whole earth will be in His grasp, and the heavens shall be folded up in His Right Hand.76 Glory be to Him! Exalted be He from all that they associate with Him.77
(39:68) And the Trumpet shall be blown78 and all who are in the heavens and the earth shall fall down dead save those whom Allah wills. Then the Trumpet shall be blown again, and lo! all of them will be standing and looking on.79
(39:69) The earth shall shine with the light of its Lord, and the Scroll (of deeds) shall be set in place, and the Prophets and all witnesses80 shall be brought, and judgement shall be justly passed among them, and they shall not be wronged;
(39:70) and everyone shall be paid in full for all that he did. Allah is best aware of all that they do.
74. If someone engages in polytheism, none of his deeds will be accepted as good deeds. He will not be rewarded for any of the deeds that he performs as good deeds because of his polytheism. In view of this basic error, his own life will simply be one of utter loss and futility.
75. The unbelievers are unaware of God’s glory and greatness. They have never fully appreciated His exalted status that makes the deities they worship pale into absolute insignificance. Astonishingly, however, such people look upon the objects which they themselves have made into God’s associates and partners and then consider them to be worthy objects of worship.
76. In order to emphasize God’s absolute control over the heavens and the earth, the Qur’an has recourse to the metaphor ‘and the heavens shall be folded up in His Right Hand’. Just as it is easy for someone to hold a ball in his palm, and doing so does not weary him, so it will be on the Day of Judgement when the heavens and the earth will be rolled up in God’s Hand. This image is especially presented to the unbelievers who are ignorant of God’s greatness and glory so as to impress on them that for God the universe is no greater than a ball or a handkerchief.
We find traditions in Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Bukhari, Muslim, Nasa‘i, Ibn Majah and Ibn Jarir al-Tabari on the authority of ‘Abd Allah ibn ‘Umar and Abu Hurayrah to the effect that once when the Prophet (peace be on him) was delivering a sermon from the pulpit he recited this particular verse, adding: God will rotate the heavens and the earths [that is, planets] in His palm, as a child rotates a ball. He will pronounce: ‘I am the One God. I am the King. I am the Irresistible. All greatness belongs to Me. Where are the earthly kings? Where are the tyrants? Where are the mighty ones?’ While recounting these words, the Prophet (peace be on him) shook so violently that the Companions feared that he would collapse on the pulpit. (Bukhari, Kitab Tafsir al-Qur’an, Bab Qawlihi: ‘Wa al-ard jamian qabdatuhu’; Muslim, Kitab Sifat al-Qiyamah wa al-Jannah wa al-Nar; Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Musnad, narrated by ‘Abd Allah ibn ‘Umar; Tabari, Tafsir, comments on Surah al-Zumar 39: 67.)
77. On the one hand is God’s infinite glory. Just bear that in mind and then bring to mind the pettiness of holding other objects as associates with Him in His Godhead.
78. For an elaboration of the Trumpet, see al-An’‘am 6, n. 48, Towards Understanding the Qur'an, vol. II, p. 244; Ibrahim 14, n. 57, vol. IV, pp. 276-7; Ta Ha 20, n. 78, vol. V, pp. 223-4; and al-Hajj 22, n. 1, vol. VI pp. 5-6.
79. The present verse states that the Trumpet will be blown twice.
In Surah al-Naml 27: 58, however, there is reference to a blowing of the Trumpet preceding which all creatures will fall dead with dread and awe.
Ahadith, therefore, speak of the blowing of the Trumpet thrice: (i) The first | such occasion will fill everyone with awe and dread. (ii) The second will; cause everyone’s death. (iii) The third will bring about resurrection. All [ the dead will rise from their graves to appear before their Lord.
80. Included in this are those witnesses who will testify that they had conveyed God's message to mankind. There will also be those witnesses who will bear testimony to the deeds of people. These latter witnesses may not necessarily be human beings. The angels, the jinn, the animals the limbs of a person’s own body, the physical environment and the trees and stones may also testify to men’s deeds, each in its peculiar manner.