51
The Scatterers
al-Dhāriyāt
Al-Dhāriyāt is a Makkan sūrah, most likely from the later Makkan period. The sūrah takes its name from the mention of the winds that scatter in the first verse. It can be seen as following upon the previous sūrah in that vv. 5–6 guarantee the advent of the Day of Judgment, which will follow upon the Resurrection and Gathering, mentioned at the conclusion of the previous sūrah (Āl).
After attesting to the Judgment in the opening lines (vv. 1–6), the sūrah discusses the intellectual fallacies that lie at the heart of disbelief (vv. 7–14) and contrasts the final end of those who conjecture with the final end of the reverent (vv. 15–19). It then calls upon the signs within creation and the human soul as evidence of the Day of Judgment (vv. 20–23). This is followed by references to the stories of Abraham, Lot, and Moses (vv. 24–40), transitioning into a discussion of the pre-Islamic Arabian tribes of ʿĀd and Thamūd (vv. 41–45), and concluding with a reference to Noah (v. 46), who preceded all of the aforementioned tribes and peoples. The next passage (vv. 47–55) begins with another allusion to the evidence of Divine Omnipotence provided by the natural order (vv. 47–49) and provides counsel to the Prophet Muhammad. The sūrah concludes with a discussion of the relationship between the Divine and the human (vv. 56–58) and a final warning to the disbelievers (vv. 59–60).
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
¡ By the scatterers as they scatter, * and by those that bear a burden, + by those that course with ease, J and by those that apportion the Command, Z verily what you are promised is true, j and truly the judgment shall come to pass. z By Heaven possessed of paths, { truly you are of differing claims. | Whosoever has been turned away shall from it be turned away. Ċ Perish those who conjecture! Ě Those who blunder along in a stupor, Ī asking, “When is the Day of Judgment?” ĺ A day when they are tried upon the Fire. Ŋ Taste your trial! This is what you sought to hasten! Ś Truly the reverent shall be amidst gardens and springs, Ū partaking of that which their Lord has given them. Truly they were virtuous aforetime. ź Little of the night did they slumber, Ɗ and ere dawn would seek forgiveness. ƚ And in their wealth was a due for the beggar and the deprived. Ȋ Upon the earth are signs for those possessing certainty, ! and within your souls. Do you not then behold? " And in Heaven is your provision and that which you were promised. # So by the Lord of Heaven and earth, it is indeed true—as it is that you are endowed with speech. $ Hast thou heard tell of Abraham’s honored guests, % when they entered upon him and said, “Peace!” he said, “Peace—an unfamiliar folk.” & Then he went quietly to his family and came with a fattened calf. ' He placed it close to them, saying, “Will you not eat?” ( Then he conceived a fear of them. They said, “Fear not!” and gave him glad tidings of a knowing son. ) Then his wife came forward with a loud cry; she struck her face and said, “A barren old woman!” Ð They said, “Thus has thy Lord decreed. Truly He is the Wise, the Knowing.” Ñ He said, “What is your errand, O messengers?” Ò They said, “We have been sent unto a guilty people, Ó to send upon them stones of clay Ô marked by thy Lord for the prodigal.” Õ So We brought forth those among them who were believers; Ö yet We did not find therein but one house of submitters. × And We left therein a sign for those who fear the painful punishment. Ø And in Moses [We left a sign], when We sent him to Pharaoh with a manifest authority. Ù But he turned away with his court and said, “A sorcerer or one possessed.” @ So We seized him and his hosts and cast them into the sea, for he was blameworthy. A And in ʿĀd [We left a sign], when We sent upon them the barren wind. B Naught did it leave that it came upon, but that it made it as bones decayed. C And in Thamūd [We left a sign], when it was said unto them, “Enjoy yourselves for a time.” D Then they insolently defied the Command of their Lord, and the thunderbolt seized them as they looked on. E So they were not able to rise; nor could they help one another. F As for the people of Noah before, truly they were an iniquitous people. G And the sky We established with might; truly We make vast! H And the earth We laid out—what excellent spreaders! I And of all things We created pairs, that haply you may remember. P So flee unto God. Truly I am a clear warner unto you from Him. Q And do not set up another god along with God. Truly I am a clear warner unto you from Him. R Likewise, there came no messenger unto those before them, but that they said, “A sorcerer or one possessed.” S Do they exhort one another to it? Nay, they are a rebellious people. T So turn away from them, for thou shalt not be blamed. U And remind, for truly the Reminder benefits the believers. V I did not create jinn and mankind, save to worship Me. W I desire no provision from them; nor do I desire that they should feed Me. X Truly God is the Provider, the Possessor of Strength, the Firm. Y And surely for those who do wrong are sins like unto the sins of their companions; so let them not seek to hasten. ` Woe unto those who disbelieve on account of the Day that they are promised.
