Ayah 35:1Commentary
As for the statement: جَاعِلِ الْمَلَائِكَةِ رُسُلًا (who makes the angels messengers), it means that angels were assigned to convey the messages and injunctions of Allah Ta’ ala. From this, it is obvious that they are sent to the noble prophets (علیہم السلام) as the message-bearers or envoys of Allah. They convey the revelations and the injunctions of Allah to them. And it is also possible that the word: رسول (Rasul) used here may be denoting the sense of link at this place, that is, they become a link between Allah Ta’ ala and His universal creation out of which the noble prophets (علیہم السلام) are the superior-most. Thus, they also become an intermediary link for the transmittal of revelation from Allah Ta ala to them. Then, these very angels happen to be the means of bringing the mercy of Allah or His punishment to the universal creation.
The next statement: أُولِي أَجْنِحَةٍ مَّثْنَىٰ وَثُلَاثَ وَرُ‌بَاعَ (having wings, in twos and threes and fours) means that Allah Ta’ ala has given to the angels feathered wings they can fly with. The wise consideration behind it is obvious as they traverse the distance between the heavens and the earth repeatedly, and this can become possible only when they are endowed with the necessary speed to so traverse, something that can come about in the mode of flying only:
And the words: مَّثْنَىٰ وَثُلَاثَ وَرُ‌بَاعَ (in twos and threes and fours) are, evidently enough, numerical adjectives referring to: أَجْنِحَةٍ (wings) in the sense that the number of the feathers angels have varies from angel to angel . Some have only two wings. Others have three. Still others have four. Even the numbers mentioned here are not comprehensive, rather they are mentioned here just as an example, because it is proved by a Hadith in Sahih of Muslim that Sayyidna Jibra'il (علیہ السلام) has six hundred feathers. (Qurtubi, Ibn Kathir)
Moreover, it is also possible that these three words are numerical adjectives referring to the word: رُسُلًا ، (rusulan: bearers of the message) in the sense that these angels who deliver messages from Allah Ta’ ala to this world sometimes come in twos and at others in threes or fours. Once again, in this situation too, the number of four is not intended for restriction. It is there just for example because the coming of angels in a much larger number stands proved from the Qur'an itself. (Abu Hayyan in al-Bahr ul-Muhit)
The next sentence: يَزِيدُ فِي الْخَلْقِ مَا يَشَاءُ (He adds to the creation what He wills) means that Allah Ta’ ala has the power to increase whatever He wills and as much as He wills in the creation of everything He has originated. This obviously is related to: أَجْنِحَةٍ (ajnihah: wings) in that the feathers and wings of the angels are not something simply restricted to two or four in numbers, for they could be many more than these if Allah Ta’ ala so wills. Most commentators say exactly this. And Tafsir authorities Zuhri, Qatadah and others have said that this increase in creation is to be taken in its general sense which includes increase in the feathers and wings of angels as well as the increase of particular attributes in the creation of different human beings which, then, includes the beauty of form, the beauty of character, the beauty of voice and many more increased assets like these. Abu Hayyan has, in al-Bahr ul-Muhit, followed this track of explanation and said that things like good manners, beauty of figure and face, perfection of reason and intellect, politeness in discourse and similar others are all included therein. This second Tafsir proves that the beauty or perfection of anything one has is invariably a gift and blessing from Allah Ta’ ala for which one should be grateful to Him.
Ayahs 35:2–4The word: رَّحْمَةٍ (rahmah: mercy) appearing in verse 2: مَّا يَفْتَحِ اللَّـهُ لِلنَّاسِ مِن رَّحْمَةٍ فَلَا مُمْسِكَ لَهَا (Whatever blessing Allah opens for the people, there is none to hold it back,) is general at this place. It includes blessings of one's religion in this world along with those of the Hereafter, such as, faith, knowledge, rightly guided conduct as well as the mission of a prophet and the station of a Waliyy or man of Allah. And it also includes material blessings in the present world, such as, provisions, means, comfort, health, wealth, property, recognition and things like that. The meaning of the verse is quite obvious. It is being said here that the person for whom Allah Ta’ ala intends to open the doors of His mercy, there is no one who can stop it.
