THE CROWDS【Quran commentary】Surah 39 az-Zumar

Commentary By Maulana Wahiduddin khan

1-3. The Quran is a divine statement of facts…

The Quran is a divine statement of facts. Its sagacious style of expression and the exceptional nature of its discourses allude to it being the Book of God. No man is capable of presenting such a sublime work.

‘So worship God with your total devotion,’ means to worship only God, praying to Him, revering Him and devoting oneself entirely to Him. (Safwat at-Tafasir, vol. III, p. 69).

The instinct for worship and devotion is inherent in human nature, so he must consider a being as great and have feelings of awe for that being. Anyone for whom a man develops such feelings is considered most holy by him and man’s entire existence submits before him. He expresses superlative respect and veneration for him and, his soul derives pleasure from remembering him. That being becomes the greatest support in man’s life.

This is true devotion and such worship is the exclusive, rightful due of the one and only God. But what man does is that while accepting the one God, he accords divinity to beings other than God and starts worshipping them. This is the real error into which man falls because just as the godhead or divinity is indivisible, worship cannot be divided either.

4-5. It is a natural instinct in man to rush…

It is a natural instinct in man to rush towards God and worship Him. But it is always the endeavour of Satan to distract man from worshipping God. He implants the idea in people’s minds that God’s Court (throne) is very high and inaccessible and, therefore, one cannot reach God directly. So one should try to reach God through the mediation of saints. Similarly, he instils the belief that just as human beings have children, so does God, and an easy way to please God is to please His supposed children. Modern materialism is also a distorted form of this belief, in that it has diverted man’s worshipping instinct from the Creator to the creation.

All this deviation amounts to a belittling of God. He Who is the Creator and Sustainer of the unfathomably vast universe is far above such ridiculous allegations.

6. God made man and created woman as his…

God made man and created woman as his mate. In this way, through the first man and woman a generation of human beings came into existence. In addition, God made extensive provision to fulfil the needs of human beings. In the early days of civilization, sheep, goat, camel and cow (a couple from each totalling to eight) catered to economic and social requirements of man. As civilization entered the next stage, man harnessed nature’s potential and used it for his progress.

The ‘three fold darkness’ refers to the three membranes, that enclose the foetus inside mother’s womb. It was impossible for a man to give such precise description lest it were revealed to him by the Creator Himself.

7. To accept God and be grateful to Him is…

To accept God and be grateful to Him is sought by the soul of man. Such an acknowledgement amounts to the admission of the Truth, which undoubtedly is the greatest demand of rationality.

In the Hereafter, a state of perfect justice shall prevail. Every man will receive the outcome commensurate to his deeds (in the pre-death period). The Hereafter will remove the shortcoming of the present world.

8-9. Every man passes through times when…

Every man passes through times when he finds himself utterly helpless. At this juncture, he forgets everything and starts appealing to God. In this way, in times of helplessness, every man comes to know that there is nobody worth worshipping except the one and only God.

But, as soon as he is out of trouble, he resorts to his earlier ways. Man only becomes more arrogant and starts attributing his relief from affliction to beings other than God. For Some it becomes the miracle of cause and effect, while for others it is a feat of supposed gods. If a man keeps quiet after making a mistake, it involves the misguidance of only one man. But, if he starts giving false explanations in order to justify his mistakes, he becomes one who misleads others.

There are two types of people: Those who make material interest their supreme concern; the other make God their supreme concern. It is this second type of individual who is a man of God. His realisation of God is his conscious discovery. He discovers God as the most Majestic and Supreme Being, so much so that all his hopes and all his fears are linked to that one and only Being. His restlessness keeps him out of bed at night. His loneliness is not the loneliness born out of unawareness, but the loneliness of the remembrance of God.

A man of knowledge is one whose mind is ignited by the remembrance of God, and that man is devoid of knowledge whose mind is ignited only by material factors. He is awakened only by material shocks and thereafter is lost, deep in slumber.

10. When a man attains deep realisation of…

When a man attains deep realisation of God, the essential result of this is that he becomes God-fearing. The realisation of the majesty of God makes him humble and he spends his life following the commandments of God. This makes him so serious that he renounces everything and leads a god-oriented life.

To build up one’s life on the basis of faith involves a tremendous trial. Only those succeed in this trial for whom faith is the greatest wealth, for the sake of which they are prepared to forego everything else. A life of faith is a life of patience. Those who are prepared to become believers at the price of patience will be the ones who will be blessed with the superior grace of God.

11-16. The real call of the prophet yearns to…

The real call of the prophet yearns to make man discover and worship the one and only God, leaving aside the worship of everything else. A prophet pursues the dawah mission as a matter of personal concern. Not only does he guide his fellow men but establishes an example by adopting the right path himself.

