Tazkirul Quran · Tafsir · in English
فصلت
Fussilat
Explained in Detail · Meccan · 54 ayahs
41:1–5Page 477
حمٓ ١
Ḥā, Meem.1
تَنزِيلٞ مِّنَ ٱلرَّحۡمَٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ ٢
[This is] a revelation from the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful -
كِتَٰبٞ فُصِّلَتۡ ءَايَٰتُهُۥ قُرۡءَانًا عَرَبِيّٗا لِّقَوۡمٖ يَعۡلَمُونَ ٣
A Book whose verses have been detailed, an Arabic Qur’ān1 for a people who know,
بَشِيرٗا وَنَذِيرٗا فَأَعۡرَضَ أَكۡثَرُهُمۡ فَهُمۡ لَا يَسۡمَعُونَ ٤
As a giver of good tidings and a warner; but most of them turn away, so they do not hear.
وَقَالُواْ قُلُوبُنَا فِيٓ أَكِنَّةٖ مِّمَّا تَدۡعُونَآ إِلَيۡهِ وَفِيٓ ءَاذَانِنَا وَقۡرٞ وَمِنۢ بَيۡنِنَا وَبَيۡنِكَ حِجَابٞ فَٱعۡمَلۡ إِنَّنَا عَٰمِلُونَ ٥
And they say, "Our hearts are within coverings [i.e., screened] from that to which you invite us, and in our ears is deafness, and between us and you is a partition, so work;1 indeed, we are working."
The call of a prophet is the pure call of religion. However, people mostly follow the religion of their forebears. Their thinking is dominated by their national traditions and contemporary mores. For this reason, the prophet’s unadulterated religion does not fit the pattern or mould of their thought. He appears a stranger to them. This difference acts as a mental barrier between the prophet and the common people. Unable to see the prophet’s call in its proper perspective, they are not prepared to accept it. The prophet’s call is in itself extremely rational. It is in itself a proof that it has come from God. But the aforesaid mental barrier proves so impregnable that a man is unable to penetrate it in order to grasp the meaning of the prophet’s call. Thus God opens the doors of His Grace to man, but he does not pass through them.
41:6–8Page 477
قُلۡ إِنَّمَآ أَنَا۠ بَشَرٞ مِّثۡلُكُمۡ يُوحَىٰٓ إِلَيَّ أَنَّمَآ إِلَٰهُكُمۡ إِلَٰهٞ وَٰحِدٞ فَٱسۡتَقِيمُوٓاْ إِلَيۡهِ وَٱسۡتَغۡفِرُوهُۗ وَوَيۡلٞ لِّلۡمُشۡرِكِينَ ٦
Say, [O Muḥammad], "I am only a man like you to whom it has been revealed that your god is but one God; so take a straight course to Him and seek His forgiveness." And woe to those who associate others with Allāh –
ٱلَّذِينَ لَا يُؤۡتُونَ ٱلزَّكَوٰةَ وَهُم بِٱلۡأٓخِرَةِ هُمۡ كَٰفِرُونَ ٧
Those who do not give zakāh, and in the Hereafter they are disbelievers.
إِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ وَعَمِلُواْ ٱلصَّٰلِحَٰتِ لَهُمۡ أَجۡرٌ غَيۡرُ مَمۡنُونٖ ٨
Indeed, those who believe and do righteous deeds - for them is a reward uninterrupted.
Whenever the call for Truth is issued, it takes place at the level of human beings. But people are unable to understand how it is possible for a man to speak in the language of God, and therefore they deny his message. But God communicates his message through a human being. One who cannot see beyond the humanness of the prophet and recognise the divineness of the message delivered by him, must remain deprived of God’s guidance in the present world of trial. Only that belief in the Hereafter is reliable which is accompanied by a firm belief in the oneness of God and the giving of alms for the sake of God’s pleasure. One who truly finds God can never be held in thrall by the greatness of any other being. Similarly, one who truly finds God cannot prevent himself from spending his wealth for the cause of God. ‘So take the straight path to Him’ means ‘keep your worship purely for God’, i.e. your whole attention should be directed towards God; the sole object of your prayers and worship should be the one and only God; your entire thinking should become God-oriented. God’s perpetual blessings will be showered on those who conduct themselves in this way.