Similarly, the second sentence: وَمَا يُمْسِكْ (wa ma yumsik: there is none to hold it back) is general, meaning: what Allah Ta’ ala holds back cannot he released by anyone. This includes hardships and sorrows of the world. Y or example, when Allah intends to shield some servant of His from these, then, there is no one who can dare harass or harm him. And included here is the matter of mercy as well in the sense that, should Allah Ta’ ala decide to deprive a person of His mercy due to some wise consideration of His, then, there is no one who can dare pass it on to him. (Abu Hayyan) Related to this very subject of the verse, there is a Hadith that reports that Sayyidna Mu'awiyah ؓ wrote to Sayyidna Mughirah Ibn Shu'abah ؓ ، his governor at Kufah, asking him to send back to him in writing some Hadith he had personally heard from the Holy Prophet ﷺ . Sayyidna Mughirah ؓ called Rawwad, his chief scribe, in his office and dictated his report as: 'I heard from the Holy Prophet ﷺ ", soon after he finished his salah his recitation of the words: اَللَّھُمَّ لَا مَانِعَ لِمَا اَعطَیتَ وَ لَا مُعطیَ لِمَا مَنَعتَ وَ لَا یَنفَعُ ذَا الجَدِّ مِنکَ الجَدُّ (0 Allah, for that which You give, there is no one to stop, and for that which you hold back, there is no one to give it out, and no efforts by any maker of effort1 works against Your will' ). (Ibn Kathir from Musnad of Ahmad)
And according to a narration of Sayyidna Abu Said al-Khudri ؓ عنہ in Sahih of Muslim, he said these words at the time he raised his head from the (bending) position of ruku' before another sentence: اَحَقُ مَا قَالَ العَبدُ وَ کُلُّنا لَکَ (that is, these words, out of all that a servant of Allah can say, are the most true, incumbent and superior).
Trust in Allah delivers from all hardships
The lesson taught by the cited verse (2) to all human beings is that one should not hope any benefit or fear any harm from anyone other than Allah, instead, one should keep his or her sight trained towards Allah alone. This is the master prescription for a better life in this world as well as in the life to come. This simple antidote delivers one from thousands of anxieties and sorrows. (Ruh-ul-Ma’ ani)
Sayyidna ` Amir Ibn ` Abd Qays ؓ said: Once I get to recite four verses of the noble Qur'an in the morning, I stop worrying about what would happen in the morning and what would happen in the evening. These verses are as follows. The first one is this very verse under study: مَّا يَفْتَحِ اللَّـهُ لِلنَّاسِ مِن رَّحْمَةٍ فَلَا مُمْسِكَ لَهَا وَمَا يُمْسِكْ فَلَا مُرْسِلَ لَهُ مِن بَعْدِهِ (Whatever blessing Allah opens for the people, there is none to hold it back, and whatever He holds back, there is none to release it thereafter - 35:2). The second verse having the same sense appears in Surah al-An'am, 6:17: وَإِن يَمْسَسْكَ اللَّـهُ بِضُرٍّ فَلَا كَاشِفَ لَهُ إِلَّا هُوَ وَإِن يُرِ‌دْكَ بِخَيْرٍ فَلَا رَ‌ادَّ لِفَضْلِهِ (And if Allah causes you some harm, no one is there to remove it except He Himself; and if He causes you some good, then He is powerful over everything - 6:17). The third verse is from Surah At-Talaq, 65:7: سَيَجْعَلُ اللَّـهُ بَعْدَ عُسْرٍ يُسْرً‌ا (Allah will soon bring ease after a difficulty). The fourth verse is from Surah Hud, 11:6: وَمَا مِن دَابَّةٍ فِي الْأَرْ‌ضِ إِلَّا عَلَى اللَّـهِ رِ‌زْقُهَا (And there is no creature on earth whose sustenance is not on Allah - 11:6). (Narrated by Ibn al-Mundhir, as in Ruh ul-Ma'ani)
And when Sayyidna Abu Hurairah ؓ saw rain falling, he used to say: مُطِرنَا بنوء الفَتحِ (The rain has come upon us through the rise of fath: (the opening) and would, then, recite the verse: مَّا يَفْتَحِ اللَّـهُ لِلنَّاسِ مِن رَّحْمَةٍ (Whatever blessing Allah opens for the people, there is none to hold it back,- 34:2). This term of 'rise of fath' used by him was in rebuttal of the false notion prevailing among Arabs of those days who used to attribute the coming of rains to the rise of particular stars and said that the rains had come upon them through the rise of such and such star. Sayyidna Abu Hurairah ؓ countered it by saying that (the mercy of) rains came to him through (the statement in) the verse of fath or opening. By this, he meant this very verse quoted above. He used to recite it particularly on such occasions. (Reported by Imam Malik in al-Mu'watta)
[ 1] This translation is based on one way of reading this prayer, that is, jidd (with kasrah on the letter jim, but if it is read as jadd, then the correct translation would be: 'no high status of a person may benefit him against Your decree. (Muhammad Taqi Usmani)
