THE FORTY-FIRST SURAH
FUSSILAT (CLEARLY SPELLED OUT)
MECCA PERIOD
REVEALED immediately after the preceding surah, this one continues the theme begun in the latter: man’s reasoned acceptance or willful rejection of divine revelations. The title is derived from the verb fussilat occurring in verse 3, where it relates to the “clearly spelled-out” messages of the Quran.
DIVINE WRIT IN ARABIC
IN THE NAME OF GOD, THE MOST GRACIOUS, THE DISPENSER OF GRACE: (1) Ha. Mim. [See Appendix II.] (2) THE BESTOWAL from on high [of this revelation] issues from the Most Gracious, the Dis*penser of Grace: (3) a divine writ, the messages whereof have been clearly spelled out as a discourse in the Arabic tongue for people of [innate] knowl*edge, [See 12: 2 and the corresponding note.] (4) to be a herald of glad tidings as well as a warning. And yet, [whenever this divine writ is offered to men,] most of them turn away, so that they cannot hear [its message]; [The “people of [innate] knowledge” mentioned in the preceding verse are obviously those who understand the spiritual purport of this divine writ and, therefore, submit to its guidance: hence, it cannot be “most of them” who are referred to in the above phrase and in the next verse but, on the contrary, people who are devoid of such knowledge and to whom, in consequence, the Quran is meaningless. This elliptically implied differentiation - overlooked by almost all of the commentators (with perhaps the sole exception of Ibn Kathir) - can only be brought out by means of an interpolation at the beginning of the sentence.] (5) and so they say, [as it were:] “Our hearts are veiled from whatever thou callest us to, [O Muhammad,] and in our ears is deafness, and between us and thee is a barrier. [For this rendering of the term hijab, see note on the first sentence of 7: 46. See also 6: 25. The “saying” of those who turn away from the message of the Quran is, of course, figurative, describing only their attitude.] Do, then, [whatever thou wilt, whereas,] behold, we shall do [as we have always done]!”
BELIEF IN GOD’S ONENESS AND CHARITABLENESS
(6) Say thou, [O Prophet:] “I am but a mortal like you. [Cf. 6: 50 and the corresponding note.]
It has been revealed to me that your God is the One God: go, then, straight towards Him and seek His forgiveness!” And woe unto those who ascribe divinity to aught beside Him, (7) [and] those who do not spend in charity: for it is they, they who [thus] deny the truth of the life to come! [Belief in God’s oneness and charitableness towards one’s fellow-men are two cardinal demands of Islam. Conversely, a deliberate offence against either of these two demands amounts to a denial of man’s responsibility before God and hence, by implication, of a continuation of life in the hereafter. (For my rendering of zakah, in this context, as “charity”, see note on 2: 43. It is to be borne in mind that the application of this term to the obligatory tax incumbent on Muslims dates from the Medina period, whereas the present surah is a Meccan revelation.)] (8) [But,] verily, they who have attained to faith and do good works shall have a reward unending!