41:9–12Page 477
۞ قُلۡ أَئِنَّكُمۡ لَتَكۡفُرُونَ بِٱلَّذِي خَلَقَ ٱلۡأَرۡضَ فِي يَوۡمَيۡنِ وَتَجۡعَلُونَ لَهُۥٓ أَندَادٗاۚ ذَٰلِكَ رَبُّ ٱلۡعَٰلَمِينَ ٩
Say, "Do you indeed disbelieve in He who created the earth in two days and attribute to Him equals? That is the Lord of the worlds."
وَجَعَلَ فِيهَا رَوَٰسِيَ مِن فَوۡقِهَا وَبَٰرَكَ فِيهَا وَقَدَّرَ فِيهَآ أَقۡوَٰتَهَا فِيٓ أَرۡبَعَةِ أَيَّامٖ سَوَآءٗ لِّلسَّآئِلِينَ ١٠
And He placed on it [i.e., the earth] firmly set mountains over its surface, and He blessed it and determined therein its [creatures'] sustenance in four days without distinction1 - for [the information of] those who ask.
ثُمَّ ٱسۡتَوَىٰٓ إِلَى ٱلسَّمَآءِ وَهِيَ دُخَانٞ فَقَالَ لَهَا وَلِلۡأَرۡضِ ٱئۡتِيَا طَوۡعًا أَوۡ كَرۡهٗا قَالَتَآ أَتَيۡنَا طَآئِعِينَ ١١
Then He directed Himself1 to the heaven while it was smoke and said to it and to the earth, "Come [into being],2 willingly or by compulsion." They said, "We have come willingly."
فَقَضَىٰهُنَّ سَبۡعَ سَمَٰوَاتٖ فِي يَوۡمَيۡنِ وَأَوۡحَىٰ فِي كُلِّ سَمَآءٍ أَمۡرَهَاۚ وَزَيَّنَّا ٱلسَّمَآءَ ٱلدُّنۡيَا بِمَصَٰبِيحَ وَحِفۡظٗاۚ ذَٰلِكَ تَقۡدِيرُ ٱلۡعَزِيزِ ٱلۡعَلِيمِ ١٢
And He completed them as seven heavens within two days and inspired [i.e., made known] in each heaven its command. And We adorned the nearest heaven with lamps [i.e., stars, for beauty] and as protection.1 That is the determination of the Exalted in Might, the Knowing.
A study of the universe reveals that its creation has been effected gradually in a phased manner. Creation in this way—in other words by stages, means planned creation; and when the creation of the universe has been so carried out, it essentially follows that it has a Planner who has purposefully created it according to a set plan. Similarly, there are mountains on this earth at various places that maintain the balance of the earth. There are millions of species of living organisms on this earth and every species requires different types of sustenance, which are found in its habitat. Similarly, a study of the universe also shows that initially all things were in the shape of divided atoms. Then they combined to form different entities. It is further evident from such a study that all the things in this immense universe are uniformly governed by the laws of nature. These observations clearly establish that the Creator of the universe is all-knowing and all-aware. He is all-powerful and dominant. So, who else can be there whom a man can treat as being worthy of worship?
41:13–14Page 478
فَإِنۡ أَعۡرَضُواْ فَقُلۡ أَنذَرۡتُكُمۡ صَٰعِقَةٗ مِّثۡلَ صَٰعِقَةِ عَادٖ وَثَمُودَ ١٣
But if they turn away, then say, "I have warned you of a thunderbolt like the thunderbolt [that struck] ʿAad and Thamūd.
إِذۡ جَآءَتۡهُمُ ٱلرُّسُلُ مِنۢ بَيۡنِ أَيۡدِيهِمۡ وَمِنۡ خَلۡفِهِمۡ أَلَّا تَعۡبُدُوٓاْ إِلَّا ٱللَّهَۖ قَالُواْ لَوۡ شَآءَ رَبُّنَا لَأَنزَلَ مَلَٰٓئِكَةٗ فَإِنَّا بِمَآ أُرۡسِلۡتُم بِهِۦ كَٰفِرُونَ ١٤
[That occurred] when the messengers had come to them before them and after them, [saying], "Worship not except Allāh." They said, "If our Lord had willed,1 He would have sent down the angels, so indeed we, in that with which you have been sent, are disbelievers."
