Family, Community & Society Quran

034- SABA

SHEBA

IN THE NAME OF GOD, THE COMPASSIONATE, THE MERCIFUL

# Praise be to God, unto Whom belongs whatsoever is in the heavens and whatsoever is on the earth. His is the praise in the Hereafter, and He is the Wise, the Aware. # He knows that which enters the earth and that which issues therefrom, that which descends from Heaven and that which ascends thereto. And He is the Merciful, the Forgiving. # Those who disbelieve say, “The Hour will never come upon us.” Say, “Nay! By my Lord, by the Knower of the Unseen, it will surely come unto you.” Not a mote’s weight evades Him in the heavens or on the earth, nor smaller than that, nor larger, but that it is in a clear Book, # that He may recompense those who believe and perform righteous deeds; theirs shall be forgiveness and a generous provision. # But those who endeavor to thwart Our signs, for them there shall be a painful punishment of torment. # Those who have been given knowledge see that what is sent down upon thee from thy Lord is the truth and that it guides to the path of the Mighty, the Praised. # And those who disbelieve say, “Shall we show you a man who will inform you that, when you have been completely torn to pieces, you shall be in a new creation? # Has he fabricated a lie against God, or is he possessed?” Nay, but those who believe not in the Hereafter shall be in punishment and extreme error. # Have they not considered that which is before them and that which is behind them of the sky and the earth? If We will, We cause the earth to engulf them or fragments from the sky to fall upon them. Truly in that is a sign for every penitent servant. # And indeed We gave David bounty from Us: “O mountains! Echo God’s praises with him, likewise you birds!” And We made iron supple for him, # [saying], “Make coats of mail, and measure well the links thereof, and work righteousness. Truly I see whatsoever you do.” # And unto Solomon the wind, whose morning course was a month and whose evening course was a month. And We caused a fount of molten copper to flow for him. And of the jinn some worked before him by the leave of his Lord—and those of them that deviated from Our Command, We would cause them to taste the punishment of the Blaze, # making for him whatsoever he willed: places of worship, statues, basins like reservoirs, and cauldrons firmly anchored. “Work, O family of David, in thankfulness, though few of My servants are thankful.” # And when We decreed death for him, naught showed his death to them save a creeping creature of the earth eating his staff. And when he fell down, the jinn saw clearly that, had they known the Unseen, they would not have tarried in humiliating punishment. # For Sheba too there was certainly a sign in their dwelling—two gardens, one to the right and one to the left: “Eat of the provision of your Lord and give thanks to Him—a good land, and a forgiving Lord.” # But they turned away. So We sent the flood of ʿArim upon them and exchanged their two gardens for two gardens bearing bitter fruit, tamarisks, and a few lote trees. # Thus did We recompense them for having disbelieved. And do We recompense any but the disbeliever? # And We set between them and the towns that We had blessed towns easily seen, and We measured the distance between them: “Journey between them in security by night and by day.” # But they said, “Our Lord, increase the distance of our journeys.” And they wronged themselves; so We made them as tales [of old] and tore them completely to pieces. Truly in that are signs for all who are patient, thankful. # And Iblīs did indeed prove his opinion of them to be true; and they followed him, save for a group among the believers. # And yet he had no authority over them, save that We might know one who believes in the Hereafter from one who is in doubt thereof. And thy Lord guards over all things. # Say, “Call upon those whom you claim apart from God; they have not a mote’s weight of power in the heavens or on the earth, and they have no share in either; nor has He a helper among them.” # And intercession will benefit none with Him, save whomsoever He gives leave, such that when terror is banished from their hearts, they will ask, “What did your Lord say?” They will reply, “The truth, and He is the Exalted, the Great.” # Say, “Who provides for you from the heavens and the earth?” Say, “God. And surely either we or you are upon guidance or in manifest error.” # Say, “You will not be questioned concerning that of which we were guilty; nor will we be questioned concerning what you do.” # Say, “Our Lord will gather us together; then He will decide between us with truth; and He is the Arbiter, the Knower.” # Say, “Show me those whom you have joined with Him as partners. Nay! Rather, He is God, the Mighty, the Wise.” ( And We sent thee not, save as a bearer of glad tidings and a warner to mankind entire. But most of mankind know not. # And they say, “When will this promise come to pass, if you are truthful?” # Say, “Yours shall be the tryst of a Day that you cannot delay by a single hour, nor advance.” # The disbelievers say,