Commentary
¡ By the scatterers as they scatter,
1 A reference to the winds that scatter dust (Bḍ, JJ, Ṭ) or an allusion to the cycles by which women bring forth subsequent generations (Bḍ).
***
* and by those that bear a burden,
2 A reference to the clouds that carry moisture (Bḍ, JJ, Q, Ṭ) or to women who are pregnant (Bḍ, Q).
***
+ by those that course with ease,
3 Ships that course upon the surface of the ocean (Bḍ, JJ, Q, Ṭ) or the planets that run through their stations (Bḍ).
***
J and by those that apportion the Command,
4 The angels who apportion all that God has ordained for creation (Bḍ, JJ, Ṭ) or the winds that apportion the rains by dispersing the clouds (Bḍ).
***
Z verily what you are promised is true,
5 The promise of the Resurrection and what follows it will come to pass (JJ), indicating that the final accounting, reward, and punishment are inevitable (Ṭ). Vv. 5–6 constitute the response to the oaths taken in vv. 1–4, which can be understood to mean that the subtle ways in which life is supported in this world, through winds and rain and other means, bear witness to the existence of a Creator behind them to Whom they all return, as in 2:164: And the water God sends down from the sky whereby He revives the earth after its death, scattering all manner of beast therein; and the shifting of the winds; and the clouds subdued between the sky and the earth are surely signs for a people who understand (see also 7:57; 30:48).
***
j and truly the judgment shall come to pass.
6 Cf. 52:7. Shall come to pass can also be translated shall befall (wāqiʿ), for which see 56:1–2c.
***
z By Heaven possessed of paths,
7 Paths translates ḥubuk, which indicates ripples made upon sand or water by the wind (Ṭ) or the streaks upon mountains. In this context, ḥubuk refers to the subtle paths through which the heavenly bodies move. Heaven could also be interpreted to mean “sky,” in which case ḥubuk would refer to streaks of clouds. As all of these various meanings of ḥubuk indicate subtle wonders of the natural world, this verse is understood in relation to the verb ḥabaka, meaning, “to make well and firm,” as an allusion to the beauty and sound structure of the created order (Ṭ).
***
{ truly you are of differing claims.
8 Differing claims refers to the different opinions among people regarding the Quran, as some believe in it and some deny it (Bḍ, JJ, Ṭ); or to the different opinions the disbelievers have regarding the Prophet, some maintaining that he is a poet, others that he is a sorcerer, and others that he is possessed (Bḍ, JJ); or to the disbelievers’ opinions regarding the Resurrection and Judgment (Bḍ).
***
| Whosoever has been turned away shall from it be turned away.
9 Away here means away from the Quran (Ṭ), or the Prophet and the Quran (JJ), or from the truth. Turned away translates yuʾfiku/ufika, which also means “to lie” or “to pervert.” The verse is therefore understood to mean that those whose intellects and souls have already strayed or been perverted will continue to stray (IK). Mujāhid thus interprets it to mean that whoever is weak in intellect and judgment will thereby be turned away from religion (IK). Some also read has been turned away (ufika) as an active verb rather than a passive one and interpret it to mean “to lie,” thus indicating, “Whosoever lies shall be turned away from it” (Bḍ, R).
***
Ċ Perish those who conjecture!
10 Perish (qutila) could also mean “cursed be.” Most interpret this verse as a reference to those who say that human beings will not be resurrected and that they cannot have certainty (IK, Ṭ). Those who conjecture translates kharrāṣūn, which indicates those who guess and opine, but do not seek to ascertain and confirm. It also indicates those who speak as if they have ascertained and thus lie, or those who make false accusations (yatakharraṣu) against the Prophet (Ṭ).
***
Ě Those who blunder along in a stupor,
11 The conjecturers roam about in stupefying ignorance (JJ), heedless of what is to befall them and of what God has commanded them to do (Ṭ).
***
Ī asking, “When is the Day of Judgment?”
