By the Mount (of Revelation);(5037)*
5037 The adjuration is by five things which we shall presently explain. An appeal is made to these five Signs in verses 1 to 6, and the certainty of future events is asserted in the most emphatic terms in verses 7 to 28, in three parts, viz., the coming of judgement and the passing away of this phenomenal world (verses 7- 10); the future ill consequences of ill-deeds done (verses 11-16); and future attainment of bliss and complete realisation of Allah's love and mercy (verses 17- 28).
By a Decree inscribed(5038)*
5038 See last note. The five Signs to which appeal is made are: (1) the Mount (of Revelation), (verse 1; (2) the Decree Inscribed, verses 2-3; (3) The Muchfrequented Fane, verse 4; (4) the Canopy Raised High, verse 5; and (5) the Ocean filled with Swell, verse 6. Let us examine these in detail. Each of them has a figurative and a mystic meaning. (1) The Mount is the sublime world of Revelation. In the case of Moses it is typified by Mount Sinai: Cf.
95:2, where it is mentioned in juxtaposition to the sacred territory of Makkah ,
95:3. In the case of Jesus it is the Mount of Olives : Cf.
95:1, and also Matt.
24:3-51, where Jesus made his striking pronouncement about the Judgement to come. In the case of Muhammad, it is the Mountain of Light , where the divine inspiration made him one with the spiritual world: Cf. C. 31, and n. 11 (2). The Decree Inscribed is Allah's Eternal Decree. When it becomes Revelation to man, it is further described as "inscribed", reduced to writing; and as it is made clear to the intelligence of man, it is further described as "in a scroll unfolded", that is, spread out so that everyone who has the will can seek its guidance.
By the much-frequented Fane;(5039)*
5039 See the last two notes. (3) "The much-frequented Fane" (or House) is usually understood to mean the Ka'bah, but in view of the parallelism noted in the last note, it may be taken generally to mean any Temple or House of Worship dedicated to the true God. It would then include the Tabernacle of the Israelites in the wilderness, the Temple of Solomon , the Temple in which Jesus worshipped, and the Ka'bah which the Prophet purified and rededicated to true worship. These would be only illustrations. Other concrete places of worship would be included, and in a more abstract meaning, the heart of man, which craves, with burning desire, to find and worship Allah. The Fane is "muchfrequented" as there is a universal desire in the heart of man to worship Allah, and his sacred Temples draw large crowds of devotees.
By the Canopy Raised High;(5040)*
5040 (4) "The Canopy Raised High" is the canopy of heaven, to whose height or sublimity no limit can be assigned by the mind of man. It is Nature's Temple , in which all Creation worships Allah-the Symbol in which the material and the visible merges into the spiritual and the intuitional.
And by the Ocean(5041) filled with Swell;-(5042)*
5041 (5) The Ocean—the vast, limitless, all encircling Ocean—is the material symbol of the universal, unlimited, comprehensive nature of the invisible spiritual world. It is expressed to be masjur, full of a mighty swell, boiling over, poured forth all over the earth, as if overwhelming all landmarks; Cf.
81:6-a fitting description of the final disappearance of our temporal world in the supreme establishment of the Reality behind it. 5042 This completes the five Signs or Symbols by which man may know for certain of the Judgement to come. Note that they are in a descending order—the highest, or most remote from man's consciousness, being mentioned first, and that nearest to man's consciousness being mentioned last. The truth of Revelation; its embodiment in a Prophet's Message given in human language; the universal appeal of divine worship; the starry world above; and the encircling Ocean, full of life and motion below—all are evidences that the Day of Allah will finally come, and nothing can avert it. (R).
Verily, the Doom of thy Lord will indeed come to pass;-
There is none can avert it;-
On the Day when(5043) the firmament will be in dreadful commotion.*
5043 The Day of J udgement is typified by two figures. (1) "The firmament will be in dreadful commotion." The heavens as we see them suggest to us peace and tranquillity, and the power of fixed laws which all the heavenly bodies obey. This will all be shaken in the rise of the new spiritual world. Cf. Matt.