“We shall not believe in this Quran, nor in that which was before it.” Couldst thou but see when the wrongdoers are made to stand before their Lord, hurling reproach upon one another! Those who had been weak and oppressed will say to those who had waxed arrogant, “If not for you, we would have been believers.” # Those who waxed arrogant will say to those who had been weak and oppressed, “Did we turn you away from guidance after it had come unto you? Nay! But you were guilty.” # Those who had been weak and oppressed will say to those who waxed arrogant, “Nay! But there was plotting by night and day when you ordered us to disbelieve in God, and to set up equals unto Him.” And they will hide their remorse when they see the punishment, and We put shackles upon the necks of those who disbelieve. Will they be requited for aught but what they used to do? # And We sent no warner unto a town, but that those living in luxury therein said, “We disbelieve in that wherewith you have been sent.” #  And they say, “We are greater in wealth and children, and we shall not be punished.” # Say, “Truly my Lord outspreads and straitens provision for whomsoever He will, but most of mankind know not.” # It is not your wealth or your children that bring you nigh in nearness unto Us, save those who believe and work righteousness—theirs is a manifold reward for what they did, and they will be secure in lofty chambers. # And those who endeavor to thwart Our signs, they will be arraigned unto the punishment. # Say, “Truly my Lord outspreads and straitens provision for whomsoever He will among His servants. Whatsoever you have spent, He will replace; and He is the best of providers.” # Upon the Day when He will gather them all together, then He shall say unto the angels, “Were these the ones worshipping you?” # They will reply, “Glory be to Thee! Thou art our Protector, apart from them!” Nay, they worshipped jinn, most of them believing in them. # And on that Day no one of you will have power over what benefit or harm may come to the other, and We shall say to those who do wrong, “Taste the punishment of the Fire that you used to deny!” # And when Our signs are recited unto them as clear proofs, they say, “This is naught but a man who desires to turn you from that which your fathers used to worship.” And they say, “This is naught but a fabricated perversion.” And those who disbelieve say to the Truth when it comes to them, “This is naught but manifest sorcery,” # though We have not given them any books that they study; nor have We sent them a warner before thee. # And those before them denied; and these have not attained a tenth of that which We gave them; yet they denied My messengers. How, then, was the change I wrought! # Say, “I exhort you unto one thing only, that you stand for God in pairs or singly and then reflect. There is no madness in your companion. He is naught but a warner unto you before a severe punishment.” # Say, “I ask not of you any reward; that shall be yours. My reward lies only with God, and He is Witness over all things.” # Say, “Truly my Lord doth cast the truth, Knower of things unseen.” # Say, “Truth has come, and falsehood originates naught, nor restores.” # Say, “If I have gone astray, I have only gone astray to my own loss. And if I am rightly guided, it is through that which my Lord reveals unto me. Truly He is Hearing, Near.” # Couldst thou but see when they are terrified and there is no escape, and they are seized from a place near at hand. # And they will say, “We believe in it.” But how can they attain from a place far off, # when they had disbelieved in it beforehand, while impugning the unseen from a place far off? # And a barrier is set between them and that which they desire, as was done with the likes of them before. Truly they were confounded by doubt.

Commentary

# Praise be to God, unto Whom belongs whatsoever is in the heavens and whatsoever is on the earth. His is the praise in the Hereafter, and He is the Wise, the Aware.

1. This is one of five sūrahs that begin with Praise be to God (see 1:2; 6:1; 18:1; 35:1). That whatsoever is in the heavens and whatsoever is on the earth belongs to God is reiterated in several verses (cf. 2:255, 284; 3:109, 129; 4:126, 171; 14:2; 22:64; 42:4, 53) and mentioned in various ways throughout the Quran. In this verse His is the praise in the Hereafter, but elsewhere it is stated that His is the praise in the heavens and on the earth (30:18) and at the beginning and at the end (28:70), meaning that God is praised in every place and at every time; see 1:2c.

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# He knows that which enters the earth and that which issues therefrom, that which descends from Heaven and that which ascends thereto. And He is the Merciful, the Forgiving.

2. That which enters the earth could refer to rain (JJ, Q), corpses (Q, R), or seeds (R), among other things, while that which issues therefrom refers to vegetation and things extracted from the ground (JJ, Q), such as minerals and jewels. That which descends from Heaven can refer to natural elements, such as rain (Q, R), or to God’s decrees (maqādīr) and blessings (barakāt; Q), or other mercies, such as His angels and the Quran (R), while that which ascends thereto can refer to the angels (Q), a good word (35:10) and righteous deeds (Q, R), or the souls of human beings that ascend upon death (R). Together these four realities can also be seen as allusions to all the phases of existence. God is the Merciful in what He sends down to the earth and the Forgiving in allowing souls to return to Him (R).

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# Those who disbelieve say, “The Hour will never come upon us.” Say, “Nay! By my Lord, by the Knower of the Unseen, it will surely come unto you.” Not a mote’s weight evades Him in the heavens or on the earth, nor smaller than that, nor larger, but that it is in a clear Book,

3. That the disbelievers deny the coming of the Hour (cf. 25:11; 41:50; 45:32) indicates that they do not understand the full cycle of life alluded to in v. 2. Nay translates the emphatic particle kallā, which in this context can be read as either “Nay” or “Yea.” The former negates their belief that the Hour will not come upon them. The latter affirms that the Hour will come even though they do not believe in it. To deny the Hour in which there is no doubt (see 18:21; 40:59; 45:32) is to also deny the meeting with God; thus 6:31 states, Lost indeed are those who deny the meeting with God till, when the Hour comes upon them suddenly, they say, “Alas for us, that we neglected it!” In this context, the idea that not a mote’s weight evades Him (cf. 10:61; 99:7–8) alludes to the reckoning when all deeds will be weighed on the Day of Judgment. From one perspective, what does not evade God in the heavens refers to the inner reality of the human spirit, as the spirit is closer to the heavens than the body. What does not evade God on the earth then refers to actions performed with the body, whose realm is this world (R). That everything is recorded in a clear Book (6:59; 10:61; 11:6; 27:75; see also 20:52; 22:70; 35:11; 57:22; 78:29) refers to all deeds being recorded in the books that are handed to people on the Day of Judgment (see commentary on 18:49; 84:7–12) or to all that exists being inscribed upon the Preserved Tablet (85:22).

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# that He may recompense those who believe and perform righteous deeds; theirs shall be forgiveness and a generous provision.

4. Cf. 30:45. From one perspective, God’s Forgiveness is the reward for faith and belief, while a generous provision is the reward for performing righteous deeds (R). Elsewhere, those who believe and perform righteous deeds are promised recompense with justice (10:4).

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# But those who endeavor to thwart Our signs, for them there shall be a painful punishment of torment.

5. Cf. 45:11. Those who endeavor to thwart God’s signs are also said to be the inhabitants of Hellfire (22:51) who will be arraigned unto the punishment

(v. 38; 30:16). In all of these verses, signs could refer to revelations in general, the verses of the Quran in particular, the signs of God in the created order, the signs of the end of time, or to all of these, as each is one type of God’s signs; for the different meanings of sign in the Quran, see 2:106c. In an alternate reading of the present verse, punishment is read as the attribute of torment (rijz), meaning, “Theirs shall be the torment of a painful punishment.” Rijz (also used in 2:59; 7:134) can also be understood either to mean “defilement,” as in 8:11, where God purifies Lot and his people from the defilement (rijz) of Satan, or to mean “plague.” This verse could then be read, “Theirs shall be a painful punishment due to defilement,” or it could allude to punishment through the sending of a plague.