12 This question and variations upon it are repeated throughout the Quran (see, e.g., 10:48; 34:29–30; 67:25; 75:6). In general, the disbelievers do not pose it in a spirit of inquiry, but one of derision, mockery, and denial (IK).
***
ĺ A day when they are tried upon the Fire.
13 Tried upon the Fire means punished and burned in the Fire (IK, Ṭ). Tried translates yuftanūn, which relates to the means by which gold is tested and purified with fire (IK, Ṭ).
***
Ŋ Taste your trial! This is what you sought to hasten!
14 Taste your trial; that is, taste the punishment for having disbelieved (3:106; 6:30; 8:35; 46:34) or taste the punishment of the burning (3:181; 8:50; 22:22). The disbelievers seem to wish to hasten the Punishment of God when they ask mockingly, When will this promise come to pass, if you are truthful? (10:48; 21:38; 27:71; 34:29; 36:48; 67:25), and point to the Prophet’s inability to bring about the Judgment of which he warns them as evidence of his assumed folly. Thus the Prophet is told to say, That which you seek to hasten is not within my power. Judgment belongs to God alone, He relates the Truth, and He is the best of deciders (6:57; see also 8:32; 22:47). This attitude of the disbelievers is elsewhere contrasted with that of the believers, as in 42:18: Those who believe not in it seek to hasten it, and those who believe are wary of it and know that it is the truth.
***
Ś Truly the reverent shall be amidst gardens and springs,
15 See 15:45–46c; see also 44:51–52.
***
Ū partaking of that which their Lord has given them. Truly they were virtuous aforetime.
16 The reverent will be partaking of all the delights of the Garden in the Hereafter, because they had been virtuous in the life of this world.
***
ź Little of the night did they slumber,
17 Little of the night did they slumber implies, “Much of the night did they pray” (Ṭ). Many interpret this verse to mean that they would sleep little and pray during the period between the sunset prayer (maghrib) and the night prayer (ʿishāʾ) or during another period of the night (Ṭ).
***
Ɗ and ere dawn would seek forgiveness.
18 Ere dawn translates asḥār (see also 3:17), which refers to the last part of the night before the morning twilight. Regarding seeking forgiveness at this hour, a famous ḥadīth states, “Every night during the last third of the night, our Lord descends to the Heaven of this earth and says, ‘Who calls upon Me that I might answer him? Who asks of Me that I might give to him? Who seeks My Forgiveness that I might forgive him?’” (IK). The Prophet was known to sleep little. He would usually rise for supererogatory prayers before dawn and strongly encouraged others to do so. Regarding the practice of night vigil (tahajjud), see 17:79c; 73:1–2c.
***
ƚ And in their wealth was a due for the beggar and the deprived.
19 Cf. 70:24–25. Due is interpreted as a reference to the required alms (zakāh) rather than supererogatory charity (ṣadaqah; Q, Ṭ), but may refer to both. For a list of those who have a due or right to a share of one’s wealth, see 2:177. The beggar indicates those who ask to be given charity, while the deprived indicates those who have need but do not beg (JJ, Ṭ). The deprived can be understood as a reference to human beings or to all living creatures who are unable to voice their needs (R). In either case, there is an implied obligation upon those with wealth to be aware of the needs of others, even when others may be reticent or unable to bring those needs to their attention.
***
Ȋ Upon the earth are signs for those possessing certainty,
! and within your souls. Do you not then behold?
20–21 These verses relate to the opening lines of the sūrah, which call upon some of the subtleties of nature as evidence of God’s Wisdom and Omnipotence. The theme that the created order presents signs for those who have eyes to see recurs throughout the Quran; see commentary on 41:53 and 45:3–4. For the relationship between the signs in the external world and those within the human soul, see 41:53c. In relation to v. 21, the famous commentator and Ḥadīth scholar Qatādah is reported to have said, “Whoever meditates upon his own creation recognizes that he was only created for worship and that his joints were only made flexible for worship” (IK). Souls could also be rendered “selves,” in which case it is taken to indicate the variations in human languages, forms, colors, and natures (Āl) or the lowliness of the physical body, given the manner in which food and drink leave the body (Āl). “In your selves” could thus refer to the waste matter the body contains (Ghazzālī, Iḥyāʾ: K. dhamm al-kibr wa’l-ʿujb).
***
" And in Heaven is your provision and that which you were promised.
