Introduction to
Surah
39. Az-Zumar
In the Name of Allâh, the Most
Beneficent, the Most Merciful.
1. The revelation
of this Book (the Qur'ân) is from Allâh, the All-Mighty,
the All-Wise.
2. Verily, We have
sent down the Book to you (O Muhammad SAW) in truth: So worship Allâh
(Alone) by doing religious deeds sincerely for Allâh's sake
only, (and not to show-off, and not to set up rivals with Him
in worship).
3. Surely, the religion
(i.e. the worship and the obedience) is for Allâh only.
And those who take Auliyâ' (protectors and helpers)
besides Him (say): "We worship them only that they may bring
us near to Allâh." Verily, Allâh will judge between
them concerning that wherein they differ. Truly, Allâh guides
not him who is a liar, and a disbeliever.
4. Had Allâh
willed to take a son (or offspring or children), He could have
chosen whom He pleased out of those whom He created. But glory
be to Him! (He is above such things). He is Allâh, the One,
the Irresistible[].
5. He has created
the heavens and the earth with truth. He makes the night to go
in the day and makes the day to go in the night. And He has subjected
the sun and the moon. Each running (on a fixed course) for an
appointed term. Verily, He is the All-Mighty, the Oft-Forgiving.
6. He created you
(all) from a single person (Adam); then made from him his wife
[Hawwa' (Eve)]. And He has sent down for you of cattle eight pairs
(of the sheep, two, male and female; of the goats, two, male and
female; of the oxen, two, male and female; and of the camels,
two, male and female). He creates you in the wombs of your mothers,
creation after creation in three veils of darkness, such is Allâh
your Lord. His is the kingdom, Lâ ilâha illa Huwa
(none has the right to be worshipped but He). How then are
you turned away?
7. If you disbelieve,
then verily, Allâh is not in need of you, He likes not disbelief
for His slaves. And if you are grateful (by being believers),
He is pleased therewith for you. No bearer of burdens shall bear
the burden of another. Then to your Lord is your return, so He
will inform you what you used to do. Verily, He is the All-Knower
of that which is in (men's) breasts.
8. And when some
hurt touches man, he cries to his Lord (Allâh Alone), turning
to Him in repentance, but when He bestows a favour upon him from
Himself, he forgets that for which he cried for before, and he
sets up rivals to Allâh, in order to mislead others from
His Path. Say: "Take pleasure in your disbelief for a while:
surely, you are (one) of the dwellers of the Fire!"
9. Is one who is
obedient to Allâh, prostrating himself or standing (in prayer)
during the hours of the night, fearing the Hereafter and hoping
for the Mercy of his Lord (like one who disbelieves)? Say: "Are
those who know equal to those who know not?" It is only men
of understanding who will remember (i.e. get a lesson from Allâh's
Signs and Verses).
10. Say (O Muhammad
SAW): "O My slaves who believe
(in the Oneness of Allâh Islâmic Monotheism), be
afraid of your Lord (Allâh) and keep your duty to Him. Good
is (the reward) for those who do good in this world, and Allâh's
earth is spacious (so if you cannot worship Allâh at a place,
then go to another)! Only those who are patient shall receive
their rewards in full, without reckoning.[]"
11. Say (O Muhammad
SAW): "Verily, I am commanded
to worship Allâh (Alone) by obeying Him and doing religious
deeds sincerely for Allâh's sake only and not to show off,
and not to set up rivals with Him in worship;
12. "And I am
commanded (this) in order that I may be the first of those who
submit themselves to Allâh (in Islâm) as Muslims."
13. Say (O Muhammad
SAW): "Verily, if I disobey my
Lord, I am afraid of the torment of a great Day."
14. Say (O Muhammad
SAW) "Allâh Alone I worship
by doing religious deeds sincerely for His sake only and not to
show-off, and not to set up rivals with Him in worship."
15. So worship what
you like besides Him. Say (O Muhammad SAW): "The losers are those who
will lose themselves and their families on the Day of Resurrection.
Verily, that will be a manifest loss!"
