Tazkirul Quran · Tafsir · in English
Az-Zukhruf 43:31–62
43:31–35Page 491
وَقَالُواْ لَوۡلَا نُزِّلَ هَٰذَا ٱلۡقُرۡءَانُ عَلَىٰ رَجُلٖ مِّنَ ٱلۡقَرۡيَتَيۡنِ عَظِيمٍ ٣١
And they said, "Why was this Qur’ān not sent down upon a great man from [one of] the two cities?"1
أَهُمۡ يَقۡسِمُونَ رَحۡمَتَ رَبِّكَۚ نَحۡنُ قَسَمۡنَا بَيۡنَهُم مَّعِيشَتَهُمۡ فِي ٱلۡحَيَوٰةِ ٱلدُّنۡيَاۚ وَرَفَعۡنَا بَعۡضَهُمۡ فَوۡقَ بَعۡضٖ دَرَجَٰتٖ لِّيَتَّخِذَ بَعۡضُهُم بَعۡضٗا سُخۡرِيّٗاۗ وَرَحۡمَتُ رَبِّكَ خَيۡرٞ مِّمَّا يَجۡمَعُونَ ٣٢
Do they distribute the mercy of your Lord? It is We who have apportioned among them their livelihood in the life of this world and have raised some of them above others in degrees [of rank] that they may make use of one another for service. But the mercy of your Lord is better than whatever they accumulate.
وَلَوۡلَآ أَن يَكُونَ ٱلنَّاسُ أُمَّةٗ وَٰحِدَةٗ لَّجَعَلۡنَا لِمَن يَكۡفُرُ بِٱلرَّحۡمَٰنِ لِبُيُوتِهِمۡ سُقُفٗا مِّن فِضَّةٖ وَمَعَارِجَ عَلَيۡهَا يَظۡهَرُونَ ٣٣
And if it were not that the people would become one community [of disbelievers],1 We would have made for those who disbelieve in the Most Merciful - for their houses - ceilings and stairways of silver upon which to mount.
وَلِبُيُوتِهِمۡ أَبۡوَٰبٗا وَسُرُرًا عَلَيۡهَا يَتَّكِـُٔونَ ٣٤
And for their houses - doors and couches [of silver] upon which to recline
وَزُخۡرُفٗاۚ وَإِن كُلُّ ذَٰلِكَ لَمَّا مَتَٰعُ ٱلۡحَيَوٰةِ ٱلدُّنۡيَاۚ وَٱلۡأٓخِرَةُ عِندَ رَبِّكَ لِلۡمُتَّقِينَ ٣٥
And gold ornament. But all that is not but the enjoyment of worldly life. And the Hereafter with your Lord is for the righteous.
When the Prophet Muhammad appeared in Makkah, he seemed to the people to be an ordinary man. They opined that had God wanted to send His representative to them for their guidance, He would have selected some great renowned personality from the central townships of Arabia such as Makkah or Taif. But, this showed a narrowness in their outlook. Man is able to look simply at the present, while far-sightedness was required to understand the greatness of the Prophet Muhammad. Since the people did not possess such an outlook, they failed to understand the greatness of the Prophet Muhammad. The reason for the Prophet Muhammad being thought of as a small man was that people did not see any material pomp and show surrounding him. But these material things have no importance in the eyes of God. The fact is, these things are so unimportant in the eyes of God that, if He wishes, He may bless people with heaps of gold and silver. But God did not do this, as people’s attention would have been diverted to riches and they would not have been able to proceed to find the truth.
43:36–39Page 492
وَمَن يَعۡشُ عَن ذِكۡرِ ٱلرَّحۡمَٰنِ نُقَيِّضۡ لَهُۥ شَيۡطَٰنٗا فَهُوَ لَهُۥ قَرِينٞ ٣٦
And whoever is blinded from remembrance of the Most Merciful - We appoint for him a devil, and he is to him a companion.
وَإِنَّهُمۡ لَيَصُدُّونَهُمۡ عَنِ ٱلسَّبِيلِ وَيَحۡسَبُونَ أَنَّهُم مُّهۡتَدُونَ ٣٧
And indeed, they [i.e., the devils] avert them from the way [of guidance] while they think that they are [rightly] guided
حَتَّىٰٓ إِذَا جَآءَنَا قَالَ يَٰلَيۡتَ بَيۡنِي وَبَيۡنَكَ بُعۡدَ ٱلۡمَشۡرِقَيۡنِ فَبِئۡسَ ٱلۡقَرِينُ ٣٨
Until, when he comes to Us [at Judgement], he says [to his companion], "How I wish there was between me and you the distance between the east and west; and what a wretched companion."