This nature of a prophet’s work, indicates the nature of a dayee’s work. The messenger of truth is one for whom the Truth becomes his personal problem. His call of Truth is the spontaneous expression of his inner experience and not merely a superficial call.

17-18. The present world is one of trial. Here…　

The present world is one of trial. Here, realities do not reveal themselves in their true and final shape, which makes room for anything to be wrongly interpreted. Satan exploits this possibility and misguides people from the right path.

Whenever a Truth reveals itself, Satan tries to divert people’s minds from it by misinterpreting it. He turns away the good aspect of a thing and brings to the fore whatever is unfavourable about it. This is a situation in which a man is really put to the test. Man has to prove his wisdom by distinguishing between right and wrong. He should be able to tear down the satanic veil of deception and see the reality. Those who have proved themselves to be in possession of such insight are the fortunate ones because they will find the Divine Truth; those who fail to prove this are fated to be enmeshed in the negative aspect of things, and are liable to be brought before God as worshippers of Satan.

19-20. Every man has to live with the conseq…

Every man has to live with the consequences of his deeds, for better or for worse. This means that the man worthy of Paradise lives in a paradisical atmosphere, while the man fit only for Hell lives in a hellish atmosphere. Only those possessing the insight to appreciate intangible things, will be able to perceive this difference.

Paradise would be the final and perfect manifestation of man’s ambitions, which he wants to fulfill in this world, but cannot. The price of this Paradise is a God fearing attitude. Those who fear God in this world will be made inhabitants of the perfect world of Paradise which would be free of any shortcomings.

21-22. The wonderful system of rains on the…

The wonderful system of rains on the earth, the resulting growth of greenery and the subsequent preparations for harvesting, have countless meaningful lessons in them. But, these lessons are available only to those who devote themselves to deep thought.

On the one hand, God has created the external world in a way that everything in it has become a sign of great realities, and, on the other, He has endowed man with the ability to read these signs and understand them. Those who keep their natural capabilities alive and, by utilising them, give deep consideration to the things of the world, will have their minds filled with the deep realisation (ma‘rifah) of God. Whereas those who do not keep these capabilities alive, will be unable to learn anything, even though surrounded by countless lessons. They will not be able to see, even after seeing, and will not be able to hear, even after hearing.

23. God has blessed man with a guidebook in…

God has blessed man with a guidebook in the form of the Quran. It has two special qualities. One of its qualities is that it is marked by utmost consistency. In other words, it is a book which has no contradictions. One part does not clash with another. If the Quran’s statements had not corresponded exactly with reality, there would have been differences between and inconsistencies in its various parts.

The second quality of the Quran is its use of repetition, that is, its topics are often repeated in different styles. This quality in the Quran shows that it is a book of advice and guidance. An adviser always wishes that his words should establish themselves firmly in the mind of the hearer. For this purpose, he expresses the same statements in different ways. This wisdom is found in the Quran in its best form.

It is the nature of man that when he hears some terrible news, or he undergoes some hair-raising experience, his inner being is humbled and his heart is softened by the news. When a serious man reads the Quran he undergoes such spiritual experiences.

24-26. Man always tries to save his face from…

Man always tries to save his face from injuries, but the punishment of Doomsday will so encompass man that it will not be possible for him to save any part of his body. In fact he will stand before the ineluctable punishment, as if using his face as a shield against it.

In the eyes of God, the greatest crime a man can commit is not to admit to the Truth when it reveals itself to him. Such people can never escape the scourge of God.

27-31. The Quran’s statements are in a langu…

The Quran’s statements are in a language intelligible to man and within the sphere of his knowledge, so that nobody should have any difficulty in understanding them.

Here, in symbolic language, it has been explained that the principle of the Unity of God as compared to polytheism is more rational and consistent with nature. Indeed, the functioning of the external universe is indicative of the fact that a single Will is operative in it. Had there been many intentions operative therein, the system of the universe could not have run so harmoniously. Moreover, man’s nature is also such that it prefers unity in loyalty. It is entirely against man’s nature to subscribe to different kinds of loyalties, as a result of which he is unable to do justice to any of them.

All arguments and possibilities indicate that there is only one God, who is the Creator of man and who is worthy of being worshipped by him. In the present world, this fact is proclaimed through men like us. On the Day of Judgement, this will be declared by the Creator of the Universe Himself. At that time, denial of this fact will be impossible.