Rejection of the call for Truth is the greatest crime in the eyes of God. If this rejection is of a call given by a prophet, the punishment for this starts right here in this world, just as happened in the case of the communities of ‘Ad and Thamud. The main point of the call for Truth has always been that man should become a worshipper of God. He should associate with the one and only God his feelings of fear and love. But in every age it has happened that the contemporaries of the Prophet opined that his personality was too unimpressive to have been chosen by God as His messenger. Therefore, they refused to accept his words.
41:15–18Page 478
فَأَمَّا عَادٞ فَٱسۡتَكۡبَرُواْ فِي ٱلۡأَرۡضِ بِغَيۡرِ ٱلۡحَقِّ وَقَالُواْ مَنۡ أَشَدُّ مِنَّا قُوَّةًۖ أَوَلَمۡ يَرَوۡاْ أَنَّ ٱللَّهَ ٱلَّذِي خَلَقَهُمۡ هُوَ أَشَدُّ مِنۡهُمۡ قُوَّةٗۖ وَكَانُواْ بِـَٔايَٰتِنَا يَجۡحَدُونَ ١٥
As for ʿAad, they were arrogant upon the earth without right and said, "Who is greater than us in strength?" Did they not consider that Allāh who created them was greater than them in strength? But they were rejecting Our signs.
فَأَرۡسَلۡنَا عَلَيۡهِمۡ رِيحٗا صَرۡصَرٗا فِيٓ أَيَّامٖ نَّحِسَاتٖ لِّنُذِيقَهُمۡ عَذَابَ ٱلۡخِزۡيِ فِي ٱلۡحَيَوٰةِ ٱلدُّنۡيَاۖ وَلَعَذَابُ ٱلۡأٓخِرَةِ أَخۡزَىٰۖ وَهُمۡ لَا يُنصَرُونَ ١٦
So We sent upon them a screaming wind during days of misfortune to make them taste the punishment of disgrace in the worldly life; but the punishment of the Hereafter is more disgracing, and they will not be helped.
وَأَمَّا ثَمُودُ فَهَدَيۡنَٰهُمۡ فَٱسۡتَحَبُّواْ ٱلۡعَمَىٰ عَلَى ٱلۡهُدَىٰ فَأَخَذَتۡهُمۡ صَٰعِقَةُ ٱلۡعَذَابِ ٱلۡهُونِ بِمَا كَانُواْ يَكۡسِبُونَ ١٧
And as for Thamūd, We guided them, but they preferred blindness over guidance, so the thunderbolt of humiliating punishment seized them for what they used to earn.
وَنَجَّيۡنَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ وَكَانُواْ يَتَّقُونَ ١٨
And We saved those who believed and used to fear Allāh.
Man is living in a world where the vastness of heaven and earth negates the greatness of man; where the event of death proves that man is a non-entity and truly powerless. In spite of this, man poses as being great and harbours no doubts of his power. God, time and again, causes the Truth to be revealed and declared, thus disproving man’s claim to greatness. But man does not learn a lesson until he is destroyed. The ruins of the ‘Ad, Thamud and other communities are concrete examples of the results of human folly. The very days that these peoples considered auspicious became the very reverse at the behest of the Almighty. Here ‘inauspicious days’ means winter, for the Arabs called winter inauspicious.
41:19–24Page 478
وَيَوۡمَ يُحۡشَرُ أَعۡدَآءُ ٱللَّهِ إِلَى ٱلنَّارِ فَهُمۡ يُوزَعُونَ ١٩
And [mention, O Muḥammad], the Day when the enemies of Allāh will be gathered to the Fire while they are [driven], assembled in rows,
حَتَّىٰٓ إِذَا مَا جَآءُوهَا شَهِدَ عَلَيۡهِمۡ سَمۡعُهُمۡ وَأَبۡصَٰرُهُمۡ وَجُلُودُهُم بِمَا كَانُواْ يَعۡمَلُونَ ٢٠
Until, when they reach it, their hearing and their eyes and their skins will testify against them of what they used to do.