22 As translated, your provision refers to all the things that God has destined for every person (R) and that are brought down by the angels (Qu). It could also be rendered “in the sky is your provision,” implying primarily precipitation (R, Ṭ), but also light and wind. That which you were promised is understood as a reference to all that God has apportioned for every person (Ṭ), thus indicating the manner in which God determines all things (JJ).
***
# So by the Lord of Heaven and earth, it is indeed true—as it is that you are endowed with speech.
23 It is indeed true refers to that which you were promised in v. 22 (JJ, R), to the Quran as a whole (R), or to the Judgment, as in v. 6 (R). The ending phrase means that just as you have no doubt that you speak, you should have no doubt in its reality (Bḍ).
***
$ Hast thou heard tell of Abraham’s honored guests,
24–36 The account of Abraham provided here is very close to that in 11:69–76 and 15:51–60; for more details, see commentary on these passages. For other aspects of the Abraham story in the Quran, see 14:35–41; 37:83–109. For the Biblical account, see Genesis 18.
***
% when they entered upon him and said, “Peace!” he said, “Peace—an unfamiliar folk.”
24–25 V. 24 could also be rendered as a definitive statement, “Thou hast heard tell of Abraham’s honored guests” (Q). Honored guests refers to a group of three, ten, or twelve angels, one of whom was Gabriel (JJ); see also 11:69. The angels’ salutation to Abraham is in the accusative, indicating, “We wish you peace,” whereas Abraham’s response is in the nominative, indicating, “Peace be upon you,” the greeting of the people of Paradise (56:26) and the one enjoined among the believers (6:54). “Peace be upon you” is a firmer and more complete salutation, indicating that Abraham greeted the angels in conformity with the injunction in 4:86: And when you are offered a greeting, respond with a greeting that is better, or return it (R, Z).
***
& Then he went quietly to his family and came with a fattened calf.
26 Elsewhere it is said and he hastened to bring them a roasted calf (11:69). The Quranic account of this encounter is similar to that found in Genesis 18 in that Abraham is at first unsure as to the identity of his guests. It differs, however, in that in the Genesis account the angels eat the meal that Abraham offers them.
***
' He placed it close to them, saying, “Will you not eat?”
( Then he conceived a fear of them. They said, “Fear not!” and gave him glad tidings of a knowing son.
27–28 See 11:70c. Abraham conceived a fear of them (cf. 11:70) because in the ancient world, including the Arab world, refusing to partake of offered food was considered a sign of hostility or ill will. It is also proposed that Abraham thought they were angels sent to punish him (Āl). While here it is the angels who gave him glad tidings, 37:112 states, We gave him glad tidings. Together the two verses indicate that God gave glad tidings through the angels as intermediaries. The majority of commentators maintain that a knowing son (cf. 15:53) refers to Isaac, but others see it as a reference to Ishmael (Āl, Ṭ); see also 11:71.
***
) Then his wife came forward with a loud cry; she struck her face and said, “A barren old woman!”
29 In 11:72 Sarah exclaims, Oh, woe unto me! Shall I bear a child when I am an old woman, and this husband of mine is an old man? That would surely be an astounding thing. Abraham was said to be 120 years old at this time, while Sarah was 99 (JJ).
***
Ð They said, “Thus has thy Lord decreed. Truly He is the Wise, the Knowing.”
30 This declaration is similar to the declaration that Gabriel makes to Mary when announcing the conception of Jesus: Thus shall it be. Thy Lord says, “It is easy for Me.” And [it is thus] that We might make him a sign unto mankind, and a mercy from Us. And it is a matter decreed (19:21).
***
Ñ He said, “What is your errand, O messengers?”
Ò They said, “We have been sent unto a guilty people,
31–32 See 15:57–58c. A guilty people refers to the people of Lot.
***
Ó to send upon them stones of clay
33 In other passages, before the stones are sent, the town has already been afflicted: So when Our Command came, We made its uppermost to be its lowermost, and We rained down upon them stones of baked clay (11:82; see also 15:74).
***
Ô marked by thy Lord for the prodigal.”
34 Marked . . . for the prodigal is understood to mean that each stone bore the name of the person at whom it was to be hurled (Āl, JJ). Marked by the Lord can be understood to mean that each stone fell with a Divine purpose; see also 11:83.
***
Õ So We brought forth those among them who were believers;
Ö yet We did not find therein but one house of submitters.