Ayahs 35:5–7Commentary
The word: غَرُ‌ورُ (gharur) is an emphatic form of an adjective that means one who is very deceiving (hence, rendered here as 'big deceiver' ). It refers to the Shaitan (Satan) whose sole job is to deceive people and throw them into disbelief and sin. And the expression لَا يَغُرَّ‌نَّكُم بِاللَّـهِ الْغَرُ‌ورُ (5) means 'nor should you be deceived about Allah'. To explain this deception, it can be said that the Shaitan may not, by showing your evil deeds as good, cause you to become so involved with these that you reach the stage when you go on committing a sin and, at the same time, keep thinking that you are of those accepted in the sight of Allah, and that you will not have to undergo any punishment.' (Qurtubi)
Ayahs 35:8–9Imam al-Baghawi has reported on the authority of Sayyidna ` Abdullah Ibn ` Abbas ؓ that the verse: فَإِنَّ اللَّـهَ يُضِلُّ مَن يَشَاءُ وَيَهْدِي مَن يَشَاءُ (The fact, therefore, is that Allah lets go astray whomsoever He wills , and leads to the right path whomsoever He wills.- 8) was revealed at a time when the Holy Prophet ﷺ had made the prayer: '0 Allah, bless Islam with prestige and power, through ` Umar Ibn al-Khattab, or Abu Jahl.' Out of the two, Allah Ta’ ala showed the right path to Sayyidna 'Umar ؓ and made him the cause of Islam's prestige and power, while Abu Jahl remained as astray as he was. (Mazhari)
Ayah 35:10Commentary
In verse 10, it was said: إِلَيْهِ يَصْعَدُ الْكَلِمُ الطَّيِّبُ وَالْعَمَلُ الصَّالِحُ يَرْ‌فَعُهُ (Towards Him, ascends the pure word, and the righteous deed uplifts it). Immediately earlier to this, it was declared that the person seeking honor and power should understand that these matters are not controlled by anyone other than Allah. As for those who have taken certain things as objects of worship or have taken some people as friends in the hope of being honored by them, they cannot give honor to anyone. Given in the present verse, there is a method of acquiring the gifts of grace and honor from Allah Ta’ ala. It has two parts: (1) Good word (that is, the kalimah of tauhid: la ilaha il-lal-lah) and the knowledge of the being and attributes of Allah. (2) Good deed, that is, to believe by heart and then act in accordance with its dictates under the Shari` ah. Shah ` Abdul Qadir (رح) has said in Mudih-ul-Qur'an that this prescription of becoming a recipient of honor is perfectly true and tested, however, the condition is that one remains constant in remembering Allah and doing good deeds. When this constancy reaches an appointed limit, Allah Ta’ ala blesses the doer of these with an everlasting and unparalleled honor both in this world and in the world to come.
These two parts have been expressed in the cited verse by saying that good word ascends towards Allah and reaches Him while good deed uplifts it and makes it reach Him. In the grammatical arrangement of: الْعَمَلُ الصَّالِحُ يَرْ‌فَعُهُ the good deed uplifts it) there are certain probabilities. The meanings of the sentence change in terms of each such probability. Authorities in Tafsir have explained it in line with the respective probabilities that they have deemed to be appropriate by them. According to the first probability, the subjective pronoun in: يَرْ‌فَعُهُ (uplifts) should be taken as reverting to: ... (the good deed) and the objective pronoun (it) to: ... (good word) meaning: 'good words ascend to Allah, but the thing through which they are made to ascend are good deeds (as in the khulasa-e-Tafsir of Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanavi (رح)). The majority of Tafsir authorities - Sayyidna Ibn ` Abbas, Ibn Jubayr, Hasan al-Basri, Mujahid, Dahhak, Shahr Ibn Hawshab and others - have opted for this very approach. And the sense of ascending to and being helped to ascend is being accepted in the sight of Allah, therefore, the gist of the sentence would be that good word, be it the kalimah of tauhid or others words of the remembrance and glorification of Allah, nothing of it gets to be acceptable with Allah without good deed. Here, the confirmation by heart is an integral part of good deed the most important part of which is the belief by heart in His Oneness. This belief by heart is a necessary condition for the acceptance of deeds in the absolute sense. Without it, neither the Kalimah: لا إله إلا اللہ (la ilaha il-lal-lah) nor any other Dhikr of Allah is acceptable.