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# Those who have been given knowledge see that what is sent down upon thee from thy Lord is the truth and that it guides to the path of the Mighty, the Praised.

6. Those who have been given knowledge (cf. 22:54; 29:49; 58:11) is understood to mean the Companions of the Prophet (Ṭ) or the People of the Book (JJ, Q, Ṭ); see 22:54c. The latter interpretation likely follows upon 17:107, which refers to those who were given knowledge before it, meaning before the Quran. Nonetheless, those who have been given knowledge could simply be understood to mean anyone who has knowledge, since from a Quranic perspective authentic knowledge leads to truth and guidance (R). In this way, they stand in direct opposition to those mentioned in v. 5. Regarding the place of knowledge in the spiritual life and its relationship to faith and belief, see commentary on 58:11: And God will raise in degrees those among you who believe and those who have been given knowledge. God is Aware of whatsoever you do.

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# And those who disbelieve say, “Shall we show you a man who will inform you that, when you have been completely torn to pieces, you shall be in a new creation?

7. This is one of several verses where the disbelievers are said to mock the claim of bodily resurrection, though it is usually expressed with reference to bones and dust, as in 17:49: What! When we are bones and dust, shall we indeed be resurrected as a new creation? (cf. 13:5; 17:98; 23:35, 82–83; 27:67; 36:78–79; 37:16–17, 53; 50:3; 56:47–48; 79:11). Although new creation usually refers to the Resurrection (see 13:5; 14:19; 35:16), it can also be understood as a reference to the ongoing renewal (tajdīd) of the world in which God’s creative act renews the world at every instant, an interpretation often evoked by Sufis and philosophers.

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# Has he fabricated a lie against God, or is he possessed?” Nay, but those who believe not in the Hereafter shall be in punishment and extreme error.

8. The first sentence of this verse is either a continuation of what the disbelievers say in the previous verse or a sarcastic response from those who hear their charge against the Prophet (R). To have fabricated a lie against God implies having invented false teachings knowingly, while being possessed implies having imagined it under the influence of psychic forces such as the jinn. Those who make such accusations experience punishment in this life and the next because they are in extreme error, which could also mean “far astray.” The punishment can also be seen as what is received for claiming that the Prophet is a fabricator, while being in extreme error describes those who say that he is possessed (R), although from another perspective to be in extreme error is already a kind of grievous punishment.

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# Have they not considered that which is before them and that which is behind them of the sky and the earth? If We will, We cause the earth to engulf them or fragments from the sky to fall upon them. Truly in that is a sign for every penitent servant.

9. Here, as in many verses, the created order is cited as evidence of God’s Oneness and Omnipotence, as in 30:25: And among His signs is that the sky and the earth stand fast by His Command; and 36:81: Is not He Who created the heavens and the earth able to create the like thereof? (R); see especially the story of Abraham’s spiritual argument in 6:75–78. That the heavens and the earth continue to function as they do is also a sign of God’s Mercy, for they could crumble at any moment, as they did in some of the forms of punishment that came upon certain disbelievers in the past. In this regard, the prophet Shuʿayb’s people challenged him, saying, so make fragments from the sky fall upon us, if you are among the truthful (26:187), and the Quran asks whether wrongdoers feel secure that God will not cause the earth to engulf them (16:45; cf. 17:68; 67:16).

Several verses speak of signs for the believers (15:77; 29:44; 48:20) and those who reflect (16:11, 13, 69; 45:13), but this is the only reference to signs for every penitent servant. In the present context, it implies that reflecting upon the true nature of the created order can protect one from the punishments mentioned in this verse, as an understanding of them would bring one to believe and thus to turn to God in repentance. Elsewhere, the wonders of the created order are cited as a source of insight and a reminder for every penitent servant (50:8) and for a people who understand (16:67).

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# And indeed We gave David bounty from Us: “O mountains! Echo God’s praises with him, likewise you birds!” And We made iron supple for him,

# [saying], “Make coats of mail, and measure well the links thereof, and work righteousness. Truly I see whatsoever you do.”

10–11 Bounty from Us may be a reference to prophethood and revelation (JJ), as in 4:163, And unto David We gave the Psalms, or to the judgment and knowledge that God is said to have given both David and Solomon (21:79; cf. 27:15). The mountains and birds are compelled to glorify God with David (cf. 21:79; 38:18–19), because he has been appointed as a vicegerent upon the earth

(38:26), meaning that in him are all things contained in principle (see 6:165c; 35:39c). That iron was made supple for David indicates that God taught him the art of metalworking, which allowed him to make coats of mail (cf. 21:80) and weapons. The prophets David and Solomon are cited in several Quranic passages as rulers who were given power over certain aspects of nature and who exercised these powers wisely. For a more extensive discussion of the powers bestowed upon David, see 38:17–20c.

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# And unto Solomon the wind, whose morning course was a month and whose evening course was a month. And We caused a fount of molten copper to flow for him. And of the jinn some worked before him by the leave of his Lord—and those of them that deviated from Our Command, We would cause them to taste the punishment of the Blaze,

12. The verb in the first clause is implied and could be either “gave,” following upon v. 10, or “made . . . subservient,” as in 38:36: So We made the wind subservient unto him, coursing gently by his command whither he wished (cf. 21:81). Though David figures more prominently in the Bible than does his son Solomon, Solomon figures more prominently in the Quran and is described as having greater powers. In addition to inheriting David’s kingdom and being given judgment and knowledge (21:79) and the ability to communicate with the animals, Solomon was also given power over the winds. Similarly, he is said to have had power over the jinn. Just as iron was made pliable for David, so too were more aspects of metallurgy taught to Solomon. The jinn who deviated from God’s Command to serve Solomon are said to have been punished in the Fire in the Hereafter (JJ, Ṭ) or to have been punished in this world with a strike from an angel that would scorch them (JJ).

