This Surah (Revealed) Meccan: consisting of 112 verses, revealed after sūrat Ibrāhīm.(Al-Anbiyâ)
|
| بِسْم ِ اللهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ | |
Tafseer
Nigh has drawn for mankind, the people of Mecca, the deniers of the
Resurrection, their reckoning, [on] the Day of Resurrection, yet they are heedless, of it, disregardful, of the
preparation [required] for it by way of [embracing] faith. 354
|
Tafseer
There does not come to them any new reminder from their Lord, [revealed]
gradually, in other words, [new] words of the Qurâān, but they listen to it as they play, [as they] engage in
mockery,
|
Tafseer
with their hearts preoccupied, heedless of its meanings. And they are secret in
[their] conference, [their] speech, [they] the evildoers (alladhīna zalamū, a substitution for the [third
person plural indicator] wāw of wa-asarrūâl-najwā, âand they are secret in conferenceâ) âIs this, namely,
Muhammad (s), other than a [mortal] human being like yourselves?, and so what he produces is [mere]
sorcery. Will you then take [to] sorcery, [will] you [succumb and] follow it, even though you are able to see?â,
[even though] you know that it is sorcery?
|
Tafseer
He said, to them, âMy Lord knows the words, that are [spoken], in the heavens
and the earth, and He is the Hearer, of what they keep secret, the Knowerâ, of it.
|
Tafseer
Nay (bal, in the three instances [below] effects a transition from one subject
to another) but they say, regarding those parts of the Qurâān he [the Prophet] has brought [to them] are:
âA muddle of nightmares, a confusion [of things] he has seen in [his] sleep. Nay, he has fabricated it, he
has invented it; nay, he is a poet, and what he has brought is [merely] poetry! So let him bring us a sign,
such as was sent to the ancientsâ, like the she-camel [Sālih], the staff and the [glowing] hand [of
Moses]. God, exalted be He, says:
|
Tafseer
No town before them ever believed â meaning [none of] its inhabitants â of those
that We destroyed, for the denial of the signs brought to them. Would they then believe? No.
|
Tafseer
And We sent none before you other than men to whom We revealed (read nūhī or
yūhā, â[to whom] it is revealedâ) and [We sent] not any angels. Ask the People of the Remembrance,
those with knowledge of the Torah and the Gospel, if you do not know, this; for they will know it. Since you
are more likely to believe them than the believers are to believing Muhammad (s).
|
Tafseer
And We did not make them, namely, the messengers, bodies that did not eat food,
nay, they eat it; and they were not immortal, in this world.
|
Tafseer
Then We fulfilled to them the promise, to deliver them. So We delivered them and
whomever We would, [of] those who believed in them, and We destroyed the prodigal, those who denied
them.
|
Tafseer
Now We have sent down [as revelation] to you, O clan of Quraysh, a Book in which
there is the remembrance that is yours, for it is in your language. Will you not understand?,
and so believe in it?
|
Tafseer
355 And how many did We destroy of towns â meaning its inhabitants â that had been
wrongdoing, disbelieving, and brought forth another people after it!
|
Tafseer
And when they felt Our might, [when] the inhabitants of the town sensed
destruction [to be near], behold, they ran away from it, they flee hastily [therefrom].
|
Tafseer
But the angels said to them scornfully: âDo not run [away]! Return to the
opulence, the comforts, which you were given to enjoy and your dwelling-places, that perhaps you might be askedâ,
for something of your worldly possessions as usual.
|
Tafseer
They said, âO (yā is for calling attention [to something]) woe to us!, [this is]
our destruction! We have indeed been doing wrongâ, through [our] disbelief.
|
Tafseer
So that, saying, remained their cry, which they would make and repeat, until We
made them as reaped [crops], as crops harvested with sickles when they were killed with the sword,
stilled, dead, like the stillness of fire when it is extinguished.
|
Tafseer
And We did not create the heaven and the earth and all that is between them,
playing, being frivolous, but to indicate Our power and to benefit Our servants.
|
Tafseer
Had We desired to find some diversion, that which provides diversion, in the way
of a partner or a child, We would have found it with Ourselves, from among the beautiful-eyed houris or
angels, were We to do [so]. But We did not do so, thus We never desired it.
|
Tafseer
Nay, but We hurl, We cast, the truth, faith, against falsehood, disbelief, and
it obliterates it, and behold, it vanishes, disappears (damaghahu, âit obliterates itâ, actually means âit struck
the brain with a blowâ, [a blow] which is fatal). And for you, O disbelievers of Mecca, there shall be woe,
severe chastisement, for what you ascribe, to God, of mate or child.
|
Tafseer
And to Him, exalted be He, belongs whoever is in the heavens and the earth, as
possessions, and those who are near Him, namely, the angels (wa-man âindahu, the subject, the predicate of
which [is the following clause]) do not disdain to worship Him, nor do they weary.
|
Tafseer
They glorify [Him] night and day, and they do not falter, in it, for it comes to
them as [naturally as] breathing comes to us, [something] which we can never be distracted from.
|
Tafseer
356 Or (am, functions with the meaning of bal, ânayâ, to effect a transition [in
subject-matter]; the hamza is for [rhetorical] denial) have they chosen gods, that are, from the earth, such as
stones, gold or silver, who, that is, gods [who], resurrect? who bring the dead back to life? No! Indeed only one
who brings the dead back to life can be God.
|
Tafseer
Had there been in [either of] them, that is, [in] the heavens and the earth,
gods other than God, that is, other than Him, the two would have surely deteriorated, they [the heavens and
the earth] would have deviated from their observed order, because counteractive forces would exist
among such [gods], as is usually the case, when there is more than one ruler, that there is counteraction
and a lack of consensus regarding something. So glory be to God â an exaltation â the Lord, the Creator,
of the Throne, al-kursī, above what they ascribe, the disbelievers, to God, of His having a partner and
otherwise.
|
Tafseer
He shall not be questioned about what He does, but they shall be questioned,
about their actions.
|
Tafseer
Or have they chosen besides Him, exalted be He, other than Him, gods? (herein is
an interrogative meant as a rebuke). Say: âBring your proof, for this â but such a thing is impossible.
This is the Remembrance of those with me, namely, my community, and that [Remembrance] is the Qurâān, and
the Remembrance of those before me, of communities, namely, the Torah and the Gospel and other
Books of God, not a single one of which contains the statement that with God there exists another god, in
the way that they claim â exalted be He above such a thing. Nay, but most of them do not know the truth,
the affirmation of Godâs Oneness, and so they are disregardfulâ, of that discernment that leads to
[knowledge of] it.
|
Tafseer
And We did not send any Messenger before you but We revealed to him (read nūhī
or yūhā, â[but] it was revealed to himâ) that, âThere is no god except Me, so worship Meâ, that is,
affirm My Oneness.
|
Tafseer
And they say, âThe Compassionate One has taken a sonâ, from the angels. Glory be
to Him! Nay, but they are [merely] servants who are honoured, in His presence; for [the very]
servitude [of all creatures to Him] is inconsistent with [the attribution of any of them as] progeny [of His].
|
Tafseer
They do not [venture to] speak before Him â they only speak after He has spoken,
and they act according to His command, that is, following [His issuing of] it.
|
Tafseer
He knows what is before them and what is behind them, that is, what they have
done and what they will do, and they do not intercede except for him with whom He is satisfied, that he be
interceded for, and they, for awe of Him, exalted be He, are apprehensive, fearful.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|