Az-Zumar 39:21–29

Commentary

The word: يَنَابِيعَ (yanabi in verse 21: فَسَلَكَهُ يَنَابِيعَ فِي الْأَرْ‌ضِ (made it penetrate into the earth [ and gush forth ] in the form of springs) is the plural form of: یَنبُوع (yanbu) which means springs that gush out from the soil. The sense is that the act of sending down water from the sky is by itself a great blessing, but also crucial was the arrangement to conserve it underground. But for this arrangement to save this blessing of water, its users would have derived benefit from it only at the time of rains, or for a few days following it. Although, on water depends their life, and it is the kind of need one cannot stay free from, even for a day. Therefore, Allah Ta’ ala did not consider it sufficient to just send down this blessing, instead, made elaborate and very unique arrangements for its conservation. Some of it gets deposited in ditches, ponds, tanks and reservoirs. Then a huge supply is turned into ice and made to sit on mountain peaks and its ridges, an arrangement that takes care of the danger of water going bad. Then ice melts and water travels through veins in the mountains until it reaches the land and gushes out in the form of streams, all over, on its own, without any human input, and finally finds its way through the land in the form of rivulets and rivers. Rest of the water keeps flowing underground which can be retrieved by digging a well almost anywhere.

Details of this water supply system as they appear in the noble Qur'an have been given in the commentary of Surah Al-Mu'minan under the verse: (then We lodged it in the earth, and of course, We are able to take it away - Al-Mu'minun, 23:18). (Please see Ma ariful-Qur’ an, Volume VI, under 23:18, pages 311 to 313).

Later in verse 21, it was said: مُّخْتَلِفًا أَلْوَانُهُ (the crops of different colours). At the time the crops grow and ripen, colors keep changing from one to the other. Since these colors change, therefore, the word: مُّخْتَلِفًا (mukhtalifan), in terms of its grammatical analysis, has been used in the form of: حَال (ha state, circumstantial condition) which denotes change.

In the last sentence of verse 21, it was said: إِنَّ فِي ذَٰلِكَ لَذِكْرَ‌ىٰ لِأُولِي الْأَلْبَابِ (Surely, in that, there is a lesson for the people of understanding), that is, in this process - when water is sent down, is conserved, is made available to human beings to grow all sorts of crops and trees the colors of which change following which they turn yellow and dry making grains separate from chaff - there is a great lesson for people of understanding, because they provide the proof of the infinite power and wisdom of Allah Ta’ ala. These are visible signs that could lead human beings to discover the reality behind their own creation, and that in turn, could become the means through which one succeeds in recognizing his or her own creator and master.

In the first sentence of verse 22, it was said: أَفَمَن شَرَ‌حَ اللَّهُ صَدْرَ‌هُ لِلْإِسْلَامِ فَهُوَ عَلَىٰ نُورٍ‌ مِّن رَّ‌بِّهِ (So I ask about a person whose heart Allah has opened up for Islam, and consequently he proceeds in a light from his Lord.). The word: شَرَ‌حَ (sharh) literally means to open, enlarge or extend. The expression: شرح الصدر (sharh-us-sadr) means the capacity or capability of the heart (to receive and accommodate input). The sense is that one's heart is capable of learning lessons and receiving benefits by deliberating into Divine signs of creation in the heavens and the earth, particularly so by deliberating in his own creation. Similar is the case with other signs of Allah revealed in the form of scriptures and injunctions. One's heart also has to have the ability to deliberate in them and be benefited by them. In contrast, there is a heart that is straightened or hardened. The statement in a verse of the Qur'an: يَجْعَلْ صَدْرَ‌هُ ضَيِّقًا حَرَ‌جًا He makes his heart narrow, much too narrow - Al-An am, 6:125) and the one in the next verse at this place: لِّلْقَاسِيَةِ قُلُوبُهُم "woe to those whose hearts are too hard to remember Allah - 39:22" has appeared in contrast to this very 'sharh-us-sadr' (a heart opened to acceptance of truth and at ease with it).

According to a narration from Sayyidna ` Abdullah Ibn Masud ؓ ، when the Holy Prophet ﷺ recited this verse: أَفَمَن شَرَ‌حَ اللَّهُ صَدْرَ‌هُ (Is it not that, a person for whom Allah opens up his heart...), we asked him about the meaning of 'sharh-us-sadr'. He said, "when the light of 'iman (faith) enters the human heart, it enhances its capacity (which makes the comprehension and implementation of Divine commandments easy on the person concerned)." We submitted, 'ya rasulallah, what is the sign of it (that is, of 'sharh-us-sadr' )?' Then, he said:

الانابۃ الی دار الخلود والتجافی عن دارالغرور و اتأھب لموت قبل نزولہ ۔ رواہ الحاکم رفی المستدرک ولبیھقی فی شعب الایمان ۔ (روح المعانی)

"Longing passionately for the eternal home, and seeking refuge from the deceptive abode, and preparing for death before its arrival." - Reported by al-Hakim in al-Mustadrak and al-Baihaqi in Shu` ab-u1-'iman (Ruh-ul-Ma’ ani).