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# making for him whatsoever he willed: places of worship, statues, basins like reservoirs, and cauldrons firmly anchored. “Work, O family of David, in thankfulness, though few of My servants are thankful.”

13. Places of worship translates maḥārīb, the plural of miḥrāb, which is the word most commonly used to designate the niche that marks the direction of prayer in a mosque. In pre-Islamic times, miḥrāb was used to designate the private chamber within a house or a large Bedouin tent to which one could retire alone and which was thus a sanctuary of sorts, or the most honored sitting place in the tent. Thus miḥrāb came to be used to designate the prayer niche, because it was regarded as a place of honor in the mosque (Iṣ). Other etymological derivations propose that the miḥrāb is so named because it is the place in which one combats (ḥāraba, from the same root as miḥrāb) Satan and caprice, or because it is a place in which one is displaced from (ḥarīb min) the preoccupations of the world (Iṣ). In this context, it can also be understood to mean the honored places in which people would sit, alluding to castles (Ṭ), or places in which the direction of prayer was clearly delineated, thus places of worship or prostration (Ṭ).

Here the Command to work is understood to mean work in obedience to God (Aj, Ṭ) and strive to serve or worship God (Aj). In thankfulness can also be read as a direct object (Aj), so that the sentence would mean, “Work or offer thanks to God.” Though few of My servants are thankful can be understood as the end of

God’s address to Solomon or as the beginning of a new sentence (Aj), in which case “though” would be replaced with “and” or “yet.”

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# And when We decreed death for him, naught showed his death to them save a creeping creature of the earth eating his staff. And when he fell down, the jinn saw clearly that, had they known the Unseen, they would not have tarried in humiliating punishment.

14 When Solomon died, he reportedly remained supported by his staff while the jinn continued working to carry out his command, until, when a termite ate through his staff, he fell to the ground (JJ, Q). This was reportedly done at Solomon’s request to demonstrate to the jinn that they did not have the knowledge of the Unseen that they had claimed (Q). That they would not have tarried in humiliating punishment is understood to mean that, had the jinn been aware that Solomon had passed away and thus had the knowledge they claimed, they would have immediately ceased to carry out the tasks that he had appointed them (JJ).

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# For Sheba too there was certainly a sign in their dwelling—two gardens, one to the right and one to the left: “Eat of the provision of your Lord and give thanks to Him—a good land, and a forgiving Lord.”

# But they turned away. So We sent the flood of ʿArim upon them and exchanged their two gardens for two gardens bearing bitter fruit, tamarisks, and a few lote trees.

# Thus did We recompense them for having disbelieved. And do We recompense any but the disbeliever?

15–17 Sheba is the name of a tribe in Yemen whose land is said to have had pure air and to have been free of dung, gnats, flies, fleas, scorpions, and snakes (JJ). Despite the great fortune that God had bestowed upon them, they turned away, meaning from worshipping God alone (IK), failed to give thanks, and thus became disbelievers (IK, JJ). Some commentators connect these verses to the reference to the people ruled by the Queen of Sheba, who are said to have prostrated to the sun (see 27:22–24; IK), but as the people ruled by the Queen of Sheba lived at the time of Solomon, the present verses likely refer to a much later group of people from the same region. ʿArim can be understood as a proper name, to mean “powerful” or “violent,” or to mean “dam.” The latter meaning appears to be substantiated by inscriptions from around AD 450 to 540 that use this same root, ʿayn-rāʾ-mīm, to refer to a dam system in southern Arabia. This passage would then refer to the ancient society of Mārib, whose people had constructed a sophisticated dam system that enabled them to create two vast irrigated tracts. When the dams gave way, the rich landscape of these irrigated tracts, or gardens, was then returned to desert, thus bearing bitter fruit.

The last sentence of v. 17 can also be read, “And is any recompensed but the disbelievers” (Q, Ṭ). In both readings the implication is that God forgives the sins of believers but makes the disbelievers bear the consequences of their sins (Q). In both readings, the Arabic interrogative particle hal can alternately be read as a particle of negation, meaning, “We do not recompense any but the disbeliever,” or “None but the disbeliever is recompensed” (Ṭ).

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# And We set between them and the towns that We had blessed towns easily seen, and We measured the distance between them: “Journey between them in security by night and by day.”

18. Another of the blessings God had given Sheba was to facilitate trade for them by providing towns where they could rest and obtain water during their journeys from Yemen to those lands blessed with water and trees in Syria (IK, JJ). Measured the distance between them indicates that the towns were spaced so that they would always find a resting place where they could renew their provisions without needing to travel too far (IK). The final enjoinder thus means that one should journey in security and peace protected by God. In this manner it is similar to the blessings that God is said to have bestowed upon the Quraysh; see 106:1–2c.

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# But they said, “Our Lord, increase the distance of our journeys.” And they wronged themselves; so We made them as tales [of old] and tore them completely to pieces. Truly in that are signs for all who are patient, thankful.

19. The people of Sheba had reportedly wanted the distances between the way stations of their journeys to be lengthened, so that they could boast of traveling long distances and of being able to carry all of their provisions with them (JJ). God made them as tales [of old], that is, as a bygone people of whose might, wealth, and destruction others would speak, and tore them completely to pieces, that is, scattered them throughout the land (IK, JJ). In this context, Truly in that are signs for all who are patient, thankful (cf. 14:5; 31:31; 42:33) indicates that reflecting upon the manner in which past societies had their fortunes and blessings removed from them should cause one to be thankful for what one has received from God and to bear afflictions with patience.

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# And Iblīs did indeed prove his opinion of them to be true; and they followed him, save for a group among the believers.

20. The opinion of Iblīs, or Satan, regarding human beings is most likely what he expresses in 17:62: If Thou dost grant me reprieve till the Day of Resurrection, I shall surely gain mastery over his progeny, all save a few; and in 7:17: And Thou wilt not find most of them thankful. The phrase and they followed him would then mean that his assessment was correct (JJ), except with regard to a group among the believers.