26:29: "Immediately after the tribulation of those days . . . the powers of the heavens shall be shaken." For (2) see next note.
And the mountains will fly hither and thither.(5044)*
5044 (2) The mountains are a type of firmness and stability. But things that we think of as firm and stable in this material life will be shaken to pieces, and will be no more substantial than a mirage in a desert. Cf.
78:20.
Then woe that Day to those that treat (Truth) as Falsehood;-(5045)*
5045 That Day will be a Day of Woe to the wrongdoers described in two aspects, the rebels against Allah and Allah's Truth, just as it will be a Day of Joy and Thanksgiving to the Righteous, who are described in three aspects in verses 17 to 28. The rebels are here described as being those who openly defied Truth and plunged into wrongdoing, or who trifled with truth, who jested with serious matter, who had not the courage to plunge openly into wrongdoing but who secretly took profit out of it, who wasted their life in doubts and petty quibbles. It is difficult to say which attitude did more harm to themselves and to others. Both are aspects of deep-seated sin and rebellion. But the mercy of Allah was open to all if they had repented and amended their lives.
That play (and paddle) in shallow trifles.
That Day shall they be thrust down to the Fire of Hell, irresistibly.
"This:, it will be said,(5046) "Is the Fire,- which ye were wont to deny!*
5046 In face of the Realities, it will be borne in on them how wrong it was for them in this life to deny or forget that every wicked thought or deed had its own retributive chain of consequences.
"Is this then a fake,(5047) or is it ye that do not see?*
5047 Perhaps they had said that the Hereafter was a fake, mere old wives' tales! If they had given serious thought to the Signs of Allah, they would have been saved from that serious spiritual blindness: then they will see that the fault was their own, and that the warnings of the messengers of Truth were nothing but pure Truth,
"Burn ye therein: the same is it to you whether ye bear it with patience, or not:(5048) Ye but receive the recompense of your (own) deeds."*
5048 At that stage they will have no justification for anger or impatience; for their whole position will have been due to their own conduct and their rejection of Allah's Grace. Nor will there be time for patience or repentance, for their period of probation will then have been over.
As to the Righteous,(5049) they will be in Gardens, and in Happiness,-*
5049 The Righteous will be in Bliss far beyond their merits: their sins and faults will be forgiven by the grace of Allah, which will save them from the penalties which they may have incurred from human frailty. It will be their own effort or striving which will win them Allah's grace: see verse 19 below. But the fruits will be greater than they could strictly have earned.
Enjoying the (Bliss) which their Lord hath bestowed on them, and their Lord shall deliver them from the Penalty of the Fire.
(To them will be said:)(5050) "Eat and drink ye, with profit and health,(5051) because of your (good) deeds."*
5050 The bliss of the Righteous is described in three aspects: (1) their individual bliss, verses 17-20; (2) their social bliss, verses 21-24; and (3) their satisfaction in the dissipation of past shadows, and their full understanding of the goodness of Allah, verses 25-28. 5051 Individual satisfaction is expressed in three types or figures of speech. (1) eating and drinking. (2) thrones of dignity, and (3) the joy of individual companionship. But the eating and drinking will not be like the physical acts, which are subject to drawbacks, such as excess, aftereffects and satiety: here there will be pure health, profit, and enjoyment. So about the other two: see the notes following. Cf. with this the symbolical description of heaven in
37:40-49: while the general account is the same, special phases are brought out in two passages to correspond with the context.
They will recline (with ease) on Thrones (of dignity) arranged in ranks;(5052) and We shall join them to Companions, with beautiful big and lustrous eyes.(5053)*
5052 Every one will have a Throne of dignity, but it does not follow that the dignity will be the same. Every one's Personality will be purified but it will not be merged into one general sameness. 5053 Cf.