CREATION OF EARTH
(9) SAY: “Would you indeed deny Him who has created the earth in two aeons? [For the above rendering of the term yawm (lit., “day”), as “aeon”, see last third of note on 7: 54. As in so many verses of the Quran which relate to cosmic events, the repeated mention of the “six aeons” during which the universe was created - “two” of which, according to the above verse, were taken by the evolution of the inorganic universe, including the earth - has a purely allegorical import: in this case, I believe, an indication that the universe did not exist “eternally” but had a definite beginning in time, and that it required a definite time-lapse to evolve to its present condition.] And do you claim that there is any power that could rival Him, the Sustainer of all the worlds?” [Lit., “do you give Him compeers (andad)?” For an explanation, see note on 2: 22.] (10) For He [it is who, after creating the earth,] placed firm mountains on it, [towering] above its surface, and bestowed [so many] blessings on it, and equitably apportioned * its means of subsistence to all who would seek it: [I.e., in accordance with divine justice, and not with human concepts of “equity” or “need”.] [and all this He created] in four aeons. [Almost all the classical commentators agree in that these “four aeons include the “two” mentioned in the preceding verse: hence my interpolation of the words “and all this He created”. Together with the “two aeons of verse 12, the entire allegorical number comes to six.] (11) And [Whenever the particle thumma is used, as in the above instance, to link parallel statements – i.e., statements not necessarily indicating a sequence in time - it has the function of a simple conjunction, and may be rendered as “and”.] He [it is who] applied His design to the skies, which were [yet but] smoke; [I.e., a gas - evidently hydrogen gas, which physicists regard as the primal element from which all material particles of the universe have evolved and still evolve. For the meaning of the term sama (“sky” or “skies” or “heaven”) in its cosmic connotation, see note on 2: 29.] and He [it is who] said to them and to the earth, “Come [into being], both of you, willingly or unwillingly!” - to which both responded, “We do come in obedience.” [Explaining this passage, Zamakhshari observes: “The meaning of God’s command to the skies and the earth to ‘come’, and their submission [to His command] is this: He willed their coming into being, and so they came to be as He willed them to be and this is the kind of metaphor (majaz) which is called ‘allegory’ (tamthil). Thus, the purport [of this passage] is but an illustration (taswir) of the effect of His almighty power on all that is willed [by Him], and nothing else.” (It is obvious that Zamakhshari’s reasoning is based on the oft-repeated Quranic statement, “When God wills a thing to be, He but says unto it, ‘Be’ - and it is.”) Concluding his interpretation of the above passage, Zamakhshari adds: “If I am asked about the meaning of [the words] ‘willingly or unwillingly’, I say that it is a figurative expression (mathal) indicating that His almighty will must inevitably take effect.”] (12) And He [it is who] decreed that they become seven heavens * in two aeons, and imparted unto each heaven its function. [*I.e., a multiplicity of cosmic systems (cf. note on
2: 29).] And We adorned the skies nearest to the earth with lights, and made them secure: [Cf. 15: 16-18 and the corresponding notes; also 37: 6ff.] such is the ordaining of the Almighty, the All-Knowing.
THUNDERBOLT OF PUNISHMENT FOR TRIBE OF AD AND THAMUD
(13) BUT IF they turn away, say: [This connects with the opening sentence of verse 9 above: “Would you indeed deny Him who has created…”, etc.] “I warn you of [the coming of] a thunderbolt of punishment [See note on 2: 55.] like the thunderbolt [that fell upon the tribes] of Ad and Thamud!” [For the story of these two ancient tribes, see 7: 65-79 and the corresponding notes; also 26: 123-158.] (14) Lo! There came unto them [God’s] apostles, speaking of what lay open before them and what was [still] beyond their ken, * [and calling unto them,] “Worship none but God!” [*Lit., “from between their hands and from behind them”: i.e., reminding them of something that was known to them - namely, what happened to sinners like themselves who lived before their time - and warning them of what was bound to happen in the future to them, too, if they persisted in their denial of the truth (Al-Hasan al-Basri, as quoted by Zamakhshari). However, it is possible to understand the above phrase (which has been explained in note on 2: 255) in yet another, more direct way: God’s message-bearers pointed out to those sinning communities something that should have been obvious to them (lit., “between their hands”) - namely, their patently wrong attitude in their worldly, social concerns and moral concepts - as well as the unreasonableness of their denying something that was still beyond their ken (lit., “behind them”): namely, life after death and God’s ultimate judgment.] They answered: “If our Sustainer had willed [us to believe in what you say], He would have sent down angels [as His message-bearers]. [Cf. 6: 8-9 and 15: 7.] As it is, behold, we deny that there is any truth in what you [claim to] have been sent with!” (15) Now as for [the tribe of] Ad, they walked arrogantly on earth, [offending] against all right, and saying, “Who could have a power greater than ours?” Why - were they, then, not aware that God, who created them, had a power greater than theirs? But they went on rejecting Our messages; (16) and thereupon We let loose upon them a storm wind raging through days of misfortune, [See 69: 6-8.] so as to give them, in the life of this world, a foretaste of suffering through humiliation: but [their] suffering in the life to come will be far more humiliating, and they will have none to succour them. (17) And as for [the tribe of] Thamud, We offered them guidance, but they chose blindness in pre*ference to guidance: and so the thunderbolt of shame*ful suffering fell upon them as an outcome of all [the evil] that they had wrought; (18) and We saved [only] those who had attained to faith and were conscious of Us.
