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Which was revealed in Makkah

In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful

The Doomed are preoccupied with Idle Talk and They turn away from the Ayat of Allah

When Allah mentions the blessed -- who are those who are guided by the Book of Allah and benefit from hearing it, as He says:

(Allah has sent down the Best Statement, a Book, its parts resembling each other (and) oft-repeated. The skins of those who fear their Lord shiver from it. Then their skin and their heart soften to the remembrance of Allah) (39:23). He connect that with mention of the doomed, those who turn away from the Qur'an and do not benefit from hearing the Words of Allah. Instead, they turn to listening to flutes and singing accompanied by musical instruments. As Ibn Mas`ud commented about the Ayah:

(And of mankind is he who purchases Lahu Al-Hadith to mislead (men) from the path of Allah), he said, "This -- by Allah -- refers to singing."

(And of mankind is he who purchases Lahw Al-Hadith to mislead (men) from the path of Allah without knowledge, ) Qatadah said: "By Allah, he may not spend money on it, but his purchasing it means he likes it, and the more misguided he is, the more he likes it and the more he prefers falsehood to the truth and harmful things over beneficial things." It was said that what is meant by the words

(purchases idle talks) is buying singing servant girls. Ibn Jarir said that it means all speech that hinders people from seeing the signs of Allah and following His path. His saying:

(to mislead (men) from the path of Allah) means, he does this to oppose Islam and its followers.

(and takes it by way of mockery.) Mujahid said, "This means mocking the path of Allah and making fun of it."

(For such there will be a humiliating torment.) Just as they showed no respect to the signs and path of Allah, so they will be shown no respect on the Day of Resurrection, and they will be subjected to a painful, ongoing torment. Then Allah says:

(And when Our Ayat are recited to such a one, he turns away in pride, as if he heard them not -- as if there were deafness in his ear.) means, when these Qur'anic verses are recited to one who is fond of idleness and play, he turns away from them and does not want to hear them. He turns a deaf ear to them as if he can hear nothing, because it annoys him to hear them since he gains no benefit from them and has no interest in them.

(So announce to him a painful torment.) i.e., on the Day of Resurrection, which will hurt him just as much as listening to the Book of Allah and its verses hurt him.

The Good Destiny of the Believers

Here Allah mentions the destiny of the righteous in the Hereafter, those who believe in Allah and His Messenger and do righteous deeds in accordance with the Laws of Allah.

(for them are Gardens of Delight.) means, there they will enjoy all kinds of delights and pleasures, food, drink, clothing, dwelling-places, means of transportation, women, a light of beauty and delightful sounds, which have never crossed the mind of any human being. They will stay there forever, never leaving and never desiring change.

(It is a promise of Allah in truth.) meaning, this will undoubtedly come to pass, for it is a promise from Allah, and Allah never breaks His promise, because He is the Most Generous Bestower Who does what He wills and is able to do all things.

(And He is the All-Mighty,) Who has subjugated all things and to Whom all things submit,

(the All-Wise.) in what He says and what He does, Who has made this Qur'an a guidance to the believers.

(Say: "It is for those who believe, a guide and a healing. And as for those who disbelieve, there is heaviness (deafness) in their ears, and it is blindness for them) (41:44).

(And We send down of the Qur'an that which is a healing and a mercy to those who believe, and it increases the wrongdoers nothing but loss.) (17:82)

Proofs of Tawhid

Thus Allah explains His mighty power in creating the heavens and the earth, and everything that is within them and between them. He says:

(He has created the heavens without any pillars) Al-Hasan and Qatadah said, "It does not have any pillars, visible or invisible."

(and has set on the earth firm mountains) means, the mountains which stabilize and lend weight to the earth, lest it should shake with its water. Allah says:

(lest it should shake with you.)

(And He has scattered therein moving creatures of all kinds) means, He has placed throughout it all kinds of animals, the total number of whose kinds and colors is known to no one except the One Who created them. When Allah tells us that He is the Creator, He also reminds us that He is the Provider, as He says:

(And We send down water from the sky, and We cause (plants) of every goodly kind to grow therein in pairs,) meaning, every kind of good produce in pairs, i.e., they are beautiful to look at. Ash-Sha`bi said: "People are also produce of the earth, so whoever enters Paradise is goodly and whoever enters Hell is vile."

(This is the creation of Allah.) means, all that Allah has mentioned here of the creation of the heavens and earth and everything in between stems from His power of creation and control alone, and He has no partner or associate in that, Allah says:

(So, show Me that which those besides Him have created.) those idols and rivals whom you worship and call upon.

(Nay, the wrongdoers) means the idolators who associate others in worship with Allah

(in error) means, they are ignorant and blind.

(plain) means, it is clear and obvious, and not at all hidden.

Luqman

The Salaf differed over the identity of Luqman; there are two opinions: was he a Prophet or just a righteous servant of Allah without the prophethood The majority favored the latter view, that he was a righteous servant of Allah without being a Prophet. Sufyan Ath-Thawri said, narrating from Al-Ash`ath, from `Ikrimah, from Ibn `Abbas, "Luqman was an Ethiopian slave who was a carpenter. `Abdullah bin Az-Zubayr said, "I said to Jabir bin `Abdullah: `What did you hear about Luqman' He said: `He was short with a flat nose, and came from Nubia."' Yahya bin Sa`id Al-Ansari narrated from Sa`id bin Al-Musayyib that "Luqman was from the black peoples of (southern) Egypt, and had thick lips. Allah gave him wisdom but withheld prophethood from him." Al-`Awza`i said, "`Abdur-Rahman bin Harmalah told me; `A black man came to Sa`id bin Al-Musayyib to ask him a question, and Sa`id bin Al-Musayyib said to him: "Do not be upset because you are black, for among the best of people were three who were black: Bilal, Mahja` the freed slave of `Umar bin Al-Khattab, and Luqman the Wise, who was a black Nubian with thick lips." Ibn Jarir recorded that Khalid Ar-Raba`i said: "Luqman was an Ethiopian slave who was a carpenter. His master said to him, `Slaughter this sheep for us,' so he slaughtered it. His master said: `Bring the best two pieces from it,' so he brought out the tongue and the heart. Then time passed, as much as Allah willed, and his master said: `Slaughter this sheep for us,' so he slaughtered it. His master said, `Bring the worst two morsels from it,' so he brought out the tongue and the heart. His master said to him, `I told you to bring out the best two pieces, and you brought these, then I told you to bring out the worst two pieces, and you brought these!' Luqman said, `There is nothing better than these if they are good, and there is nothing worse than these if they are bad."' Shu`bah narrated from Al-Hakam, from Mujahid, "Luqman was a righteous servant, but he was not a Prophet." Allah's saying:

(And indeed We bestowed upon Luqman Al-Hikmah) means, understanding, knowledge and eloquence.

(saying: "Give thanks to Allah.") means, `We commanded him to give thanks to Allah for the blessings and favors that Allah had given to him alone among his people and contemporaries.' Then Allah says:

(And whoever gives thanks, he gives thanks for (the good of) himself.) meaning, the benefit of that will come back to him, and Allah's reward is for those who give thanks, as He says:

(and whosoever does righteous good deeds, then such will prepare a good place for themselves. ) (30:44)

(And whoever is unthankful, then verily, Allah is Rich, Worthy of all praise.) He has no need of His servants and He will not be harmed by that, even if all the people of the earth were to disbelieve, for He has no need of anything or anyone besides Himself. There is no God but He, and we worship none but Him.