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# And yet he had no authority over them, save that We might know one who believes in the Hereafter from one who is in doubt thereof. And thy Lord guards over all things.

21. That he had no authority over them means that the only ability Satan has to make human beings swerve from the truth is what was granted to him by God. Satan only has authority to lead astray those who already have the tendency to stray; thus God says to him in 15:42, As for My servants, truly thou hast no authority over them, save for those in error who follow thee (cf. 16:99; 17:65). God grants Satan the opportunity to lead human beings astray, so that He might know one who believes in the Hereafter from one who is in doubt thereof, meaning to let their true natures become manifest, for ultimately God already knows those who are truthful, and surely He knows the liars (29:3; see 29:3c).

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# Say, “Call upon those whom you claim apart from God; they have not a mote’s weight of power in the heavens or on the earth, and they have no share in either; nor has He a helper among them.”

22. Those whom you claim means “those whom you claim to be gods” (JJ). Whereas the Prophet is commanded to challenge the disbelievers to call upon their deities here and in 7:195; 10:38; 11:13; 17:56; 46:4, a statement with similar effect is made in 35:13: As for those upon whom you call apart from Him, they do not possess so much as the husk of a date stone (cf. 7:194; 22:73). Then on the Day of Judgment, it will be said, “Call upon your partners.” So they will call upon them, but they will not answer them. And they will see the punishment—if only they had been rightly guided! (28:64), and that is because God, He is the Truth, and whatsoever they call upon other than Him is false (31:30). The statement that God has no helper among them is a response to the attitude of some of the idolaters who maintained that their idols and deities could function as intercessors, saying, We do not worship them, save to bring us nigh in nearness unto God (39:3).

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# And intercession will benefit none with Him, save whomsoever He gives leave, such that when terror is banished from their hearts, they will ask, “What did your Lord say?” They will reply, “The truth, and He is the Exalted, the Great.”

23. Continuing the last line of the previous verse, this verse responds to those who maintained that their gods could intercede for them with God (JJ).

Whomsoever He gives leave then clarifies that there can be intercession through others, understood in Islamic tradition to mean specifically prophets, angels, and God’s pious servants, but only insofar as God permits. For the Quranic understanding of intercession, see 2:48c; 2:255c. When terror is banished from their hearts—that is, from the hearts of the angels—the angels will turn to one another and ask, “What did your Lord say?” meaning, “What did He command?” (Q). The angels’ hearts are filled with terror or fear, because of the awe they have for God, as in 21:28, They are wary, for fear of Him (Q), where they are in awe of His Word or in awe of the end of the world (IJ). They thus do nothing until they receive the Command from God.

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# Say, “Who provides for you from the heavens and the earth?” Say, “God. And surely either we or you are upon guidance or in manifest error.”

24. The question means, “Is there a creator other than God who provides for you from the heavens and the earth?” (35:3; cf. 10:31; 27:64); from the heavens alludes to rain and the earth, to plants (IJ). These verses can also be understood to imply, Who is it that will provide for you if He withholds His provision? (67:21). In the second part of the verse, some commentators interpret or, which here translates the particle aw, to mean “and” and thus interpret this verse to mean, “And surely we (the believers) are guided and you (the disbelievers) are in manifest error” (IJ, Ṭ). Others maintain that the verse means, “We are astray or guided and you are astray or guided” (IJ, Ṭ). The slight ambiguity that disbelievers might see in this verse is then understood by some as a gentle invitation to embrace faith (JJ). For manifest error, see 36:24c.

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# Say, “You will not be questioned concerning that of which we were guilty; nor will we be questioned concerning what you do.”

25. On the one hand, this verse recalls that the Muslims and the disbelievers bear no responsibility for the religion of the other, similar to 10:41, where the Prophet is enjoined, And if they deny thee, say, “Unto me, my deeds, and unto you, your deeds. You are quit of that which I do, and I am quit of that which you do” (IK). On the other hand, it evokes the general principle that none shall bear the burden of another (6:164; 17:15; 35:18; 39:7; 53:38).

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# Say, “Our Lord will gather us together; then He will decide between us with truth; and He is the Arbiter, the Knower.”

26. On the Day of Judgment, God will gather all human beings together on an open plain (18:47) and judge between them, and their differences will be made clear. Those who are truthful will then be admitted to the Garden and the deniers to the Fire (IK, JJ). Hence it is also known as the Day of Gathering (42:7; 64:9). The Arbiter translates al-Fattāḥ, from the root f-t-ḥ, which can also mean “to open.” It could thus also be rendered “the Opener.” Here al-Fattāḥ indicates the One Who judges in accord with the truth and makes that truth clear by piercing through what had been closed.

***

# Say, “Show me those whom you have joined with Him as partners. Nay! Rather, He is God, the Mighty, the Wise.”

27. Regarding the challenge to disbelievers to show those whom they claim to be God’s partners, see 34:22c. Here Nay! means that there are no equals to God (IK) or that there is no way that they could show them, since in reality they do not exist.

***

# And We sent thee not, save as a bearer of glad tidings and a warner to mankind entire. But most of mankind know not.

28. That the Prophet is sent to mankind entire is taken as an indication that his mission is of universal scope for all races and lands (IK, R, Ṭ), as in 21:107: And We sent thee not, save as a mercy unto the worlds and 4:79: We sent thee as a messenger unto mankind (see also 7:158). Entire translates kāffah, which could also be understood to modify the manner in which the Prophet was sent, thus meaning that he was sent “combining” the functions of bearing glad tidings and delivering warnings (Q, R, Z). The Prophet is referred to as both a bearer of glad tidings and a warner in several verses (5:19; 7:188; 11:2; 17:105; 25:56; 33:45; 35:24; 48:8), while in other verses these functions are attributed to all prophets (2:213; 4:165; 6:48; 18:56).