وَقَالُواْ لِجُلُودِهِمۡ لِمَ شَهِدتُّمۡ عَلَيۡنَاۖ قَالُوٓاْ أَنطَقَنَا ٱللَّهُ ٱلَّذِيٓ أَنطَقَ كُلَّ شَيۡءٖۚ وَهُوَ خَلَقَكُمۡ أَوَّلَ مَرَّةٖ وَإِلَيۡهِ تُرۡجَعُونَ ٢١
And they will say to their skins, "Why have you testified against us?" They will say, "We were made to speak by Allāh, who has made everything speak; and He created you the first time, and to Him you are returned.
وَمَا كُنتُمۡ تَسۡتَتِرُونَ أَن يَشۡهَدَ عَلَيۡكُمۡ سَمۡعُكُمۡ وَلَآ أَبۡصَٰرُكُمۡ وَلَا جُلُودُكُمۡ وَلَٰكِن ظَنَنتُمۡ أَنَّ ٱللَّهَ لَا يَعۡلَمُ كَثِيرٗا مِّمَّا تَعۡمَلُونَ ٢٢
And you were not covering [i.e., protecting] yourselves,1 lest your hearing testify against you or your sight or your skins, but you assumed that Allāh does not know much of what you do.
وَذَٰلِكُمۡ ظَنُّكُمُ ٱلَّذِي ظَنَنتُم بِرَبِّكُمۡ أَرۡدَىٰكُمۡ فَأَصۡبَحۡتُم مِّنَ ٱلۡخَٰسِرِينَ ٢٣
And that was your assumption which you assumed about your Lord. It has brought you to ruin, and you have become among the losers."
فَإِن يَصۡبِرُواْ فَٱلنَّارُ مَثۡوٗى لَّهُمۡۖ وَإِن يَسۡتَعۡتِبُواْ فَمَا هُم مِّنَ ٱلۡمُعۡتَبِينَ ٢٤
So [even] if they are patient, the Fire is a residence for them; and if they ask to appease [Allāh], they will not be of those who are allowed to appease.
It is stated in the Quran that on the Day of Judgement a man’s skin, ears, eyes and limbs will testify to his deeds. The theory of ‘skin speech’ of modern times has established the feasibility of such a happening. It has now been discovered that every utterance a man makes is recorded on the skin of his body and that it can be heard once again, just like a voice recorded by mechanical devices. Since God is not visible, man carries the impression that God does not see him. This misunderstanding gives rise to arrogance in man. But if a man realises that he is being observed by God at all times, his whole behaviour will change. In the Hereafter, when he finally stands before God, man will express sentiments of obedience, but this will be of no avail, because obedience or submission has value or credibility only if it is practised at the ‘unseen stage’ and not after reality has been unveiled for all to see.
41:25Page 479
۞ وَقَيَّضۡنَا لَهُمۡ قُرَنَآءَ فَزَيَّنُواْ لَهُم مَّا بَيۡنَ أَيۡدِيهِمۡ وَمَا خَلۡفَهُمۡ وَحَقَّ عَلَيۡهِمُ ٱلۡقَوۡلُ فِيٓ أُمَمٖ قَدۡ خَلَتۡ مِن قَبۡلِهِم مِّنَ ٱلۡجِنِّ وَٱلۡإِنسِۖ إِنَّهُمۡ كَانُواْ خَٰسِرِينَ ٢٥
And We appointed for them companions1 who made attractive to them what was before them and what was behind them [of sin], and the word [i.e., decree] has come into effect upon them among nations which had passed on before them of jinn and men. Indeed, they [all] were losers.
In the present world, on the one hand, there are preachers of God who advise or instruct a man about the Truth. On the other hand, there are leaders who exploit people by making such speeches as please them. Those who pay no heed to God’s advice fall a prey to leaders’ smooth talks and without stopping to think, rush headlong to perdition. Those who are deceived by the false utterances of such leaders and rush after them cannot but end by being destroyed forever.
41:26–28Page 479
وَقَالَ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ لَا تَسۡمَعُواْ لِهَٰذَا ٱلۡقُرۡءَانِ وَٱلۡغَوۡاْ فِيهِ لَعَلَّكُمۡ تَغۡلِبُونَ ٢٦
And those who disbelieve say, "Do not listen to this Qur’ān and speak noisily1 during [the recitation of] it that perhaps you will overcome."
فَلَنُذِيقَنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ عَذَابٗا شَدِيدٗا وَلَنَجۡزِيَنَّهُمۡ أَسۡوَأَ ٱلَّذِي كَانُواْ يَعۡمَلُونَ ٢٧
But We will surely cause those who disbelieve to taste a severe punishment, and We will surely recompense them for the worst of what they had been doing.
ذَٰلِكَ جَزَآءُ أَعۡدَآءِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلنَّارُۖ لَهُمۡ فِيهَا دَارُ ٱلۡخُلۡدِ جَزَآءَۢ بِمَا كَانُواْ بِـَٔايَٰتِنَا يَجۡحَدُونَ ٢٨
That is the recompense of the enemies of Allāh - the Fire. For them therein is the home of eternity as recompense for what they, of Our verses, were rejecting.
‘Abdullah ibn ‘Abbas has explained that these words mean ‘to find fault’, i.e. attribute defects to the Quran and the possessor of the Quran and thus alienate people from both the book and the man (Tafsir ibn Kathir). There are two methods of expressing an opinion about a thing or a person—one is criticism and the other is denigration. Criticism means analysing the matter under consideration on the basis of facts. Contrary to this, denigration means desisting from presenting any arguments in connection with the matter under consideration and simply trying rather to find defects in it, cast a slur on it, thus making it the target of condemnation. The method of criticism is the most legitimate, while the method of ferretting out or imputing defects is the way of unbelievers. Moreover, the latter method amounts to denying the signs of God; because every true argument is a sign of God. Those people who do not bow down before an argument and try to belittle it by imputing defects to it and making false allegations against it are, in fact, denying the signs of God. Such people will be treated, in the Hereafter, as deserving of the severest punishment.
41:29–31Page 479
وَقَالَ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ رَبَّنَآ أَرِنَا ٱلَّذَيۡنِ أَضَلَّانَا مِنَ ٱلۡجِنِّ وَٱلۡإِنسِ نَجۡعَلۡهُمَا تَحۡتَ أَقۡدَامِنَا لِيَكُونَا مِنَ ٱلۡأَسۡفَلِينَ ٢٩
And those who disbelieved will [then] say, "Our Lord, show us those who misled us of the jinn and men [so] we may put them under our feet1 that they will be among the lowest."
إِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ قَالُواْ رَبُّنَا ٱللَّهُ ثُمَّ ٱسۡتَقَٰمُواْ تَتَنَزَّلُ عَلَيۡهِمُ ٱلۡمَلَٰٓئِكَةُ أَلَّا تَخَافُواْ وَلَا تَحۡزَنُواْ وَأَبۡشِرُواْ بِٱلۡجَنَّةِ ٱلَّتِي كُنتُمۡ تُوعَدُونَ ٣٠
Indeed, those who have said, "Our Lord is Allāh" and then remained on a right course - the angels will descend upon them, [saying], "Do not fear and do not grieve but receive good tidings of Paradise, which you were promised.
نَحۡنُ أَوۡلِيَآؤُكُمۡ فِي ٱلۡحَيَوٰةِ ٱلدُّنۡيَا وَفِي ٱلۡأٓخِرَةِۖ وَلَكُمۡ فِيهَا مَا تَشۡتَهِيٓ أَنفُسُكُمۡ وَلَكُمۡ فِيهَا مَا تَدَّعُونَ ٣١
We [angels] were your allies in worldly life and [are so] in the Hereafter. And you will have therein whatever your souls desire, and you will have therein whatever you request [or wish]
There are two types of human beings. One consists of those who take Satan and those who misguide others as their leaders. In the world, these people are each other’s best friends. But, in the Hereafter, the position will be just the opposite. There , when the followers see that their selfish leaders have caused them to be cast into hell, they will develop an extreme hatred for these ‘so-called’ leaders, and will wish to have the satisfaction of degrading and dishonouring them. The second type of human beings comprises those who will fraternize with God’s angels. Such people take angels as their comrades (companions) for the period extending from this world up to the Hereafter. The angels shower godly emotions on their hearts, and in difficult times give them peace of mind. Through fine aesthetic experiences, they convey to them God’s good news. Subsequently, these angels will receive them in the Hereafter and lead them to the gardens of paradise.
Text: through the Quran Foundation. The ayahs: Quran Foundation. Sources and licences