44:54, and notes 4728 and 4729, where the meaning of Hur is fully explained. This is the special sharing of individual Bliss one with another. The next verse refers to the general social satisfaction shared with all whom we lived in this earthly life.
And those who believe and whose families(5054) follow them in Faith,- to them shall We join their families: Nor shall We deprive them (of the fruit) of aught of their works: (Yet) is each individual in pledge for his deeds.(5055)*
5054 Dhurriyah: literally, progeny, offspring, family: applied by extension to mean all near and dear ones whether related or not. Love is unselfish, and works not merely, or chiefly, for Self, but for others; provided the others have Faith and respond according to their capacities or degrees, they will be joined on to the Head of the Group, even though on individual merits their rank might be less. This applies specially to a Prophet and his Ummah (or following). 5055 As already explained in the last note, though the love poured out by Prophets, ancestors, decendants, friends, or good men and women, will secure for their loved ones the enjoyment of their society, it is an indispensable condition that the loved ones should also, according to their lights, have shown their faith and their goodness in deeds. Each individual is responsible for his conduct. In the kingdom of heaven there is no boasting of ancestors or friends. But it is part of the satisfaction of the good ones who poured out their love that those who were in any way worthy to receive their love should also be admitted to their society, and this satisfaction shall in no wise be diminished to them.
And We shall bestow on them, of fruit and meat,(5056) anything they shall desire.*
5056 Note that this verse is embedded in the midst of the description of social bliss; the individual bliss figured by meat and drink has already been mentioned in verse 19 above. The social pleasure will be of any kind or quantity they shall desire, but their desires will then be purified, just as their pleasures will be on a different plane. (R).
They shall there exchange, one with another, a (loving) cup free of frivolity,(5057) free of all taint of ill.*
5057 Drinking or loving cups, in our life on this earth, are apt to be misused in two ways: (1) they may be occasions for mere frivolity or the wasting of time; (2) they may lead to evil thoughts, evil suggestions, evil talk, or evil deeds. (R).
Round about them will serve, (devoted) to them. Youths (handsome) as Pearls(5058) well-guarded.*
5058 Maknun: well-guarded, kept close, concealed from exposure: the beautiful nacreous lustre of Pearls is disfigured by exposure to gases, vapours, or acids; when not actually in use they are best kept in closed caskets, guarded from deteriorating agencies. (R).
They will advance(5059) to each other, engaging in mutual enquiry.*
5059 The third-and the highest-stage of Bliss, after individual Bliss and social Bliss, is the satisfaction of looking to the Past without its shadows and realising to the full in the Present the goodness of Allah. See n. 5050. This, again, is shared in mutual converse and confidence.
They will say: "Aforetime, we were not without fear for the sake of our people.(5060)*
5060 A man may be good, and may with limits have found goodness in his own spiritual life, but may have anxieties about his family or friends whom he loves. All such shadows are removed in heaven by the Grace of Allah, and he is free to dwell in it in this confidential converse with other men similarly circumstanced.
"But Allah has been good to us, and has delivered us from the Penalty of the Scorching Wind.(5061)*
5061 "Us" includes the good man or woman and all whom he or she cared for. This would be an ever-expanding circle, until it includes all mankind through Teachers like the Chosen One. The "Scorching Wind" is the type of haste, arrogance, and fire, such as entered into the composition of Jinns:
15:27 . The destiny of man is to attain to calm, peace, security, the Garden of Bliss .
"Truly, we did call unto Him from of old: truly it is He, the Beneficent, the Merciful!"(5062)*
5062 'Before this, we called upon Him, in faith that He is good: now we know in our inmost souls that He is indeed good-the Beneficent, the Merciful.' This is the climax of the description of Heaven.