وَلَن يَنفَعَكُمُ ٱلۡيَوۡمَ إِذ ظَّلَمۡتُمۡ أَنَّكُمۡ فِي ٱلۡعَذَابِ مُشۡتَرِكُونَ ٣٩
And never will it benefit you that Day, when you have wronged, that you are [all] sharing in the punishment.
Man’s turning away from good advice means his rejection of reality. Divine reality comes before him with undeniable, reasoned arguments. However, in order to protect his interests, he ignores it. One who does so makes false statements against it in order to justify his stand. This is when Satan has the opportunity to get the better of him and turn his mind in the wrong direction. Keeping the man busy with false justifications, Satan goes on assuring him that he is on the right path. The spell of deceit is broken only when the man meets his death and is produced before God for the final reckoning. In this world, man is wont to readily make friends with anyone who supports his falsehood, but in the Hereafter, he will curse all such companions. He will then want them to stay so far away from him that he should be able neither to see their faces nor hear their voices.
43:40–45Page 492
أَفَأَنتَ تُسۡمِعُ ٱلصُّمَّ أَوۡ تَهۡدِي ٱلۡعُمۡيَ وَمَن كَانَ فِي ضَلَٰلٖ مُّبِينٖ ٤٠
Then will you make the deaf hear, [O Muḥammad], or guide the blind or he who is in clear error?
فَإِمَّا نَذۡهَبَنَّ بِكَ فَإِنَّا مِنۡهُم مُّنتَقِمُونَ ٤١
And whether [or not] We take you away [in death], indeed, We will take retribution upon them.
أَوۡ نُرِيَنَّكَ ٱلَّذِي وَعَدۡنَٰهُمۡ فَإِنَّا عَلَيۡهِم مُّقۡتَدِرُونَ ٤٢
Or whether [or not] We show you that which We have promised them, indeed, We are Perfect in Ability.
فَٱسۡتَمۡسِكۡ بِٱلَّذِيٓ أُوحِيَ إِلَيۡكَۖ إِنَّكَ عَلَىٰ صِرَٰطٖ مُّسۡتَقِيمٖ ٤٣
So adhere to that which is revealed to you. Indeed, you are on a straight path.
وَإِنَّهُۥ لَذِكۡرٞ لَّكَ وَلِقَوۡمِكَۖ وَسَوۡفَ تُسۡـَٔلُونَ ٤٤
And indeed, it is a remembrance1 for you and your people, and you [all] are going to be questioned.
وَسۡـَٔلۡ مَنۡ أَرۡسَلۡنَا مِن قَبۡلِكَ مِن رُّسُلِنَآ أَجَعَلۡنَا مِن دُونِ ٱلرَّحۡمَٰنِ ءَالِهَةٗ يُعۡبَدُونَ ٤٥
And ask those We sent before you of Our messengers; have We made besides the Most Merciful deities to be worshipped?
Let a man close his eyes and he will see nothing. Let him close his ears and he will hear nothing. Let him close his mind and he will understand nothing. It is futile to offer guidance or advice to such a person, especially if the reason he has suspended his thinking processes is that he wants to tread the path of his desires, for desire draws a veil over the mind which the truth cannot penetrate. Nevertheless, the preacher of the Truth has to continue the work of his mission at all events, irrespective of the attitude of his audience, until the last stage of the completion of arguments is reached. Though the preacher of Truth is a human being, Truth per se is the concern of God. After denying the preacher of Truth, a man thinks that he has saved himself from being affected by the Truth, but at that very moment he comes within God’s striking distance. If a man came to know of this secret, he would tremble before ignoring the preacher of Truth, because he would realise that ignoring him amounted to ignoring the Truth itself and ignoring the Truth amounted to ignoring God Himself.
43:46–50Page 492
وَلَقَدۡ أَرۡسَلۡنَا مُوسَىٰ بِـَٔايَٰتِنَآ إِلَىٰ فِرۡعَوۡنَ وَمَلَإِيْهِۦ فَقَالَ إِنِّي رَسُولُ رَبِّ ٱلۡعَٰلَمِينَ ٤٦
And certainly did We send Moses with Our signs to Pharaoh and his establishment, and he said, "Indeed, I am the messenger of the Lord of the worlds."
فَلَمَّا جَآءَهُم بِـَٔايَٰتِنَآ إِذَا هُم مِّنۡهَا يَضۡحَكُونَ ٤٧
But when he brought them Our signs, at once they laughed at them.