SINNERS BEARING WITNESS AGAINST THEMSELVES ON THE JUDGMENT DAY
(19) Hence, [warn all men of] the Day when the enemies of God shall be gathered together before the fire, and then shall be driven onward, (20) till, when they come close to it, their hearing and their sight and their [very] skins will bear witness against them, speaking of what they were doing [on earth]. (21) And they will ask their skins, “Why did you bear witness against us?” - [and] these will reply: “God, who gives speech to all things, has given speech to us [as well]: for He [it is who] has created you in the first instance - and unto Him you are [now] brought back. (22) And you did not try to hide [your sins] lest your hearing or your sight or your skins bear witness against you: nay, but you thought that God did not know much of what you were doing - (23) and that very thought which you thought about your Sustainer has brought you to perdition, and so now you find yourselves among the lost!” (24) And then, [even] if they endure [their lot] in patience, the fire will still be their abode; [Sc., “unless God wills to reprieve them”: see the last paragraph of 6: 128 and the corresponding note; also the hadith quoted in note on 40: 12.] and if they pray to be allowed to make amends, they will not be allowed to do so: [Lit., “they will not be of those who are allowed to make amends”: an allusion to the request of the doomed, on the Day of Judgment, to be granted a “second chance” on earth, and to God’s refusal of this request (cf. 6: 27-28 and 32: 12).]
EVIL SOUL-MATES
(25) for [when they became obli*vious of Us,] We assigned to them [their own evil impulses as their] other selves, [Or: “soul-mates” (cf. 4: 38). The verb qarana, from which the noun qarin is derived, signifies “he linked” or “intimately associated” or “yoked together [one thing with another]”. Cf. 43: 36 - “as for anyone who chooses to remain blind to the remembrance of the Most Gracious, to him We assign an [enduring] evil impulse [lit., “a Satan”], to become his other self”.] and these made appear goodly to them whatever lay open before them and whatever was beyond their ken. [Lit., “that which was between their hands and that which was behind them”: i.e., their own evil impulses (which had become their “other selves”, as it were) made alluring to them the unrestrained enjoyment, without any moral discrimination, of all the worldly attractions which lay open before them, causing them, at the same time, to dismiss as an illusion the idea of resurrection and of God’s judgment - thus giving them a false sense of security with regard to something that was beyond their ken.] And so, the sentence [of doom] will have fallen due upon them together with the [other sinful] com*munities of invisible beings [For this rendering - and the meaning - of the term jinn, see Appendix III.] and humans that passed away before their time: verily, they [all] will indeed be lost!
