Ash-Shuraa 42:50
The Consultation · Juz 25 · Page 488
أَوۡ يُزَوِّجُهُمۡ ذُكۡرَانٗا وَإِنَٰثٗاۖ وَيَجۡعَلُ مَن يَشَآءُ عَقِيمًاۚ إِنَّهُۥ عَلِيمٞ قَدِيرٞ ٥٠
Or He makes them [both] males and females, and He renders whom He wills barren. Indeed, He is Knowing and Competent.
Tafsir · in English
Tazkirul Quran
Brief · Short modern reflections on each passage.
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Commentary on 42:50–53
In the present world, no human being can directly talk to God. Man’s humble position is the hindrance to such dialogue. Therefore the revelation of God’s words to the prophets was made in an indirect manner. There are many methods of indirect revelation. Examples of these are found in the lives of the various prophets. When a scholar writes a book or a thinker delivers his discourse, he has a scholastic background which may account or offer an explanation for his later successful academic or intellectual achievement. But the case of the prophet is entirely different. A prophet’s life after attaining prophethood is entirely different from what it was before that event. The present work of a common man appears to be a continuation of or stems from his past life. But, in the case of a prophet, his utterances after the attainment of prophethood are so distinct from those of the earlier period, prior to prophethood, that they cannot be accounted for or explained on the basis of his past. This is a clear indication that a prophet’s words are, in reality, divine in origin and not an ordinary human discourse. What is special about the Prophet Muhammad is that the Quran (the divine message) conveyed by him and his own personal utterances have both been preserved and still exist in their original form. If one who knows Arabic makes a comparative study of both, he will find an obvious difference between these two. The language of the Hadith (sayings of the Prophet) is clearly that of Muhammad ibn ‘Abdullah, while the language of the Quran is clearly that of God.
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42:45
وَتَرَىٰهُمۡ يُعۡرَضُونَ عَلَيۡهَا خَٰشِعِينَ مِنَ ٱلذُّلِّ يَنظُرُونَ مِن طَرۡفٍ خَفِيّٖۗ وَقَالَ ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوٓاْ إِنَّ ٱلۡخَٰسِرِينَ ٱلَّذِينَ خَسِرُوٓاْ أَنفُسَهُمۡ وَأَهۡلِيهِمۡ يَوۡمَ ٱلۡقِيَٰمَةِۗ أَلَآ إِنَّ ٱلظَّٰلِمِينَ فِي عَذَابٖ مُّقِيمٖ ٤٥
And you will see them being exposed to it [i.e., the Fire], humbled from humiliation, looking from [behind] a covert glance. And those who had believed will say, "Indeed, the [true] losers are the ones who lost themselves and their families on the Day of Resurrection. Unquestionably, the wrongdoers are in an enduring punishment."
42:46
وَمَا كَانَ لَهُم مِّنۡ أَوۡلِيَآءَ يَنصُرُونَهُم مِّن دُونِ ٱللَّهِۗ وَمَن يُضۡلِلِ ٱللَّهُ فَمَا لَهُۥ مِن سَبِيلٍ ٤٦
And there will not be for them any allies to aid them other than Allāh. And whoever Allāh sends astray - for him there is no way.
42:47
ٱسۡتَجِيبُواْ لِرَبِّكُم مِّن قَبۡلِ أَن يَأۡتِيَ يَوۡمٞ لَّا مَرَدَّ لَهُۥ مِنَ ٱللَّهِۚ مَا لَكُم مِّن مَّلۡجَإٖ يَوۡمَئِذٖ وَمَا لَكُم مِّن نَّكِيرٖ ٤٧
Respond to your Lord before a Day comes from Allāh of which there is no repelling. No refuge will you have that Day, nor for you will there be any denial.1
1 translator’s note
- Of your sins or "disapproval" of your punishment. ↩
42:48
فَإِنۡ أَعۡرَضُواْ فَمَآ أَرۡسَلۡنَٰكَ عَلَيۡهِمۡ حَفِيظًاۖ إِنۡ عَلَيۡكَ إِلَّا ٱلۡبَلَٰغُۗ وَإِنَّآ إِذَآ أَذَقۡنَا ٱلۡإِنسَٰنَ مِنَّا رَحۡمَةٗ فَرِحَ بِهَاۖ وَإِن تُصِبۡهُمۡ سَيِّئَةُۢ بِمَا قَدَّمَتۡ أَيۡدِيهِمۡ فَإِنَّ ٱلۡإِنسَٰنَ كَفُورٞ ٤٨
But if they turn away - then We have not sent you, [O Muḥammad], over them as a guardian; upon you is only [the duty of] notification. And indeed, when We let man taste mercy from Us, he rejoices in it; but if evil afflicts him for what his hands have put forth, then indeed, man is ungrateful.
42:49
لِّلَّهِ مُلۡكُ ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ وَٱلۡأَرۡضِۚ يَخۡلُقُ مَا يَشَآءُۚ يَهَبُ لِمَن يَشَآءُ إِنَٰثٗا وَيَهَبُ لِمَن يَشَآءُ ٱلذُّكُورَ ٤٩
To Allāh belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth; He creates what He wills. He gives to whom He wills female [children], and He gives to whom He wills males.
42:50
أَوۡ يُزَوِّجُهُمۡ ذُكۡرَانٗا وَإِنَٰثٗاۖ وَيَجۡعَلُ مَن يَشَآءُ عَقِيمًاۚ إِنَّهُۥ عَلِيمٞ قَدِيرٞ ٥٠
Or He makes them [both] males and females, and He renders whom He wills barren. Indeed, He is Knowing and Competent.
42:51
۞ وَمَا كَانَ لِبَشَرٍ أَن يُكَلِّمَهُ ٱللَّهُ إِلَّا وَحۡيًا أَوۡ مِن وَرَآيِٕ حِجَابٍ أَوۡ يُرۡسِلَ رَسُولٗا فَيُوحِيَ بِإِذۡنِهِۦ مَا يَشَآءُۚ إِنَّهُۥ عَلِيٌّ حَكِيمٞ ٥١
And it is not for any human being that Allāh should speak to him except by revelation or from behind a partition or that He sends a messenger [i.e., angel] to reveal, by His permission, what He wills. Indeed, He is Most High and Wise.