Therefore proclaim thou(5063) the praises (of thy Lord): for by the Grace of thy Lord, thou art no (vulgar) soothsayer, nor art thou one possessed.*
5063 The greatest of the Prophets was called a soothsayer, i.e., one who tells fortunes by divination, or a madman possessed of some evil spirit, or a poet singing spiteful satires. Much more may lesser men be called by such names because they proclaim the Truth. They should go on in spite of it all. (R).
Or do they say:- "A Poet! we await for him some calamity(5064) (hatched) by Time!"*
5064 If a spiteful poet foretells evil calamities for men, men can afford to laugh at him, hoping that Time will bring about its revenge, and spite will come to an evil end. For the various meanings of Rayb, see n. 1884 to
14:9. Some Commentators suggest Death as the Calamity hatched by Time.
Say thou: "Await ye!- I too will wait(5065) along with you!"*
5065 Cf. 9 :52 . If the wicked wait or look for some calamity to befall the preacher of Truth, the preacher of Truth can with far more justice await the decision of the issue between him and his persecutors. For he stands for right, and Allah will support the right.
Is it that their faculties of understanding urge them(5066) to this, or are they but a people transgressing(5067) beyond bounds?*
5066 It may be that the persecutors of Truth are ignorant, and their deficient faculties of understanding mislead them, but it is more often the case that they are perverse rebels against the law of Allah, defending their own selfish interests, and preventing those whom they oppress, from getting justice. 5067 Qf.
51:53.
Or do they say, "He fabricated the (Message)"? Nay, they have no faith!(5068)*
5068 As an alternative to the charges of being a soothsayer or a madman or a disgruntled poet, there is the charge of a forger or fabricator applied to the Prophet of Allah when he produces his Message. This implies that there can be no revelation or inspiration from Allah. Such an attitude negatives Faith altogedier. But if this is so can they produce a work of man that can compare with the inspired Word of Allah? They cannot ( Cf. 2;23,
10:37 -39,
11:13 , and
17:88).
Let them then produce a recital like unto it,- If (it be) they speak the truth!
Were they created of nothing,(5069) or were they themselves the creators?*
5069 Were they created of nothing? Three possible alternative meanings are suggested by the Commentators, according to the meaning we give to the Arabic preposition min = of, by, with, for. (1) 'Were they created by nothing? Did they come into existence of themselves? Was it a mere chance that they came into being? (2) Were they created as men out of nothing? Was there not a wonderful seed, from which their material growth can be traced, as the handiwork of a wise and wonderful Creator? Must they not then seek His Will? (3) Were they created for nothing, to no purpose? If they were created for a purpose, must they not try to learn that purpose by understanding Allah's Revelation?
Or did they create the heavens and the earth? Nay, they have no firm belief.(5070)*
5070 They obviously did not create the wonders of the starry heavens and the fruitful globe of the earth. But they can assign no definite cause to explain it, as they have no firm belief on the subject themselves.
Or are the Treasures of thy Lord with them,(5071) or are they the managers (of affairs)?*
5071 Cf.
6:50 , and n. 867. The Treasures of Allah's Knowledge are infinite. But the doubters and unbelievers have no access to them, much less can the doubters and unbelievers manage the wonders of this world. Must they not therefore seek grace and revelation from Allah?
Or have they a ladder,(5072) by which they can (climb up to heaven and) listen (to its secrets)? Then let (such a) listener of theirs produce a manifest proof.*
5072 Cf.
6:35 : a reference to the Pagan belief that by means of a material ladder a man might climb up to heaven and learn its secrets!
Or has He only daughters(5073) and ye have sons?*
5073 Cf.
16:57-59, and n. 2082. To the gospel of Unity it is repugnant to assign begotten sons or daughters to Allah. But the Arab superstition about angels being the daughters of Allah was particularly blasphemous as the Pagan Arabs hated to have daughters themselves and considered it a mark of humiliation! (see also
53:21).