وَمَا نُرِيهِم مِّنۡ ءَايَةٍ إِلَّا هِيَ أَكۡبَرُ مِنۡ أُخۡتِهَاۖ وَأَخَذۡنَٰهُم بِٱلۡعَذَابِ لَعَلَّهُمۡ يَرۡجِعُونَ ٤٨
And We showed them not a sign except that it was greater than its sister, and We seized them with affliction that perhaps they might return [to faith].
وَقَالُواْ يَٰٓأَيُّهَ ٱلسَّاحِرُ ٱدۡعُ لَنَا رَبَّكَ بِمَا عَهِدَ عِندَكَ إِنَّنَا لَمُهۡتَدُونَ ٤٩
And they said [to Moses], "O magician, invoke for us your Lord by what He has promised you. Indeed, we will be guided."
فَلَمَّا كَشَفۡنَا عَنۡهُمُ ٱلۡعَذَابَ إِذَا هُمۡ يَنكُثُونَ ٥٠
But when We removed from them the affliction, at once they broke their word.
Moses presented the message of the unity of God to Pharaoh and showed him the miracles of the rod and the shining palm of his hand. On seeing this, Pharaoh and his courtiers started making a mockery of him. The reason for this was that they did not see Moses in the context of his mission but in the shape of a personality. They saw that to all appearances he was, as compared to themselves, a person of no account. Similarly, they thought that the miracles were simply feats of magic and that such magical feats could be performed by any other magician. This always happens in the case of preachers of the Truth. People reject the call of Truth by simply looking at the personality of the preacher of Truth. They ignore the signs of God, considering them likewise to be nothing out of the ordinary. When Pharaoh and his companions rejected Moses, God Almighty inflicted many admonitory punishments on them, so that they might turn back to the right path. Mention is made of these in chapter seven (verses 133-135). All these punishments were sent down, and also came to an end, in answer to Moses’ prayers. This was one more reason why they should have felt inclined to return to the right path, but they did not do so. The fact is that those who do not reform themselves on the strength of reasoning are not affected by warnings until the irrevocable punishment of the Hereafter finally engulfs them.
43:51–56Page 493
وَنَادَىٰ فِرۡعَوۡنُ فِي قَوۡمِهِۦ قَالَ يَٰقَوۡمِ أَلَيۡسَ لِي مُلۡكُ مِصۡرَ وَهَٰذِهِ ٱلۡأَنۡهَٰرُ تَجۡرِي مِن تَحۡتِيٓۚ أَفَلَا تُبۡصِرُونَ ٥١
And Pharaoh called out among his people; he said, "O my people, does not the kingdom of Egypt belong to me, and these rivers flowing beneath me; then do you not see?
أَمۡ أَنَا۠ خَيۡرٞ مِّنۡ هَٰذَا ٱلَّذِي هُوَ مَهِينٞ وَلَا يَكَادُ يُبِينُ ٥٢
Or am I [not] better than this one [i.e., Moses] who is insignificant and hardly makes himself clear?1
فَلَوۡلَآ أُلۡقِيَ عَلَيۡهِ أَسۡوِرَةٞ مِّن ذَهَبٍ أَوۡ جَآءَ مَعَهُ ٱلۡمَلَٰٓئِكَةُ مُقۡتَرِنِينَ ٥٣
Then why have there not been placed upon him bracelets of gold or come with him the angels in conjunction?"
فَٱسۡتَخَفَّ قَوۡمَهُۥ فَأَطَاعُوهُۚ إِنَّهُمۡ كَانُواْ قَوۡمٗا فَٰسِقِينَ ٥٤
So he bluffed his people, and they obeyed him. Indeed, they were [themselves] a people defiantly disobedient [of Allāh].
فَلَمَّآ ءَاسَفُونَا ٱنتَقَمۡنَا مِنۡهُمۡ فَأَغۡرَقۡنَٰهُمۡ أَجۡمَعِينَ ٥٥
And when they angered Us, We took retribution from them and drowned them all.
فَجَعَلۡنَٰهُمۡ سَلَفٗا وَمَثَلٗا لِّلۡأٓخِرِينَ ٥٦
And We made them a precedent and an example for the later peoples.