35–36 God removed the believers in order to spare them from the punishment intended for the disbelievers. One house refers to Lot and his two daughters; they were saved from this punishment, but his wife was not (see 7:83; 11:81; 15:59–60; 26:170–71; 27:57; 29:32; 54:34; cf. Genesis 19:26). The mention first of believers and then of submitters can be seen as a reference to those who combine faith and action (Āl).
***
× And We left therein a sign for those who fear the painful punishment.
37 We left therein a sign indicates that the ruins of the town were left as a sign or that the story of the punishment was preserved as a warning for later generations, or both.
***
Ø And in Moses [We left a sign], when We sent him to Pharaoh with a manifest authority.
38–40 The account of Moses, whose name appears 136 times in the Quran, is featured more prominently than that of any other prophet. As with most Makkan sūrahs that feature the story of Moses (40:23–45; 43:46–56; 44:17–31; 79:15–25), here the account is given more as a spiritual example reflecting aspects of the Prophet Muhammad’s challenge than as history. The more detailed accounts of Moses’ mission are found in 2:49–61; 7:103–55; 10:75–93; 17:101–4; 20:9–97; 26:10–66; 27:7–14; 28:3–46.
38 A manifest authority is understood as a reference to the miracles associated with Moses (Āl, Bq), because they provided a clear indication of the truth of the message (Bq). It can also be seen as a reference to the belief that God grants His messengers authority over whomsoever He will (59:6).
***
Ù But he turned away with his court and said, “A sorcerer or one possessed.”
39 His court translates ruknihi, which literally means “his support” and in this context is understood by some to imply might and strength (Sh) or something in which Pharaoh trusts or on which he relies. Some interpret it to mean “his people” (Āl, Ṭ), “his companions” (Ṭ), or the hosts around him (Sh), because he “relies upon them” (yurkinu ʿalayhim) and derives strength from them (Āl). That Pharaoh must turn to them implies that he has no response to Moses but to deride him, since he cannot argue against the proofs that Moses has brought. A sorcerer (see also 7:109; 26:34; 40:24) or one possessed is the same accusation often leveled against the Prophet Muhammad by the Quraysh; see 51:52c.
***
@ So We seized him and his hosts and cast them into the sea, for he was blameworthy.
40 The casting of Pharaoh and his hosts into the sea refers to the parting of the Red Sea for the Israelites and its closing over Pharaoh and his hosts, who were in pursuit, as in 2:50: And when We parted the sea for you and so delivered you, and drowned the House of Pharaoh as you looked on. The drowning of Pharaoh and his army is mentioned in several Quranic passages; see 7:136; 8:54; 17:102–3; 43:55–56; 44:22–24.
***
A And in ʿĀd [We left a sign], when We sent upon them the barren wind.
41–45 The ʿĀd and the Thamūd were pre-Islamic Arabian tribes who rejected the prophets sent to them. For the account of the tribe of ʿĀd, see 7:65–72; 11:50–60; 41:15–16; 54:18–21. For that of the tribe of Thamūd, see 7:73–79; 11:61–68; 26:141–58; 54:23–31.
***
B Naught did it leave that it came upon, but that it made it as bones decayed.
41–42 Barren wind indicates a wind with no benefit, because it does not carry rain or pollinate any trees (Āl, JJ), unlike those winds mentioned in the opening of the sūrah. Elsewhere the wind that comes upon the tribe of ʿĀd is described as a howling wind (41:16; 54:19) or, more emphatically, a howling, raging wind (69:6). The wind laid waste to all of the people and all of the land upon which it came (JJ). For the broader use of wind and winds in the Quran, see 30:48–49c.
***
C And in Thamūd [We left a sign], when it was said unto them, “Enjoy yourselves for a time.”
43 The people of Thamūd were allowed to enjoy themselves in this world for three days after hamstringing the camel that God had sent them as a sign; see 11:65. While in other verses enjoy indicates partaking of the blessings God has provided (e.g., 16:80; 36:44; 37:148), this use of enjoy has a sense of irony, since the life of this world is naught but the enjoyment of delusion (3:185; 57:20). It thus indicates that God will grant them a brief respite in this life, but that they will then suffer greater punishment in the Hereafter. For more on the ironic use of enjoy in the Quran, see commentary on 77:46: Eat and enjoy yourselves a little; truly you are guilty.
***
D Then they insolently defied the Command of their Lord, and the thunderbolt seized them as they looked on.
44 The tribe of Thamūd is also said to have been destroyed by a thunderbolt in 41:13, by the Cry (or a cry) in 11:67 and 54:31, and by an earthquake in 7:78. These are not necessarily contradictory, but instead are different aspects of the overwhelming (al-ṭāghiyah) that is said to befall them in 69:5.