16. They shall have
coverings of Fire, above them and covering (of Fire) beneath them;
with this Allâh does frighten His slaves: "O My slaves,
therefore fear Me!"
17. Those who avoid
At-Tâghût[]
(false deities) by not worshipping them
and turn to Allâh in repentance, for them are glad tidings;
so announce the good news to My slaves,
18. Those who listen
to the Word [good advice Lâ ilâha ill-Allâh
(none has the right to be worshipped but Allâh) and Islâmic
Monotheism, etc.] and follow the best thereof (i.e. worship Allâh
Alone, repent to Him and avoid Tâghût, etc.) those
are (the ones) whom Allâh has guided and those are men of
understanding (like Zaid bin 'Amr bin Nufail[],
Salmân Al-Fârisi and Abû Dhar Al-Ghifârî).
[Tafsir Al-Qurtubi, Vol. 12, P. 244]
19. Is, then one
against whom the Word of punishment justified (equal to the one
who avoids evil). Will you (O Muhammad SAW) rescue him who is in the Fire?
20. But those who
fear Allâh and keep their duty to their Lord (Allâh),
for them are built lofty rooms; one above another under which
rivers flow (i.e. Paradise). (This is) the Promise of Allâh:
and Allâh does not fail in (His) Promise.
21. See you not,
that Allâh sends down water (rain) from the sky, and causes
it to penetrate the earth, (and then makes it to spring up) as
water-springs and afterward thereby produces crops of different
colours, and afterward they wither and you see them turn yellow,
then He makes them dry and broken pieces. Verily, in this, is
a Reminder for men of understanding.
22. Is he whose breast
Allâh has opened to Islâm, so that he is in light
from His Lord (as he who is non-Muslim)? So, woe to those whose
hearts are hardened against remembrance of Allâh! They are
in plain error!
23. Allâh has
sent down the best statement, a Book (this Qur'ân), its
parts resembling each other in goodness and truth, oft-repeated. The
skins of those who fear their Lord shiver from it (when they recite
it or hear it). Then their skin and their heart soften to the
remembrance of Allâh. That is the guidance of Allâh.
He Guides therewith whom He pleases and whomever Allâh sends
astray, for him there is no guide.
24. Is he then, who
will confront with his face the awful torment on the Day of Resurrection
(as he who enters peacefully in Paradise)? And it will be said
to the Zâlimûn (polytheists and wrong-doers,
etc.): "Taste what you used to earn!"
25. Those before
them belied, and so the torment came on them from directions they
perceived not.
26. So Allâh
made them to taste the disgrace in the present life, but greater
is the torment of the Hereafter if they only knew!
27. And indeed We
have put forth for men, in this Qur'ân every kind of similitude
in order that they may remember.
28. An Arabic Qur'ân,
without any crookedness (therein) in order that they may avoid
all evil which Allâh has ordered them to avoid, fear Him
and keep their duty to Him.
29. Allâh puts
forth a similitude: a (slave) man belonging to many partners (like
those who worship others along with Allâh) disputing with
one another, and a (slave) man belonging entirely to one master,
(like those who worship Allâh Alone). Are those two equal
in comparison? All the praises and thanks be to Allâh! But
most of them know not.
30. Verily, you (O
Muhammad SAW)
will die and verily, they (too) will die.
31. Then, on the
Day of Resurrection, you will be disputing before your Lord.
32. Then, who does
more wrong than one who utters a lie against Allâh, and
denies the truth [this Qur'ân, the Prophet (Muhammad SAW), the Islâmic Monotheism,
the Resurrection and the reward or punishment according to good
or evil deeds] when it comes to him! Is there not in Hell an abode
for the disbelievers?
33. And he (Muhammad
SAW) who has brought the truth (this
Qur'ân and Islâmic Monotheism) and (those who) believed
therein (i.e. the true believers of Islâmic Monotheism),
those are Al- Muttaqûn (the pious and righteous persons
- see V.2:2).
34. They shall have
all that they will desire with their Lord. That is the reward
of Muhsinûn (good-doers - see V.2:112).
35. So that Allâh
may remit from them the evil of what they did and give them the
reward, according to the best of what they used to do[].