The verse under study has been initiated as headed by an interrogative particle: اَفمَن (afaman). The sense it carries can be explained by saying: 'Can a person whose heart has been opened up for Islam - and he is on the light coming from his Lord, that is, does everything under it - and another person with a hardened heart be equal?' The contrasting part relating to the hardened heart has been mentioned in the next verse with a warning of woeful punishment attached to it.

In this verse (22), it was said: فَوَيْلٌ لِّلْقَاسِيَةِ قُلُوبُهُم (woe to those whose hearts are too hard to remember Allah). The word: الْقَاسِيَةِ (al-qasiyah) is a derivation from: قَسَاوَت (qasawah) which means to be hard-hearted, having no mercy for anyone, and also the one who remains totally unaffected by the need to remember Allah and follow His injunctions.

Verse 23 opens with the words: اللَّهُ نَزَّلَ أَحْسَنَ الْحَدِيثِ كِتَابًا مُّتَشَابِهًا مَّثَانِيَ (Allah has sent down the best discourse, a book containing subjects resembling each other, mentioned again and again). In the verse previous to it, the state of the faithful servants of Allah was mentioned as: يَسْتَمِعُونَ الْقَوْلَ فَيَتَّبِعُونَ أَحْسَنَهُ (who listen to what is said, then, follow the best of it - 39:18). Here, in the verse under study (23), we have been told that the whole Qur'an is 'ahsan-ul-hadith,' the best of what is said. The word: حَدِیث (Hadith) literally means the speech or account that is related. The outcome of calling Qur'an, 'ahsan-ul-hadith, is that, out of everything human beings say or relate, the Qur'an remains the most eloquent. Onwards from here, some attributes of the Qur'an have been mentioned: (1) It is: كِتَابًا مُّتَشَابِهًا (a book containing subjects resembling each other). At this place, the word: مُتَشَابِہ (mutashabih) means resembling each other or mutually corresponding, that is, the subjects dealt with in the Qur'an are related to each other, and are similar. So much so that one verse gets to be explained or confirmed by another verse. This 'word' is free of contradiction and conflict. (2) The second attribute is: مَثَانِی (mathani) which is the plural form of: مَثنٰی (mathna) which means repeated. The sense is that a subject is taken up repeatedly in the Qur'an to help make it settle down in one's mind. (3) As for the third attribute, it was described in very eloquent words by saying: تَقْشَعِرُّ‌ مِنْهُ جُلُودُ الَّذِينَ يَخْشَوْنَ رَ‌بَّهُمْ (shivered from which are the skins of those who have awe of their Lord.) that is, 'so overwhelmed and apprehensive the God-fearing become before the greatness of Allah that they, when reciting the Qur'an, are gripped with such an state of awe that it makes their hair stand on end.' (4) The fourth attribute has been identified as: ثُمَّ تَلِينُ جُلُودُهُمْ وَقُلُوبُهُمْ إِلَىٰ ذِكْرِ‌ اللَّهِ (Then, their skins and their hearts become soft enough to tend to the remembrance of Allah.), that is, the recitation of the Qur'an affects them in two ways. First, as said immediately above, when they hear the warnings of punishment, it makes their hair stand on end. Then they listen to the verses promising mercy and forgiveness which takes them to a state when their bodies and hearts turn tenderized, mellowed in the remembrance of Allah. Sayyidah Asma' bint Abi Bakr ؓ says that this used to be the common emotional state of the noble Sahabah - when the Qur'an was recited before them, tear would be rolling down their eyes, and the hair would be standing on end. (Qurtubi)

It has been narrated by Sayyidna ` Abdullah Ibn ` Abbas ؓ that the Holy Prophet ﷺ said, "A servant over whose body hair would stand on end due to the fear of Allah, then, Allah Ta’ ala forbids the Fire from ever touching his body. (Qurtubi)

Commentary

Verse أَفَمَن يَتَّقِي بِوَجْهِهِ (Tell Me about the one who tries to save himself from the worst punishment with his face ...) carries a description of the terrifying scenario of Jahannam. If one faces something hurtful in his mortal life, he tries to fight it off by using his hands and feet as defensive shields to protect his face. But, refuge with Allah, the people of Jahannam will not be able to use even their hands and feet to defend themselves. The punishment that comes will fall directly on their faces. Even if he wished to ward off the punishment in defense, he would have no option but to use his very face as the shield, because he would have been thrown in Jahannam with his hands and feet tied. We seek refuge with Allah from such a fate.

Out of the authorities of Tafsir, ` Ata and Ibn Zayd said that a person condemned to Jahannam will have his hands and feet tied before being dragged in there. (Qurtubi)