The rejecters of Truth have always done so after looking at the ordinary position of the preacher of Truth. Pharaoh enjoyed a prominent position in Egypt. He was the ruler of the country. The canals flowing out of the River Nile did so at his behest. He was surrounded by all the paraphernalia of pomp and glory. As compared to this, Moses was to all appearances an ordinary person. Pharaoh so mislead his people by highlighting this difference, that they joined him in rejecting Moses. Apparently, on the basis of this reasoning, Pharaoh’s community supported him. But the real reason for this was the weakness of Pharaoh’s community rather than the strength of his arguments. At that time, supporting Moses meant the destruction of a well-settled life; and there are very few people who have the courage to take the side of Truth when it means sacrificing their well laid plans. Ultimately, the punishment of God afflicted Pharaoh as a result of his denial of Truth and his community was not spared either.
43:57–62Page 493
۞ وَلَمَّا ضُرِبَ ٱبۡنُ مَرۡيَمَ مَثَلًا إِذَا قَوۡمُكَ مِنۡهُ يَصِدُّونَ ٥٧
And when the son of Mary was presented as an example,1 immediately your people laughed aloud.
وَقَالُوٓاْ ءَأَٰلِهَتُنَا خَيۡرٌ أَمۡ هُوَۚ مَا ضَرَبُوهُ لَكَ إِلَّا جَدَلَۢاۚ بَلۡ هُمۡ قَوۡمٌ خَصِمُونَ ٥٨
And they said, "Are our gods better, or is he?"1 They did not present it [i.e., the comparison] except for [mere] argument. But, [in fact], they are a people prone to dispute.
إِنۡ هُوَ إِلَّا عَبۡدٌ أَنۡعَمۡنَا عَلَيۡهِ وَجَعَلۡنَٰهُ مَثَلٗا لِّبَنِيٓ إِسۡرَٰٓءِيلَ ٥٩
He [i.e., Jesus] was not but a servant upon whom We bestowed favor, and We made him an example for the Children of Israel.
وَلَوۡ نَشَآءُ لَجَعَلۡنَا مِنكُم مَّلَٰٓئِكَةٗ فِي ٱلۡأَرۡضِ يَخۡلُفُونَ ٦٠
And if We willed, We could have made [instead] of you angels succeeding [one another]1 on the earth.
وَإِنَّهُۥ لَعِلۡمٞ لِّلسَّاعَةِ فَلَا تَمۡتَرُنَّ بِهَا وَٱتَّبِعُونِۚ هَٰذَا صِرَٰطٞ مُّسۡتَقِيمٞ ٦١
And indeed, he [i.e., Jesus] will be [a sign for] knowledge of the Hour, so be not in doubt of it, and follow Me.1 This is a straight path.
وَلَا يَصُدَّنَّكُمُ ٱلشَّيۡطَٰنُۖ إِنَّهُۥ لَكُمۡ عَدُوّٞ مُّبِينٞ ٦٢
And never let Satan avert you. Indeed, he is to you a clear enemy.
In this world it is possible for a man to derive a perverse meaning from every statement. For instance, the Messenger of God once said: ‘Whoever is worshipped other than God has no good in him.’ On hearing this, his opponents pointed out that the Christians worshipped Jesus Christ. Did it mean that Jesus Christ had no good in him? Obviously, this was only irrelevant hair-splitting, because the saying of the Prophet of God was in relation to the worshippers and not the objects of their worship. Even if it is presumed that it was in relation to the latter, it obviously meant those beings who, while unworthy of worship, acquiesced in their being deified. If a man does not take a saying in its right sense, it is possible for him to clothe it in a perverse meaning, howsoever right and proper it may be. The personality of Jesus Christ in a way resembled that of an angel. In view of this, many people made him an object of worship. But, the Messiah’s angel-like persona was an example of God’s creative powers and not an example of the Messiah’s personal powers. The fact is that creation of this kind is not at all difficult for God. If He so wished, He might convert the entire population of the earth into angels. Even so, the angels would still just be angels; they would not become gods and worthy of worship. Jesus Christ was blessed with the miraculous power to bring a dead man back to life. He used to bring earthen statues to life by blowing his breath into them. This was in fact a sign of God which was displayed in order to demonstrate the possibility of life after death. But the people did not learn a lesson from this; on the contrary, they treated Jesus as superhuman and started worshipping him. The signs of God appear before us in different ways. If they are treated as such, they are a tremendous source of guidance. But if they are considered something other than divine portents, they may become the cause of man’s going astray. Satan has eternally striven to prevent man from learning a lesson from the signs of God. It is at this point that man’s fate will be decided on the basis of whether Satan has succeeded in overcoming man or vice-versa.
Text: through the Quran Foundation. The ayahs: Quran Foundation. Sources and licences