32-35. Every ideology which is against the…

Every ideology which is against the reality amounts to levelling a false allegation against God. In every age, people have been living on such falsehoods. The mission of the dayee is to prove the falsehood of such theories. Even then, there are people who are adamant in their adherence to such false ideologies. It is they who will be cast into the fire of Hell, whereas those who mend themselves, become supporters of the Truth and prove themselves to be God-fearing, will have the appreciation of Almighty God, who will overlook their failings and value them for their good deeds.

36-37. The Prophet Muhammad preached the…

The Prophet Muhammad preached the Unity of God. But he did not stop at only the positive declaration of ‘God is one’. At the same time he used to negate those non-godly beings whom the people themselves had given the status of deities. This second part of his mission had become unbearable to the people.

Those non-godly beings were, in fact, their national heroes. For centuries exaggerated tales of their miraculous deeds had held the people in thrall. The greatness of these beings had captured people’s minds to such an extent that when the Prophet Muhammad contradicted the idea of their holiness, they could not understand how they could be other than holy. They asked the Prophet Muhammad to desist from speaking against their gods, otherwise they warned that he would be destroyed.

The preacher of Truth was ordered not to pay heed to remarks of this kind, and to continue to perform the dual task of advocating the Unity of God and rejection of polytheism – all this while relying up on God and praying for the Truth to become clear and manifest.

38-41. In every age, man has worshipped be…

In every age, man has worshipped beings other than God, but nobody has had the courage to say that their deities created the heavens and the earth, or that the real causes of comfort or distress were in their power. It is very strange that, in spite of this uncertainty, people are not ready to leave their false gods.

When all the arguments and pleadings of a preacher prove ineffective in influencing his people, the only alternative left for him is to tell them to do whatever they like and to warn them that when the Day of Final Judgement arrives, it will be made clear who is on the right path and who is on the wrong one. This is an expression of certainty on the basis of arguments, and is always the final word of a missionary.

42. While sleeping a man loses conscious…

While sleeping a man loses consciousness. In this sense, sleep is similar to death. When he wakes up from sleep, he regains consciousness. This is a foretaste of resurrection after death.

Through this system of nature, a man is shown today itself in an elementary manner how he will die and how he will rise up again. If he gives serious consideration to this matter, he will find in this very mundane event a great lesson of the Hereafter.

43-48. Those believed by polytheists to be…

Those believed by polytheists to be potential intermediaries between them and God were not simply stone statues. They were actually the statues of great men who lived among them. These supposed intermediaries were in reality their national heroes to whom they owed allegiance and who, they believed, would be adequate mediators before God.

Those who entertain such beliefs about beings other than God, gradually reach the point where their loyalty is dedicated solely to these beings. They are pleased to hear the praises of these beings; the proclamation of the Majesty of the One and only God does not nourish their souls.

With such people, howsoever one advocates the cause of the pure Unity of God, they do not accept it. Their eyes will open only when, on the Day of Judgement, the Majesty of God reveals itself.

Today, man is not even ready to offer words of acceptance, but at that time (on the Day of Judgment), he will wish to offer whatever he has as compensation in order to save himself. But, on that Day, nothing will be of avail to him except the merit of his own deeds.

49-52. In the world, when man achieves any…

In the world, when man achieves anything, he is very happy to think that it is the result of his own talents. The fact is that the things of the world are meant as a trial for him and not as a reward for his talents. To know this fact is to have real knowledge. If a man considers that the things of this world are within his grasp because of his talents, he develops the mentality of pride and vanity. On the contrary, if a man considers them as items of trial, feelings of gratitude and humility will be engendered in him.

The increase or decrease in the provision of man in this world is a matter which is beyond human powers. It appears that there is a power beyond the human sphere which decides who should receive more and who should receive less. This shows that decisions regarding provision is not made on the basis of personal talents. It is decided on some other basis, and that basis is that this world is a testing ground and not a place for the handing out of rewards. So, whatever a man receives in this world is for his trial. The Examiner, at his discretion, gives one type of examination paper to one person and another type of paper to another. He tries one person under one set of conditions, while He tries others under a different set of conditions.

53-54. When those who possess sensitive…

When those who possess sensitive hearts are blessed with a deep realisation of God (ma‘rifah), they start becoming worried as to what would happen about their past sins. Similarly, even after adopting a God-fearing way of life, a man is likely to display shortcomings from time to time, and his sensitive nature makes him worry again on this account. These feelings in some people can become so intense as to cause a deep sense of frustration.

For such people, God has declared in His Book that they should firmly believe that their God is Forgiving and Merciful. He does not look at a man’s past but at his present. He does not look to his outward form but at his inner soul. He treats a man with broad-mindedness and not with petty-mindedness. That is why, when a man turns towards Him, He once again takes him into the fold of His Mercy, howsoever big a blunder the man might have committed.