***
E So they were not able to rise; nor could they help one another.
45 The people of Thamūd were unable to flee due to the force with which it seized them, as in 7:78, which says: So the earthquake seized them, and morning found them lying lifeless in their abode (cf. 11:67; Āl, Sh).
***
F As for the people of Noah before, truly they were an iniquitous people.
46 For the Quranic account of Noah and the destruction of his people, see 11:25–48; 23:23–30; 26:105–21; Sūrah 71.
***
G And the sky We established with might; truly We make vast!
H And the earth We laid out—what excellent spreaders!
47–48 These verses return to the motif of the first verses of the sūrah, which point to the composition of the natural order as bearing signs of God. We make vast indicates God’s ability to create as He wills and His Generosity in providing for all things (Āl, Sh). What excellent spreaders refers to God Himself with a plural noun because the sentence is in the first-person plural and indicates both the wisdom behind the manner in which God created the earth and God’s Generosity in doing so. Spreaders translates māhidūn, which derives from the same root, m-h-d, as cradle (mahd), to which the earth is likened elsewhere: He it is Who made the earth a cradle for you and made paths for you therein, that haply you may be guided (43:10; see also 20:53).
***
I And of all things We created pairs, that haply you may remember.
49 Pairs can be seen as a reference to the fact that all animals are created both male and female (Āl) or to the manner in which creation is made up of opposites, such as night and day, Heaven and earth, distress and happiness, and so forth (Āl). Here that haply you may remember is understood to mean that creation is for people to reflect upon and to realize that God is the Creator (Āl, R, Sh).
***
P So flee unto God. Truly I am a clear warner unto you from Him.
50 So flee unto God may mean, “Flee from the Punishment of God to His Mercy through faith in Him, follow His Command, and work in obedience to Him” (Ṭ); or “Flee from obeying Satan to obeying God”; or “Flee from ignorance to knowledge” (Sh). According to Ibn ʿAbbās, this verse means, “Flee from sins and take shelter with God through repentance.” Others understand it to mean, “Be cautious of everything other than God, because whoever flees to what is other than Him does not benefit from it” (Sh). Similarly, the Prophet is reported to have often prayed, “O God! I seek refuge in Thy Contentment from Thine Anger, and in Thy Pardon from Thy Punishment. I seek refuge in Thee from Thee.” Regarding the reasons one must flee unto God, al-Qushayrī writes, “The human being is in one of two states: either the state of coveting something or the state of dreading something, either the state of hope or the state of fear, either the state of attracting benefit or the state of repelling harm. So his fleeing must be to God, for the one who benefits and the one who harms is God.” Al-Qushayrī goes on to say, “It is incumbent upon the servant to flee from ignorance to knowledge, from caprice to reverence, from doubt to certainty, and from Satan to God. It is incumbent upon the servant to flee from his actions that are a trial to his actions that are sufficient; and from characterizing Him in terms of God’s Wrath to characterizing Him in terms of His Mercy; and from His Self, as when He says, God warns you of Himself [3:28] to His Self, as when He says, So flee unto God” (Aj, Qu). From this perspective, the command to flee unto God is placed after the creation of all things in pairs to emphasize that one cannot flee to anything other than God, since all things perish, save His Face (28:88).
***
Q And do not set up another god along with God. Truly I am a clear warner unto you from Him.
51 That one should not set up equals unto God (2:22) or ascribe partners unto God (4:36; 7:33) is among the most predominant themes of the Quran; see 4:48c; 6:151–52c. Regarding the present verse, al-Ghazzālī writes, “One who does not see God in everything sees something other than Him. And if there is something other than God to which one gives attention, this attention involves an element of hidden idolatry (al-shirk al-khafī). Rather, pure monotheism (al-tawḥīd al-khāliṣ) consists in seeing only God in everything” (Iḥyāʾ, K. Qirāʾat al-Qurʾān).
***
R Likewise, there came no messenger unto those before them, but that they said, “A sorcerer or one possessed.”