SUFFERING FOR KNOWINGLY REJECTING GOD’S MESSAGES
(26) NOW THOSE who are bent on denying the truth say [unto one another]: “Do not listen to this Quran, but rather talk frivolously about it, so that you might gain the upper hand!” [This is an allusion to efforts aimed at discrediting the Quran by describing it as “invented” by Muhammad for his own - personal and political - ends, as a series of “misunderstood quo*tations” from earlier scriptures, as the result of “hallucinations”, and so forth: all of which implies that the opponents of the Quranic message instinctively feel its force, realizing at the same time that it endangers their self-complacent, materialistic outlook on life and ought, therefore, to be combated. This explains the statement, at the end of verse 28, that they “knowingly reject” God’s messages.] (27) But We shall most certainly give those who are [thus] bent on denying the truth a taste of suffering severe, and We shall most certainly requite them according to the worst of their deeds! (28) That requital of God’s enemies will be the fire [of the hereafter]: in it will they have an abode of immeasurable duration as an outcome of their having knowingly rejected Our messages. [For the above rendering of the verb jahada, see the third note on 29: 47.] (29) And they who [in their life on earth] were bent on denying the truth will [thereupon] exclaim: “O our Sustainer! Show us those of the invisible beings and humans that have led us astray: [See 6: 112 - “against every prophet We have set up as enemies the evil forces (shayatin) from among humans as well as from among invisible beings” - and the corresponding note.] we shall trample them underfoot, so that they shall be the lowest of all!” [Cf. 7: 38.]
DESCENDING OF ANGELS ON DOERS OF GOOD
(30) [But,] behold, as for those who say, “Our Sustainer is God,” and then steadfastly pursue the right way - upon them do angels often descend, [say*ing:] “Fear not and grieve not, but receive the glad tiding of that paradise which has been promised to you! (31) We are close unto you in the life of this world and [will be so] in the life to come; and in that [life to come] you shall have all that your souls may desire, and in it you shall have all that you ever prayed for, (32) as a ready welcome from Him who is much-forgiving, a dispenser of grace!” (33) And who could be better of speech than he who calls [his fellow-men] unto God, and does what is just and right, and says, “Verily, I am of those who have surrendered themselves to God”?
REPEL EVIL WITH GOOD
(34) But [since] good and evil cannot be equal, repel thou [evil] with something that is better [See note on 13: 22. In the present instance, the injunction to “repel [evil] with something that is better” relates to scurrilous objections to, and hostile criticism of, the Quran. The whole of this passage (verses 33 ff.) connects with verse 26.] - and lo! he between whom and thyself was enmity [may then become] as though he had [always] been close [unto thee], a true friend! [You foil hatred with love and liberate those from sin and make them your true friends.] (35) Yet [to achieve] this is not given to any but those who are wont to be patient in adversity: it is not given to any but those endowed with the greatest good fortune! (36) Hence, if it should happen that a prompting from Satan stirs thee up [to blind anger], seek refuge with God: behold, He alone is all-hearing, all-knowing! [I.e., He alone sees what is in the hearts of men, and He alone understands the innermost motivations, of which they themselves are unconscious, of those who criticize the Quran adversely. See 7: 199-200 and the corresponding notes.]
GOD AS CAUSE AND SOURCE OF ALL THAT EXISTS
(37) Now among His signs are the night and the day, as well as the sun and the moon: [hence,] adore not the sun or the moon, but prostrate yourselves in adoration before God, who has created them - if it is Him whom you [really] worship. [This, according to Razi, connects with the phrase “calling [one’s fellow-men] unto God” in verse 33 above. God is the sole cause and source of all that exists; and whatever exists is but a wondrous sign of His creative power. Hence, it is a blasphemy - apart from being unreasonable - to ascribe real power (which is the meaning of “adoration” in this context) to anything created, whether it be a concrete phenomenon, or an abstract force of nature, or a set of circumstances, or even an idea.] (38) And though some be too proud [to listen to this call], they who [in their hearts] are with thy Sustainer extol His limitless glory by night and by day, and never grow weary [thereof]. (39) For among His signs is this: thou seest the earth lying desolate - and lo! when We send down water upon it, it stirs and swells [with life]! Verily, He who brings it to life can surely give life to the dead [of heart as well]: for, behold, He has the power to will anything. [Although the allusion to the reviving earth often occurs in the Quran as a parable of man’s ultimate resurrection, in the present context (and in tune with the entire passage comprising verses 33-39) it appears to be an illustration of God’s power to bestow spiritual life upon hearts that have hitherto remained closed to the truth of His existence and omnipotence. Hence, it implies a call to the believer never to abandon the hope that “those who deny the truth” may one day grasp the truth of the Quranic message.]