***

# And they say, “When will this promise come to pass, if you are truthful?”

29. Cf. 10:48; 21:38; 27:71; 36:48; 67:25. This line of questioning is one of the ways in which the disbelievers would mock the Prophet when he spoke of matters pertaining to the Resurrection and Judgment; see 36:48c.

***

# Say, “Yours shall be the tryst of a Day that you cannot delay by a single hour, nor advance.”

30. In other verses the assertion that the moment in question cannot be delayed by a single hour, advanced, or hastened comes in reference to the particular end that iniquitous civilizations face (see 7:34c; 10:49; 15:5; 16:61; 23:43). Here it most likely refers to the Day of Judgment, the tryst, which is the moment of gathering that is fixed and cannot be changed, as in 71:4: Truly when the term of God comes, it will not be delayed; see also 11:104.

***

#  The disbelievers say, “We shall not believe in this Quran, nor in that which was before it.” Couldst thou but see when the wrongdoers are made to stand before their Lord, hurling reproach upon one another! Those who had been weak and oppressed will say to those who had waxed arrogant, “If not for you, we would have been believers.”

31. In the preceding verses the idolaters’ disbelief in the Oneness of God, the reality of prophethood, and the reality of the Resurrection were exposed. It thus follows that they do not believe in the revelations that contain these teachings, namely, the Quran and that which was before it. This phrase is understood by the majority of commentators to mean the Torah and the Gospel, but could also be seen as a general reference to every revealed book denied by disbelievers in any land. The implied answer to the conditional phrase beginning couldst thou but see is “thou wouldst be amazed” (R) or something to this effect. Those who had been weak and oppressed refers to the followers of disbelievers, while those who had waxed arrogant refers to their leaders (IK, JJ, R), whose influence prevented many of their followers who otherwise would have believed from doing so (R). Those who merely claim that they were weak and oppressed and thus unable to practice religion as they desired are understood to have their refuge in Hell (4:97), but in some instances for those who truly were oppressed it may be that God will pardon them, for God is Pardoning, Forgiving (4:99).

***

# Those who waxed arrogant will say to those who had been weak and oppressed, “Did we turn you away from guidance after it had come unto you? Nay! But you were guilty.”

32. The response of the oppressors to those whom they oppressed and sought to turn from the way of God is to say that they had only called them; the oppressed who followed went against the evidence and proof that the messengers brought because of their own desires (IK). They thus disbelieved of their own accord (IK, JJ), because they followed freely the wealthy and influential rather than God and His Messenger; see 33:66–68; 71:21.

***

# Those who had been weak and oppressed will say to those who waxed arrogant, “Nay! But there was plotting by night and day when you ordered us to disbelieve in God, and to set up equals unto Him.” And they will hide their remorse when they see the punishment, and We put shackles upon the necks of those who disbelieve. Will they be requited for aught but what they used to do?

33. The weak and oppressed here claim that, although they did follow the wealthy and influential, they would not have done so had they not been confused by the lies and false deities set up by their oppressors (IK). They—that is, both the oppressors and the oppressed (JJ)—hide their remorse (cf. 10:54). That the dispute concludes in a state of remorse for both sides could be understood to mean that they realize the truth of one another’s claims. On the one hand, the rulers have a greater share in guilt for having sought to preserve their power by establishing false religions and false deities. On the other hand, many of those who followed them still chose to do so without attempting to discern the matter for themselves. The concealment of their remorse is understood by some to come after their having made it manifest, as in 32:12: Couldst thou but see when the guilty bend their heads low before their Lord: “Our Lord! We have seen and we have heard; so send us back that we may work righteousness. Truly we are certain.” Then, after being informed that there is no opportunity for them to make amends, they are no longer able to voice their remorse (R). Regarding the shackles that are put upon them, see 36:8c. The concluding rhetorical question is answered in 37:39: And you shall not be requited, save for that which you used to do (cf. 40:40). In this context it indicates that both the oppressors and the oppressed will be requited in accordance with the degree of their guilt (IK), though some verses allude to the leaders receiving a twofold punishment (33:68; cf. 7:38), one punishment for having been astray and another punishment for leading others astray.

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# And We sent no warner unto a town, but that those living in luxury therein said, “We disbelieve in that wherewith you have been sent.”

34. Cf. 43:23. Here, those living in luxury translates mutrafū, which could also be translated “the indulgent” or “the sybarites.” In other verses, it is the notables (malaʾ) who are said to reject God’s prophets and revelations; see 7:60, 66, 75, 88, 90, 103, 109, 127; 10:75, 83; 11:27, 38, 97; 23:24, 33, 46; 38:6. Like

Jesus in the New Testament and many prophets in the Hebrew Bible, the Prophet Muhammad was rejected by those of his native city and suffered for his testimony. As in the Hebrew Bible, it is implied that Divine Punishment will soon come for those who reject God’s prophets; see Kings 19:10–14; Jeremiah 11:18–19; 18:18–20; 20:1–2; 26:7–11; 38:4–6. This widespread teaching of the Abrahamic scriptures is perhaps best expressed in Luke 4:24: “Truly, I tell you, no prophet is accepted in the prophet’s hometown” (see also Matthew 13:57; Mark 6:4; John 4:44).

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# And they say, “We are greater in wealth and children, and we shall not be punished.”

# Say, “Truly my Lord outspreads and straitens provision for whomsoever He will, but most of mankind know not.”

# It is not your wealth or your children that bring you nigh in nearness unto Us, save those who believe and work righteousness —theirs is a manifold reward for what they did, and they will be secure in lofty chambers.