52 This verse parallels the manner in which Pharaoh and his people sought to discredit Moses in v. 39. It can be read as providing solace to the Prophet by showing him that his plight is the same as that of previous messengers or as a warning to the Quraysh that the fate of Pharaoh and his followers will be their fate as well if they do not follow the Prophet. The accusation that the Prophet was a sorcerer (10:2) or one possessed (52:29) is among the many accusations the Makkans brought against him (cf. 15:6–7; 23:70; 34:8; 68:51). For other verses that liken the plight of the Prophet Muhammad to that of previous prophets, see 15:11; 34:34; 36:30; 43:7, 23.
***
S Do they exhort one another to it? Nay, they are a rebellious people.
53 Exhort one another to it; that is, exhort one another to saying that the Prophet is a sorcerer or one possessed (R), hence to denying the Prophet (Āl, Bg). Most commentators interpret this verse as an expression of wonder that they would in fact exhort one another to denial of God and of revelation (Āl, R). But it could also be understood as a negation meaning, “They do not exhort one another to it” (Āl), in which case “it” would refer to belief.
***
T So turn away from them, for thou shalt not be blamed.
54 This verse says to the Prophet, “Once you have delivered the message, you are not responsible for whether the disbelievers follow it or for the punishment that will afflict them if they do not; you are only responsible to continue reminding the believers who do benefit from the message”; see 2:272c.
***
U And remind, for truly the Reminder benefits the believers.
55 Remind is aimed at either the believers to the exclusion of the disbelievers or both the believers and the disbelievers. Here the Reminder is understood as a reference to the Quran. The verse is thus taken as an injunction to preach the Quran, because it benefits believers by increasing their spiritual insight (baṣīrah) and giving them strength in certainty and knowledge (Aj, Āl).
***
V I did not create jinn and mankind, save to worship Me.
56 Together, this and the preceding verse indicate that God did not create human beings merely to seek their own sustenance, but rather to worship and submit to Him (Aj, IK), or in other words to remember God. Al-Zamakhsharī argues that this points to the purpose for which human beings were created, even if most of them do not fulfill this function. From this perspective, God only created human beings to worship Him by choosing to worship freely and not being constrained to do it, because He created them as contingent beings. Had God wanted their worship by way of coercion (qasr) and compulsion (iljāʾ), it would be found among all human beings (Z). Regarding God’s desire that human beings worship, a ḥadīth qudsī states, “O Son of Adam! Dedicate yourself to worshipping Me (tafarrugh), and I will fill your chest with riches and make your poverty dissipate. Otherwise, I will fill your chest with distractions and will not make your poverty dissipate” (IK). In this vein, the verse expands upon the command to flee unto God (v. 50), as everything else in which one seeks refuge distracts human beings from their true purpose. This passage could thus be interpreted as another expression of the central Quranic theme that human beings are not created for this world alone, but for the next. Ibn Kathīr links this to his understanding of what is reported to have been written in a previous scripture: “It has been transmitted in one of the Divine books [that] God says, ‘Son of Adam, I created you to worship Me, so play not! I have taken on the burden of your provision, so tire yourself not! If you seek Me, you will find Me. If you find Me, you have found everything. If I pass you by, everything has passed you by. And I am more beloved to you than everything.’”
According to a saying attributed to Ibn ʿAbbās, save to worship Me means “save to know Me” (Bg). Viewed in this light, v. 56 follows upon the declaration in v. 49 that all things were created so that people could remember or recollect, “since God created the cosmos only for knowledge of Him” (Futūḥāt, IV 221.20). In this vein, al-Ālūsī cites the famous ḥadīth qudsī whose authenticity through transmission cannot be substantiated, but which is widely repeated among Muslims: “I was a hidden treasure, and I loved to be known; so I created creation in order to be known.”
***
W I desire no provision from them; nor do I desire that they should feed Me.
X Truly God is the Provider, the Possessor of Strength, the Firm.
57–58 God has no need of human beings, for they are needful of God; and He is the Self-Sufficient, the Praised (35:15).
***
Y And surely for those who do wrong are sins like unto the sins of their companions; so let them not seek to hasten.
59 Sins like unto the sins of their companions indicates fellow wrongdoers from generations past, thus implying that current wrongdoers will be forced to endure a punishment similar to those endured by the people who rejected the prophets mentioned in previous verses (e.g., vv. 41–46). It can also be seen as a reference to those who follow the people or customs of their own time blindly, as this will not suffice as an excuse on the Day of Judgment. Let them not seek to hasten relates to the trial that they sought to hasten in v. 14.
***
` Woe unto those who disbelieve on account of the Day that they are promised.
60 The Day is the Day of Judgment, as promised in vv. 5–6.