36. Is not Allâh
Sufficient for His slave? Yet they try to frighten you with those
(whom they worship) besides Him! And whom Allâh sends astray,
for him there will be no guide.
37. And whomsoever
Allâh guides, for him there will be no misleader. Is not
Allâh All-Mighty, Possessor of Retribution?
38. And verily, if
you ask them: "Who created the heavens and the earth?"
Surely, they will say: "Allâh (has created them)."
Say: "Tell me then, the things that you invoke besides Allâh,
if Allâh intended some harm for me, could they remove His
harm, or if He (Allâh) intended some mercy for me, could
they withhold His Mercy?" Say : "Sufficient for me is
Allâh; in Him those who trust (i.e. believers) must put
their trust[]."
39. Say: (O Muhammad
SAW) "O My people! Work according
to your way, I am working (according to my way). Then you will
come to know,
40. "To whom
comes a disgracing torment, and on whom descends an everlasting
torment."
41. Verily, We have
sent down to you (O Muhammad SAW)
the Book (this Qur'ân) for mankind in truth. So whosoever
accepts the guidance, it is only for his ownself, and whosoever
goes astray, he goes astray only for his (own) loss. And you (O
Muhammad SAW)
are not a Wakîl (trustee or disposer of affairs,
or keeper) over them[].
42. It is Allâh
Who takes away the souls at the time of their death, and those
that die not during their sleep. He keeps those (souls) for which
He has ordained death and sends the rest for a term appointed.
Verily, in this are signs for a people who think deeply.
43. Have they taken
others as intercessors besides Allâh? Say: "Even if
they have power over nothing whatever and have no intelligence?"
44. Say: "To
Allâh belongs all intercession. His is the Sovereignty of
the heavens and the earth, then to Him you shall be brought back."
45. And when Allâh
Alone is mentioned, the hearts of those who believe not in the
Hereafter are filled with disgust (from the Oneness of Allâh
(<><>)
and when those (whom they obey or worship) besides Him [like all
false deities other than Allâh, it may be a Messenger like
'Iesa (Jesus) son of Maryam (Mary), 'Uzair (Ezra), an angel,
a pious man, a jinn, or any other creature even idols, graves
of religious people, saints, priests, monks, etc.] are mentioned,
behold, they rejoice![]
46. Say (O Muhammad
SAW): "O Allâh! Creator
of the heavens and the earth! All-Knower of the Ghaib (unseen)
and the seen. You will judge between your slaves about that wherein
they used to differ."
47. And those who
did wrong (the polytheists and disbelievers in the Oneness of
Allâh), if they had all that is in earth and therewith as
much again, they verily, would offer it to ransom themselves therewith
on the Day of Resurrection from the evil torment, and there will
become apparent to them from Allâh, what they had not been
reckoning[].
48. And the evils
of that which they earned will become apparent to them, and they
will be encircled by that which they used to mock at!
49. When harm touches
man, he calls to Us (for help), then when We have (rescued him
from that harm and) changed it into a favour from Us, he says:
"Only because of knowledge (that I possess) I obtained it."
Nay, it is only a trial, but most of them know not!
50. Verily, those
before them said it, yet (all) that they had earned availed them
not.
51. So, the evil
results of that which they earned overtook them. And those who
did wrong of these [people to whom you (Muhammad SAW) have been sent], will also be
overtaken by the evil results (torment) for that which they earned,
and they will never be able to escape[].
52. Do they not know
that Allâh enlarges the provision for whom He wills, and
straitens it (for whom He wills). Verily, in this are signs for
the folk who believe!
53. Say: "O
'Ibâdî (My slaves) who have transgressed against
themselves (by committing evil deeds and sins)! Despair not of
the Mercy of Allâh, verily Allâh forgives all sins.
Truly, He is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful[].
54. "And turn
in repentance and in obedience with true Faith (Islâmic
Monotheism) to your Lord and submit to Him, (in Islâm),
before the torment comes upon you, then you will not be helped.
55. "And follow
the best of that which is sent down to you from your Lord (i.e.
this Qur'ân, do what it orders you to do and keep away from
what it forbids), before the torment comes on you suddenly while
you perceive not!"
