| This Surah (Revealed) Meccan, except for verses 56 and 57, which are Medinese; it consists of 85
verses, revealed after [sūrat] alZumar. (Ghâfir)
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| بِسْم ِ اللهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ | |
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Tafseer
Hā mīm: God knows best what He means by these [letters].
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Tafseer
The revelation of the Book, the Qurâān (tanzīluâl-kitābi is the subject), is
from God (minaâLlāhi is its predicate), the Mighty, in His kingdom, the Knower, of His creatures.
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Tafseer
Forgiver of sins, for believers, and Accepter of repentance, from them (al-tawb
is the verbal noun), Severe in punishment, of disbelievers â in other words, One Who makes it severe for them â
One of [abundant] bounty, bestower of abundant grace â God is eternally possessed of all of these
attributes, and so the annexation construction using the derivatives [of these attributes] is for the
purposes of characterisation, as in the case of the last. There is no god except Him; to Him is the journeying,
the [ultimate] return.
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Tafseer
None dispute the signs of God â the Qurâān â except those who disbelieve, from
among the people of Mecca, so do not be deceived by their bustle in the towns, [going about] seeking
their livelihood in security, for the sequel for them will be the Fire.
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Tafseer
546 The people of Noah denied before them and [also] the factions, such as âĀd,
Thamūd and others, [who came] after them. And every community sought to seize their messenger, to slay
him, and they argued falsely [thinking] to rebut, to eliminate, thereby the truth. Then I seized
them, with punishment; so how [fitting] was My punishment!, of them â in other words, it was appropriate.
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Tafseer
And thus was the word of your Lord â namely, the verse: Assuredly I will fill
Hell â [Q. 11:119] â fulfilled against those who disbelieve: that they shall be the inhabitants of the Fire
(annahum ashābuâl-nāri substitutes for kalimatu, âthe wordâ).
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Tafseer
Those who bear the Throne (alladhīna yahmilūnaâl-âarsha is the subject) and
those around it (wa-man hawlahu is a supplement to that [subject]) glorify (yusabbihūna, is the
predicate thereof) with praise of their Lord, continuously proclaiming praise, in other words, [continuously] saying:
subhānaâLlāhi wa-bi-hamdihi, âGlory, and praise, be to Godâ; and they believe in Him, exalted be He, through
their power of discernment, in other words, they affirm the truth of His Oneness, and they ask forgiveness
for those who believe, saying: âOur Lord, You embrace all things in [Your] mercy and knowledge, that is to say,
Your mercy embraces all things and Your knowledge [also embraces] all things. So forgive those who
repent, of idolatry, and follow Your way â the religion of Islam â and shield them from the chastisement of
Hell-fire, that is, the Fire.
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Tafseer
Our Lord, and admit them into the Gardens of Eden, as [a place of] residence
[for them], that which You have promised them, along with whoever were righteous (wa-man salaha is a
supplement [either] to [the pronominal third person plural suffix] hum, âthemâ in wa-adkhilhum, âand admit
themâ, or in waâadttahum, âYou have promised themâ) among their fathers and their wives and their
descendants. Surely You are the One Who is the Mighty, the Wise, in what He does.
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Tafseer
And shield them from evil deeds, that is, [from] the chastisement thereof; for
whomever You shield from evil deeds that day, the Day of Resurrection, verily him You will have had been
merciful to; and that is indeed the supreme triumphâ.
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Tafseer
Indeed to those who disbelieve it will be proclaimed [to them], from the part of
the angels, as they [disbelievers] enter the Fire in utter loathing of themselves: âSurely Godâs
loathing, of you, is greater than your loathing of yourselves, as you were called, [during life] in this world, to
faith but you used to disbelieveâ.
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Tafseer
They will say, âOur Lord, You have caused us to die twice, two deaths, and You
have given us life twice â for they were lifeless drops of semen, then they were given life, then made to
die, then brought back to life for the Resurrection. We [now] confess our sins, in having disbelieved in the
Resurrection. Is there then any way to go out?â, out of the Fire and return to the world to be obedient to our
Lord? The answer given to them will be: No!
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Tafseer
That, namely, the chastisement which you find yourselves in, is because, during
[the life of] this world, when God was invoked alone, you would disbelieve, in His Oneness; but if
partners were ascribed to Him, 547 you would believe, you would accept such idolatry. So the judgement, to chastise
you, belongs to God, the Exalted, above His creation, the Great, the Tremendous.
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Tafseer
He it is Who shows you His signs, the proofs of His Oneness, and sends down from
the heaven for you provision, by way of rain. Yet no one remembers, [no one] is admonished, except
him who returns penitently, [who] recants idolatry.
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Tafseer
So supplicate God, worship Him, devoting [your] religion purely to Him, [free]
from any idolatry, however much the disbelievers be averse, to its being free of such [idolatry].