REJECTION OF THE THEORY OF ABROGATION
(40) VERILY, they who distort the meaning of Our mes*sages are not hidden from Us: hence, which [of the two] will be in a better state - he that is [destined to be] cast into the fire, or he that shall come secure [before Us] on Resurrection Day? Do what you will: verily, He sees all that you do. (41) Verily, they who are bent on denying the truth of this reminder as soon as it comes to them - [they are the losers]: for, behold, it is a sublime divine writ: (42) no falsehood can ever attain to it openly, and neither in a stealthy manner, * [since it is] bestowed from on high by One who is truly wise, ever to be praised. [*Lit., “neither from between its hands, nor from behind it”, i.e., it cannot be openly changed by means of additions or omissions (Razi), and neither surreptitiously, by hostile or deliberately confusing interpretations. The above is one of the Quranic passages on which the great com*mentator Abu Muslim al-Isfahani (as quoted by Razi) bases his absolute rejection of the theory of “abrogation” (for which see note on 2: 106). Since the “abrogation” of any Quran-verse would have amounted to its ibtal - that is, to an open or implied declaration that it was henceforth to be regarded as null and void - the verse in question would have to be considered “false” (batil) in the context of the Quran as it is before us: and this, as Abu Muslim points out, would clearly contradict the above statement that “no falsehood (batil) can ever attain to it”.]
MEN’S ATTITUDES TOWARDS THE EARLIER SCRIPTURES AND THE QURAN
(43) [And as for thee, O Prophet,] nothing is being said to thee but what was said to all [of God’s] apostles before thy time. [This is an allusion to the allegation of the Prophet’s opponents that he himself was the “author” of what he claimed to be a divine revelation, as well as to their demand that he should “prove” the truth of his prophetic mission by producing a miracle: a scornful attitude with which all the earlier prophets had been confronted at one time or another, and which is epitomized in the “saying” of the unbelievers mentioned in verse 5 of this surah.] Behold, thy Sustainer is indeed full of forgiveness - but He has also the power to requite most grie*vously! (44) Now if We had willed this [divine writ] to be a discourse in a non-Arabic tongue, they [who now reject it] would surely have said, “Why is it that its messages have not been spelled out clearly? [Sc., “in a tongue which we can understand”. Since the Prophet was an Arab and lived in an Arabian environment, his message had to be expressed in the Arabic language, which the people to whom it was addressed in the first instance could understand: see in this connection note on the first sentence of 13: 37, as well as the first half of 14: 4 - “never have We sent forth any apostle otherwise than [with a message] in his own people’s tongue, so that he might make [the truth] clear unto them”. Had the message of the Quran been formulated in a language other than Arabic, the opponents of the Prophet would have been justified in saying, “between us and thee is a barrier” (verse 5 of this surah).] Why - [a message in] a non-Arabic tongue, and [its bearer] an Arab?” Say: “Unto all who have attained to faith, this [divine writ] is a guidance and a source of health; but as for those who will not believe - in their ears is deafness, and so it remains obscure to them: they are [like people who are] being called from too far away. [Lit., “from a far-off place”: i.e., they only hear the sound of the words, but cannot understand their meaning.] (45) Thus, too, have We vouchsafed revelation unto Moses aforetime, and thereupon disputes arose about it. [As was and is the case with the Quran, some people accepted the divine message revealed to Moses, and some rejected it (Zamakhshari, Razi), while others disagreed about the import and application of its tenets (Tabari).] And [then, as now,] had it not been for a decree that had already gone forth from thy Sustainer, all would indeed have been decided between them [from the outset]. [For an explanation of this passage, as well as of the above parallel between men’s attitudes towards the earlier scriptures and the Quran, see the second sentence of 10: 19 and the corresponding note.] As it is, behold, they [who will not believe in this divine writ] are in grave doubt, amounting to suspicion, about what it portends. [Lit., “about it”, i.e., doubts as to whether the Quranic approach to problems of man’s spirit and body - and, in particular, its stress on the essential unity of these twin aspects of human life (cf. note on the first sentence of 2: 143) - is justified or not. In a wider sense, these doubts of the deniers of the truth relate to the question of whether religion as such is “beneficial” or “injurious” to human society - a question which is posed and answered by them with a strong bias against all religious faith.] (46) WHOEVER does what is just and right, does so for his own good; and whoever does evil, does so to his own hurt: and never does God do the least wrong to His creatures.