56. Lest a person
should say: "Alas, my grief that I was undutiful to Allâh
(i.e. I have not done what Allâh has ordered me to do),
and I was indeed among those who mocked [at the truth! i.e. Lâ
ilâha ill-Allâh (none has the right to be worshipped
but Allâh), the Qur'ân, and Muhammad SAW and at the faithful believers,
etc.]
57. Or (lest) he
should say: "If only Allâh had guided me, I should
indeed have been among the Muttaqûn (pious and righteous
persons - see V.2:2)."
58. Or (lest) he
should say when he sees the torment: "If only I had another
chance (to return to the world) then I should indeed be among
the Muhsinûn (good-doers - see V.2:112)."
59. Yes! Verily,
there came to you My Ayât (proofs, evidences, verses,
lessons, signs, revelations, etc.) and you denied them, and were
proud and were among the disbelievers.
60. And on the Day
of Resurrection you will see those who lied against Allâh
(i.e. attributed to Him sons, partners, etc.) their faces will
be black. Is there not in Hell an abode for the arrogant ones?
61. And Allâh
will deliver those who are the Muttaqûn (pious -
see V.2:2) to their places of success (Paradise). Evil shall touch
them not, nor shall they grieve.
62. Allâh is
the Creator of all things, and He is the Wakîl (Trustee,
Disposer of affairs, Guardian, etc.) over all things.
63. To Him belong
the keys of the heavens and the earth. And those who disbelieve
in the Ayât (proofs, evidences, verses, signs, revelations,
etc.) of Allâh, such are they who will be the losers.
64. Say (O Muhammad
SAW to the polytheists, etc.): "Do
you order me to worship other than Allâh O you fools ?"
65. And indeed it
has been revealed to you (O Muhammad SAW), as it was to those (Allâh's
Messengers) before you: "If you join others in worship with
Allâh, (then) surely (all) your deeds will be in vain, and
you will certainly be among the losers[]."
66. Nay! But worship
Allâh (Alone and none else), and be among the grateful.
67. They made not
a just estimate of Allâh such as is due to Him. And on the
Day of Resurrection the whole of the earth will be grasped by
His Hand[] and the heavens
will be rolled up in His Right Hand. Glorified is He, and High
is He above all that they associate as partners with Him!
68. And the Trumpet
will be blown, and all who are in the heavens and all who are
on the earth will swoon away, except him whom Allâh will.
Then it will blown a second time and behold, they will be standing,
looking on (waiting)[].
69. And the earth
will shine with the light of its Lord (Allâh, when He will
come to judge among men) and the Book will be placed (open) and
the Prophets and the witnesses will be brought forward, and it
will be judged between them with truth, and they will not be wronged.
70. And each person
will be paid in full of what he did; and He is Best Aware of what
they do.
71. And those who
disbelieved will be driven to Hell in groups, till, when they
reach it, the gates thereof will be opened (suddenly like a prison
at the arrival of the prisoners). And its keepers will say, "Did
not the Messengers come to you from yourselves, reciting to you
the Verses of your Lord, and warning you of the Meeting of this
Day of yours?" They will say: "Yes, but the Word of
torment has been justified against the disbelievers![]"
72. It will be said
(to them): "Enter you the gates of Hell, to abide therein.
And (indeed) what an evil abode of the arrogant!"
73. And those who
kept their duty to their Lord will be led to Paradise in groups,
till, when they reach it, and its gates will be opened (before
their arrival for their reception) and its keepers will say: Salâmun
'Alaikum (peace be upon you)! You have done well, so enter
here to abide therein."
74. And they will
say: "All the praises and thanks be to Allâh Who has
fulfilled His Promise to us and has made us inherit (this) land.
We can dwell in Paradise where we will; how excellent a reward
for the (pious good) workers!"
75. And you will
see the angels surrounding the Throne (of Allâh) from all
round, glorifying the praises of their Lord (Allâh). And
they (all the creatures) will be judged with truth, and it will
be said. All the praises and thanks be to Allâh, the Lord
of the 'Alamîn (mankind, jinns and all that exists)."