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Tafseer
Exalter of ranks, [either means] that God is One Whose attributes are majestic â
or [it means] the raiser of the ranks of believers in Paradise â Lord of the Throne, in other words, the
Creator thereof, He casts the Spirit, the Revelation, of His command, that is, [of] His words, upon whomever
He will of His servants, that he, the one upon whom it is cast, may warn them of, [that he may] make people
fear, the Day of Encounter (read yawmaâl-talāqi, omitting the [final long] yāâ, or yawmaâl-talāqī), that is
to say, the Day of Resurrection, [so called] because thereat the inhabitants of the heavens will encounter those
of the earth, and the worshipper [will encounter] the one whom he worshipped, and the wrongdoer [will
encounter] the person whom he wronged;
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Tafseer
the day when they will emerge, [the day] they will exit from their graves;
nothing about them will be hidden from God. âTo whom does Sovereignty belong today?â â God, exalted be He, asks
this and Himself responds â âTo God, the One, the All-compelling!â, over His creatures.
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Tafseer
Today every soul shall be requited for what it has earned; there will be no
injustice today. Indeed God is swift at reckoningâ, reckoning with all of creation in the space of half a day
of the days of this world â a hadīth states this.
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Tafseer
And warn them of the Impending Day, namely, the Day of Resurrection (al-azifa,
as in azifa al-rahīlu, âdeparture is very nearâ) when the hearts will, rising up in fear, reach the
throats, choking with anguish, filled with [suppressed] anxiety (kāzimīna is a circumstantial qualifier referring to
al-qulūbu, âthe heartsâ, which is qualified by the [active animate participle] plural [kāzimīna] and referred to
as though they were the very individuals themselves). The evildoers will not have any intimate [friend],
[any] sympathiser, nor any intercessor who might be heeded â the adjectival qualification [âwho might be
heededâ] has no [literal] significance, for they do not have intercessors in the first place: So [now] we
have no intercessors â [Q. 26:100]. The first part, however, may [be said to] have significance if
[understand] on the basis of their claim to have intercessors, and so, in other words, even if â hypothetically
speaking â they [their intercessors] did intercede for them, they would not be heeded.
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Tafseer
He, namely, God, knows the treachery of the eyes, when it steals a glance at
what is prohibited [for it to look at], and what the breasts hide â [what] the hearts [hide].
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Tafseer
548 And God decrees with truth, while those on whom they call, whom they worship,
that is, the disbelievers of Mecca (read yadâūna, âthey callâ, or tadâūna, âyou callâ) besides Him â and
these are the idols â do not decree by any means [at all]: so how can they be Godâs associates? Truly God is
the Hearer, of their sayings, the Seer, of their actions.
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Tafseer
Have they not travelled in the land and beheld the nature of the consequence for
those who were before them? They were more powerful than them (a variant reading has minkum, âthan
yourselvesâ) in strength and in [their] vestiges on earth, in the way of large structures and palaces.
Yet God seized them, He destroyed them, for their sins and they had none to shield them from God, from
His chastisement.
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Tafseer
That was because their messengers used to bring them clear signs, manifest
miracles, but they disbelieved. So God seized them. Indeed He is Strong, Severe in punishment.
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Tafseer
And verily We sent Moses with Our signs and a clear warrant, an evident and
manifest proof,
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Tafseer
to Pharaoh and Hāmān and Korah, but they said â that he was â âA sorcerer, a
[mere] liar!â
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Tafseer
So when he brought them the truth from Us, they said, âSlay the sons of those
who believe with him, and spare, keep alive, their womenâ. But the guile of the disbelievers is ever in
error, in perdition.
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Tafseer
And Pharaoh said, âLet me slay Moses â for they used to restrain him from
slaying him â and let him call to his Lord, to defend him against me. Indeed I fear that he may change your
religion, [involving] your worship of me, so that you will then follow him [in his religion], or that he may cause
corruption to appear in the landâ, by [initiating] killing and otherwise (a variant reading [for wa-an, âand
thatâ] is aw-an, âor thatâ; a variant reading [for an yuzhira fīâl-ardiâl-fasāda] is [the impersonal
construction] an yazhara fīâl-ardiâl-fasādu, âthat corruption may appear in the landâ).
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Tafseer
And Moses said, to his people, after he had heard that [saying of Pharaoh]:
âIndeed I seek refuge in my Lord and your Lord from every arrogant one who does not believe in the Day of
Reckoningâ.
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Tafseer
Then said a believing man from among Pharaohâs folk â this is said to have been
his paternal cousin â who had concealed his faith, âWill you slay a man for saying, âMy Lord is Godâ, even
though he has [also] brought you clear signs, manifest miracles, from your Lord? If he is lying, then
his mendacity will be to his own detriment, that is, the harm resulting from his mendacity [will be to his
own detriment]; but if he is truthful, then there will befall you some of that with which he is threatening
you, in the way of chastisement, soon. Truly God does not guide one who is a prodigal, an idolater,
a liar.
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