Or is it that thou dost ask for a reward,(5074) so that they are burdened with a load of debt?-*
5074 The Prophets of Allah ask for no reward to preach the Message of Allah and direct men to the right Path. Why then do men shun them and persecute those who seek to bring blessings to them? (Cf. n. 5627).
Or that the Unseen(5075) in it their hands, and they write it down?*
5075 The Unseen in the spiritual world is a subject of Revelation, though it works through the common everyday life of man. The men who reject Revelation simply because it is outside their own experience ought on the contrary to try to learn about it and seek to understand it.
Or do they intend a plot (against thee)?(5076) But those who defy Allah are themselves involved in a Plot!*
5076 Shallow men who plot against Good are themselves the willing victims of insidious plots laid by Evil.
Or have they a god(5077) other than Allah. Exalted is Allah far above the things they associate with Him!*
5077 This is the final and decisive question: Is there really any god other than Allah the One True God? Every argument points to the negative. A series of questions has been asked pointing to the negative of the superstitions of the godless. The gospel of Unity, Revelation, and the Hereafter had thus been preached by a searching examination of the position of the Unbelievers. And the Surah ends with an exhortation to leave alone those who will not believe because they wish not to believe, and to let Time work out the web and pattern of Allah's Plan.
Were they to see a piece of the sky(5078) falling (on them), they would (only) say: "Clouds gathered in heaps!"*
5078 In
26:187, Shu'ayb, the Prophet of Allah, is challenged by the Companions of the Wood "to cause a piece of sky to fall on us, if thou art truthful." Such a challenge, in some form or other, is addressed to all Prophets of Allah. It is mere defiance. It has no meaning. If a piece of the sky were to fall on them, it would not convince them, for they would only say: "These are only clouds gathered in heaps." They do not wish to believe. Otherwise there are ample Signs and Evidences of Allah's Plan in Creation and in man's own heart.
So leave them alone until they encounter that Day of theirs, wherein they shall (perforce) swoon (with terror),-(5079)*
5079 That is, the Day of Judgement. Cf.
39:68, and n. 4343.
The Day when their plotting will avail them nothing and no help shall be given them.
And verily, for those who do wrong, there is another punishment besides this:(5080) But most of them understand not.*
5080 The final Judgement is for all. But in addition, wrongdoers have to fear a retribution or punishment in this very life, an open punishment through external events or, at least the bitter pangs of conscience within.
Now await in patience the command of thy Lord: for verily thou art in Our eyes:(5081) and celebrate the praises of thy Lord the while thou standest forth,(5082)*
5081 The messenger of Allah must strive his utmost to proclaim the Message of Allah: as for results, it is not for him to command them. He must wait patiently, in the knowledge that he is not forgotten by Allah, but is constantly under Allah's eyes—under His loving care and protection. And he must glorify Allah's name, as he is a standard-bearer of Allah's Truth. 5082 The translators and Commentators nearly all understand taqumu in the sense of rising up from sleep. But the rendering I have given is consistent with Qur'anic usage. In
26:218, we have the same two words hina taqumu, meaning "standing forth (in prayer)". In
57:25, we have ti yaqumu al nas bil al qist, which obviously means "that men may stand forth in J ustice," i.e., do all their business injustice. In
78:38, we have yaqumu used for the angels standing forth in ranks. On my rendering the meaning will be: 'celebrate Allah's praises when you stand forth in prayer, or at all times when you go about your business; but also for part of the night and at early dawn when worldly life is at a standstill.'
And for part of the night(5083) also praise thou Him,- and at the retreat(5084) of the stars!*
5083 It is not necessary to understand this for any particular canonical prayers. It is good to spend a part of the night in prayer and praise: Cf.
73:6. And the Dawn is a daily recurring miracle of nature, full of spiritual influences and "testimony": Cf.
17:78-79. 5084 Idbar al nujum: the retreat of the stars: the glorious hour of early dawn. In
113:1, we seek Allah's protection as "Lord of the Dawn".