JUDGMENT DAY
(47) In Him alone is vested the knowledge of when the Last Hour will come. And no fruit bursts forth from its calyx, and no female ever conceives, nor ever gives birth, save with His knowledge. And so, on the Day when He shall call out to them, “Where, now, are those [alleged] partners of Mine?” - they will [surely] answer, “We confess unto Thee that none of us can bear witness [to anyone’s having a share in Thy divinity]!” (48) And so, all that they were wont to invoke aforetime will have forsaken them; and they shall know for certain that there is no escape for them.
(49) MAN NEVER TIRES of asking for the good [things of life]; and if evil fortune touches him, he abandons all hope, giving himself up to despair. [See note on 11: 9.] (50) Yet whenever We let him taste some of Our grace after hardship has visited him, he is sure to say, “This is but my due!” - and, “I do not think that the Last Hour will ever come: [I.e., man is, as a rule, so blinded by his love of this world that he cannot imagine its ever coming to an end. Implied in this statement is a doubt as to whether there will really be an afterlife, and whether man will really be judged by God on resurrection.] but if [it should come, and] I should indeed be brought back unto my Sus*tainer, then, behold, the ultimate good awaits me with Him! [Being fully convinced of his own merit (as expressed in the words, “This is but my due”), he is confident that - in case there should really be a life after death - his own flattering view of himself will be confirmed by God.] But [on the Day of Judgment] We shall most cer*tainly give those who were bent on denying the truth [I.e., the truth of resurrection and of God’s judgment.] full understanding of all that they ever did, and shall most certainly give them [thereby] a taste of suffering severe. [I.e., the realization of the spiritual blindness in which they spent their life will in itself be a source of their suffering in the hereafter: cf. 17: 72 - “whoever is blind [of heart] in this [world] will be blind in the life to come (as well)”.] (51) And, too, when We bestow Our blessings upon man, he tends to turn aside and keep aloof [from remembering Us]; but as soon as evil fortune touches him, he is full of wordy prayers! [Lit., “wide (i.e., prolonged or diffuse) prayers”.] (52) HAVE YOU given thought [to how you will fare] if this be truly [a revelation] from God, the while you deny its truth? Who could be more astray than one who places himself [so] deeply in the wrong? [According to Razi, this is an implied allusion to the attitude of people who - as mentioned in verses 4 and 5 of this surah - “turn away” from the message of the Quran, saying, as it were: “Our hearts are veiled from whatever thou callest us to, [O Muhammad,] and in our ears is deafness, and between us and thee is a barrier.] (53) In time We shall make them fully understand [Lit., “We will show them” or “make them see”.] Our messages [through what they perceive] in the utmost horizons [of the universe] and within them*selves, [I.e., through a progressive deepening and widening of their insight into the wonders of the universe as well as through a deeper understanding of man’s own psyche - all of which points to the existence of a conscious Creator.] so that it will become clear unto them that this [revelation] is indeed the truth. [Still,] is it not enough [for them to know] that thy Sustainer is witness unto everything? [I.e., that He is almighty and all-seeing: a fundamental truth which, by itself, should be enough to remind man of his responsibility before Him.] (54) Oh, verily, they are in doubt as to whether they will meet their Sustainer [on Judgment Day]! Oh, verily, He encompasses everything!
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walhamdulillah.
depends on, whether I am feeling peaceful or cheerful 
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