55-61. The discourse of God maintains in all…

The discourse of God maintains in all its parts a consistent level of perfection, so that in the Quran, one cannot say that some verses are better than others. Nor can it be said about the Quran in comparison with other divine books that one book is better to the exclusion of all others.

The fact is that in the present world of trial, man has freedom of action. He has the option of accepting divine words in their proper sense or of taking them wrongly. He may pay full attention to the real purpose of a talk, or he may try to ferret out insignificant points from it and interpret them wrongly. Ridiculing the Divine words is the result of such misconstruction. Man takes a verse and derives a wrong meaning from it, and then on the basis of that self-devised meaning, starts to make a mockery of it.

Man has kept himself hidden from reality, from what he really is. On account of false pride, he simply does not accept the Truth, but then talks glibly to give the impression that he is rejecting the Truth on the basis of principles. But, on the Day of Judgement, his face will reflect his inner condition. At that time his face will reveal that his rejection of the Truth was, in fact, the result of his false interpretation of divine words. Otherwise, the Truth was, in itself, very obvious and clear. At that time he will be full of regret, but regretting then will be of no avail.

62-66. The existence of the Universe is proof…

The existence of the Universe is proof of the existence of its Creator. Similarly, the conduct of the affairs of the universe in a meaningful and systematic manner proves that, at all times, a Supreme Caretaker is watching over it. If one gives serious consideration to these things, one will find in the universe the sign of its Creator and also the sign of its Organizer and Designer.

Under these circumstances, those who worship beings other than God are indulging in an action which has absolutely no value in the present universe, because as the Creator and Organizer is one and the same, worshipping Him alone will be of avail to man. Worshipping anybody other than that Being amounts to calling upon a totally non-existent entity.

67-70. The root of many deviations is, in fact…

The root of many deviations is, in fact, the underestimation of God. Man is lost in admiration of other kinds of greatness, because he is unaware of God’s unlimited Greatness. He considers attachment to great men the means of his salvation.

When Doomsday removes the veils over people’s eyes, they will come to know that God was and still is so great that the world could be enclosed in His fist like a small coin and the sky could be wrapped around His hand like an ordinary piece of paper.

Just as a bell rings as soon as an examination is over, similarly as soon as the time of the world is over, a trumpet will be blown. After that, the whole system will change. Thereafter, a new world will come into existence. This present world of ours is illuminated by the light of the sun, which is able to show us only tangible things. The world of the Hereafter will be directly illuminated by God’s light (nur).

So even the intangible realities of the world will become visible to man’s eyes. At that time, people will be brought in to the Court of God. In the present world, people ignored the prophets and the preachers operating under their guidance.

But, in the Hereafter, people will be wonderstruck to find that their future is decided on the basis of the support or rejection of these prophets and preachers.

71-72. There are varying degrees in rejecting…

There are varying degrees in rejecting and ignoring the Truth. In accordance with that would be the degrees or grades of Hell. In the Hereafter, people will be divided into different groups according to their degree and then every group will be put in that part of hell which it deserves. At the time of people’s entry into hell, the conversation that will ensue among the angels watching over Hell has been described in the above verses.

The real reason for non-acceptance of the truth by the deniers of truth is always their false pride. However, the pride of the deniers is not really directed against the Truth but against the presenter of the Truth. To a man, the presenter of Truth appears to be a smaller person than himself. Therefore, that man also considers the Truth a smaller thing and contemptuously ignores it.

73. Those who enter Paradise will be such as…

Those who enter Paradise will be such as are God-fearing. If a man discovers the Majesty of God in such a way that he loses the sense of his own greatness, then the natural result of this will be that he will start fearing God. The realisation of his own humbleness vis a vis God’s Powers makes him cautious and fearful. He will become extremely wary in matters concerning God. He will always worry as to how God will treat him in the Hereafter. Those who in this way were ever cautious and fearful in this world will be the ones who will be entitled to the fear-free life of the Hereafter.

The people of Paradise will be given the same treatment in the Hereafter as royal guests receive in this world. They will be escorted to their dwellings with utmost honour. When they see Paradise with their own eyes, they will spontaneously utter words of praise and gratitude for God. In Paradise they will not only have grand dwellings but there will also be no restriction on how they divert themselves or socialize. They will be able to move about and make contact with others as they please.

The Being who deserves all praises is the Being of God. But in the present world of trial the ‘hymns’ of God are not expressed in the real sense. The Hereafter will be the occasion for a full revelation of the praises of God. At this time the praises of God will be upon every tongue and the atmosphere will resound with hymns praising the Creator. All false greatness will come to an end. There will be only that Being there whose name will be worth taking. There will be only One Greatness in which one may become immersed and whose praises will be recited.