35–37 The objection expressed in these verses reflects a common response of those who reject revelation because they think only in terms of this world, rather than in terms of this world and the next, as when the people said to Noah, We see none who follow you, save the lowliest among us (11:27), and asked, Shall we believe you, when the lowliest follow you? (26:111). On the one hand, wealth and status should be a cause for gratitude and should be managed properly, as in 28:77: And forget not your portion in this world. On the other hand, the Quran cautions, Your property and your children are only a trial (8:28; 64:15). In this sense, God outspreads . . . provision for whomsoever He will as a test, and then straitens provision as a trial (JJ); cf. 13:26; 17:30; 28:82; 29:62; 30:37; 34:36, 39; 39:52; 42:12. From this perspective, the provisions of wealth and children, among other things, can only be a source of good when one conducts oneself righteously in relation to them, for wealth and children are the adornment of the life of this world, but that which endures—righteous deeds—are better in reward with thy Lord (18:46). The Day of Judgment is thus described as the Day when neither wealth nor children avail, save for him who comes to God with a sound heart (26:88–89). Those who meet the challenge, dealing justly with their worldly possessions and responsibilities, shall be rewarded, but for those who disbelieve, neither their wealth nor their children shall avail them aught against God (3:10, 116). In this vein, 9:55 and 9:85 caution, And let not their wealth or their children impress thee. God desires but to punish them thereby in the life of this world, and that their souls should depart while they are disbelievers (cf. 68:14c); see also 2:212; 3:14; 9:69; 26:88; 60:3; 63:9; 64:14–15; 68:14; 71:21. Those who believe and work righteousness will then have a manifold reward, meaning their good deeds will be multiplied ten to seven hundred fold (IK); see 2:261c; 6:160c. They are secure from any harm (IK) and from death (JJ).

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# And those who endeavor to thwart Our signs, they will be arraigned unto the punishment.

38. Cf. 22:51; 34:5. See 34:5c. All human beings will be arraigned before God (see 36:32, 53; 36:32c), but only the disbelievers will be arraigned unto the punishment (cf. 30:16).

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# Say, “Truly my Lord outspreads and straitens provision for whomsoever He will among His servants. Whatsoever you have spent, He will replace; and He is the best of providers.”

39. The first instance of God outspreads and straitens provision for whomsoever He will (cf. 13:26; 17:30; 28:82; 29:62; 30:37; 34:36; 39:52; 42:12) in this sūrah (v. 36) points to the fact that one’s worldly status and possessions do not indicate one’s true status before God (R). Here the addition of among His servants can be understood to mean that the phrase relates specifically to the believers (R). Whatsoever you have spent means what believers have spent in the way of God. God will replace it with something else in this world and with something better in the Hereafter (IK, Q), because He is the best of providers (cf. 5:114; 22:58; 23:72; 62:11). Regarding this verse, al-Tustarī is reported to have said, “Provision is of two kinds. One is a provision that is remembrance, which is for the spirit itself, the intellect, and the heart. This is like the sustenance of the angels—their very life is through remembrance. Were it withheld from them, they would die. The other provision is that which is eaten, drunk, and the like for the benefit of one’s [physical] nature” (ST).

***

# Upon the Day when He will gather them all together, then He shall say unto the angels, “Were these the ones worshipping you?”

40. Gather them refers to either the gathering of all human beings or the gathering of the disbelievers. Here it is the angels who are questioned, rather than the jinn and idols that were worshipped, because the angels are the highest of those beings to whom the idolaters had attributed divinity and whom they worshipped (R). Regarding the manner in which God questions the angels, 25:17 states, And on the Day He gathers them and that which they worship apart from God, He will say, “Was it you who caused these servants of Mine to go astray, or did they [themselves] go astray from the way?” (see 25:17–18c).

***

# They will reply, “Glory be to Thee! Thou art our Protector, apartfrom them!” Nay, they worshipped jinn, most of them believing in them.

41. That the angels say to God, Thou art our Protector, apart from them indicates that the angels claim to have no bonds of association with those who worshipped them (JJ).

***

# And on that Day no one of you will have power over what benefitor harm may come to the other, and We shall say to those who do wrong, “Taste the punishment of the Fire that you used to deny!”

42. This verse can be understood as an address to the angels, saying that they will have no power to aid those who worshipped them, as in 19:87: They have no power of intercession, save the one who has made a pact with the Compassionate; see 25:3c. It can also be understood as an address to the disbelievers, saying that they cannot harm or aid one another (R), since the Day of Judgment is a day when no soul will avail another soul in any way, and no intercession shall be accepted from it, nor ransom taken from it; nor shall they be helped (2:48; cf. 2:123; 82:19).

***

# And when Our signs are recited unto them as clear proofs, theysay, “This is naught but a man who desires to turn you from that which your fathers used to worship.” And they say, “This is naught but a fabricated perversion.” And those who disbelieve say to the Truth when it comes to them, “This is naught but manifest sorcery,”

43. This is one of many verses to speak of the negative reactions of the disbelievers to the recitation of God’s signs, that is, the verses of the Quran; see 8:31; 19:73; 22:72; 31:7; 42:25; 46:7c; 68:15; 83:13. Their assertion that it is naught but a fabricated perversion can be understood to mean the Quran or the belief in the Oneness of God, as in 37:86, when Abraham asks his father and other disbelievers, Is it a perversion, gods apart from God, that you desire? and in 46:22, when the disbelievers ask, Have you come to us to pervert us from our gods? (R). This latter interpretation is most likely, since their assertion that this is naught but manifest sorcery would then refer to the Quran.

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# though We have not given them any books that they study; norhave We sent them a warner before thee.

44. We have not given them any books means they have not been given any revealed scriptures, as the force of their claims regarding the nature of the unseen implies that they are privy to such information. Elsewhere, the Quran asks rhetorically, Or did We give them a book, such that they stand upon a clear proof from it? (35:40; cf. 43:21; 46:4; 52:36–37, 41; 68:37–38); see 35:40c; 46:4c.

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# And those before them denied; and these have not attained a tenthof that which We gave them; yet they denied My messengers. How, then, was the change I wrought!

45. The disbelievers in the time of the Prophet do not have a tenth of the power, blessings, wealth, and length of life as the communities that had been destroyed before them. If God was able to punish those previous communities for having rejected His messengers, then how is it that the disbelievers of this generation think they will be protected from punishment (R)? How, then, was the change I wrought! (cf. 22:44; 35:26; 67:18) could also be rendered, “And how was the nature of My reproach?” Both translations indicate that their punishment will be as severe as the punishment that befell earlier generations; also see 22:44–45c.

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# Say, “I exhort you unto one thing only, that you stand for God inpairs or singly and then reflect. There is no madness in your companion. He is naught but a warner unto you before a severe punishment.”

46. The Prophet is told to enjoin his followers to one characteristic above all others (Bḍ, Z), to stand for God or to “rise up for God,” meaning to stand before God in complete sincerity without being influenced by caprice, falsehood, or tribalism (IK) and thus to turn away from doubt and blind imitation (taqlīd; Bḍ). They are to do so in pairs, that is, discussing the matter with one another, or singly, that is, thinking individually to themselves and reflecting upon what the Prophet says and does without being swayed by inherited beliefs (Z). Or they are not to allow the crowds to sway them from the remembrance of God or leave off the remembrance of God when alone (R). In pairs or singly can also be taken together as a reference to reflecting upon religious issues away from large crowds of people who may influence one’s mind and cloud one’s thoughts (Aj, Bḍ). Then, having dropped these matters, they should reflect honestly upon the Prophet and what he has brought (Bḍ, Z), implying that when they reflect honestly upon the evidence at hand, they will see that he is indeed a messenger from God and is not mad, as in 7:184: Have they not reflected? There is no madness in their companion. He is naught but a clear warner.

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# Say, “I ask not of you any reward; that shall be yours. My rewardlies only with God, and He is Witness over all things.”

47. Cf. 10:72; 26:109. Just as the Prophet displays no signs of being mad, neither does he display signs of having brought the message for worldly gain, as he asks nothing of the people other than that they follow the message with which God has sent him. The Prophet is enjoined to make similar statements in 6:90; 25:57; 36:21; 38:86; 42:23, and other prophets are reported to have made the same statement in 11:29; 26:109, 127, 145, 164, 180. For He is Witness over all things, see 4:33; 5:117; 22:17; 33:55; 41:53c; 58:6; 85:9.

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# Say, “Truly my Lord doth cast the truth, Knower of things unseen.”

48. Cast the truth refers to both God’s casting of the truth into the hearts of believers (R) and God’s overcoming falsehood with truth, as in 21:18: We cast truth against falsehood, and it crushes it, and, behold, it vanishes (cf. 17:81; IK, R).

***

# Say, “Truth has come, and falsehood originates naught, nor restores.”

49. Truth has come implies that falsehood has been vanquished, as in 17:81: Say, “Truth has come, and falsehood has vanished. Truly falsehood is ever vanishing.” That falsehood originates naught, nor restores refers back to the criticism of those who worshipped idols and jinn in vv. 40–42, as such objects of worship have no ability to create anew or to resurrect, as does God, since nothing will come of nothing; see commentary on 25:3: But they have taken gods apart from Him, who create naught and are themselves created, and who have no power over what harm or benefit may come to themselves, and who have no power over death, or life, or resurrection.

***

# Say, “If I have gone astray, I have only gone astray to my ownloss. And if I am rightly guided, it is through that which my Lord reveals unto me. Truly He is Hearing, Near.”

50. Here the implication is that if the Prophet is astray, then his condition is just like that of those who oppose him, but if he is indeed guided, then his guidance comes directly from revelation and is not the same as the guidance that others may claim to have obtained. The Divine Name the Hearing is employed throughout the Quran, but this is the only verse where it is combined with Near, thus indicating that the Lord is the Hearer of supplications (14:39), which evokes 2:186: When My servants ask thee about Me, truly I am near. I answer the call of the caller when he calls Me. So let them respond to Me and believe in Me, that they may be led aright.

***

# Couldst thou but see when they are terrified and there is no escape, and they are seized from a place near at hand.

51. In this context, from a place near at hand further emphasizes that there is no possible escape from God’s Judgment (IK, R), as disbelievers are seized immediately upon being resurrected from their graves (IK).

***

# And they will say, “We believe in it.” But how can they attain froma place far off,

# when they had disbelieved in it beforehand, while impugning theunseen from a place far off?

52–53 Those who denied the Prophet and the Quran disbelieved in it beforehand, meaning during the life of this world, but now, having seen the truth on the Day of Judgment, they believe, as in 32:12, in which the guilty say on the Day of Judgment, Our Lord! We have seen and we have heard; so send us back that we may work righteousness. Truly we are certain (IK). The disbelievers thus admit their sins (see 40:11; 41:47; 67:11) and are terrified of what will become of them. How can they attain from a place far off? means, “How can they attain to the opportunities for repentance and guidance that were offered them during the life of this world, as that is a place to which they can never return?” (R). It in They had disbelieved in it can mean the truth (R), discussed in vv. 48– 49, but it can also mean God (Q) in which case it would be translated, “He,” the Prophet (Q, R), or the Quran (R). In Arabic the phrase translated impugning the unseen is directly related to my Lord doth cast the truth (v. 48), as both “impugn” and “cast” render the same verb, qadhafa. In this sense, those who disbelieve are the exact opposite of those who believe, as God casts the truth into the hearts of the believers, while the disbelievers cast the truth away. That they impugned or cast off the unseen from a place far off indicates that they had no knowledge upon which to base their position.

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# And a barrier is set between them and that which they desire, aswas done with the likes of them before. Truly they were confounded by doubt.

54 That which they desire refers to a return to the world in order to repent and make amends, though now it is too late (R), or to repentance itself (IK), or to the delights of this world (R) in which they used to indulge. Regarding their being confounded by doubt, see 11:62, 110; 14:9; 41:45; 42:14.

Source: The Study Quran, by Sayyed Hossein Nasr and 4 Others

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