Then, there are the other parts of good deed, such as, prayers and fasting and abstinence from forbidden and reprehensible things. Though, the acceptability of the 'good word’, that is, the kalimah of tauhid does not depend on such good deeds, yet these deeds too are conditions to a perfect acceptability of the 'good words'. If a person simply does not have faith, and its confirmation, in his heart, then, no matter how many times he repeats the words of the cardinal statement of one's Islam (Kalimah Tauhid: la ilaha il-lal-lah) and remains engaged with dhikr and Tasbih of Allah, he will not deserve the least of acceptability in the sight of Allah. In contrast, there is the case of the other person who does have faith and its confirmation, but fails to do other good deeds or falls short in them, then, his saying of the kalimah of tauhid and the doing of the dhikr of Allah will, though, not go to waste totally, however, its benefit will be restricted to delivering him from the everlasting punishment. The consequence will be that he will go through a certain punishment for some time that will be in proportion to his abandonment of duty and the shortcoming.
In a Hadith, the Holy Prophet ﷺ has said, 'Allah Ta’ ala does not accept any word without deed, and any word and deed without the intention, and any word, deed and intention without compatibility with sunnah (as said and done by him).' (Qurtubi)
This tells us that correspondence with sunnah is the condition of perfect acceptability. Even if the word, the deed and the intention, all these, are also correct but the mode and method of conduct is not in accordance with sunnah, then, one cannot become a recipient of perfect acceptability with Allah.
Some commentators suggest another syntactical arrangement in respect of this sentence. According to them, the subjective pronoun in: يَرْ‌فَعُهُ (uplifts) reverts to: ضَمِر فَاعِل good word) and the objective pronoun (i.e.'it' ) to: کلم طیّب ( good deed). Thus, the meaning of the sentence become totally different from that of the earlier, that is, 'good word' which is the dhikr of Allah, makes 'good deed' ascend and makes it rise higher up, that is, makes it worthy of being accepted. The outcome would then be that a person who does good deeds, and along with it, also does his dhikr of Allah abundantly, then, this dhikr of Allah embellishes his deed and makes it acceptable.
Ayah 35:11The sense of the verse: وَمَا يُعَمَّرُ مِن مُّعَمَّرٍ وَلَا يُنقَصُ مِنْ عُمُرِ‌هِ إِلَّا فِي كِتَابٍ (And no aged person is made to advance in age, nor a part is curtailed from his age, but all this is (recorded) in a book - 35:11), according to the majority of the commentators is that if Allah Ta’ ala blesses a person with a long age, it is a fact already on record in the Preserved Tablet (al-lawh al-mahfuz). Similarly, when the age of a certain person is kept at a lower mark in terms of the number of years, that too already stands recorded in al-lawh al-mahfuz. The outcome of it all is that the text, at this place, is not referring to one individual person's age being long or short, instead, the statement relates to humankind as a whole, in the sense that some individuals from it are given long ages and others, a comparatively shorter ones. The explanation has been reported by Ibn Kathir from Sayyidna ` Abdullah Ibn ` Abbas ؓ . Abu Bakr al-Jassas (رح) reports the same saying from Hasan al-Basri and Dahhak رحمۃ اللہ علیہما . Therefore, in general books of Tafsir, such as, Ibn Jarir, Ibn Kathir, Rah ul-Ma’ ani and others, this very explanation has been declared as the view of the majority of commentators. However, some early commentators have said: Should the length of age concerns one single person, then, decrease in age would mean that the age of every person as already written by Allah Ta’ ala is certain, and every day that passes decreases one day from this pre-fixed age. If two days pass, two days decrease. In the same way, every day, in fact, every single breath keeps decreasing one's age. This Tafsir or explanation has been reported from Sha'bi, Ibn Jubayr, Abu Malik, Ibn ` Atiyyah and Suddiyy. (Ruh ul Ma’ ani)
This subject has been succinctly expressed in an Arabic couplet as:
حِیَاتُک اَنفَاسُ تُعَدُّ فَکُلَّمَا مَضٰی نَفَسُ مِّنھَا انتقَصَتُ بِہٖ جُزء،
Your life is (the name of) counted breaths. So, whenever passes away a breath from it, a part of it decreases.
In his explanation of this verse, Imam an-Nasa` i (رح) has reported from Sayyidna Anas Ibn Malik ؓ that he heard the Holy Prophet ﷺ saying,” مَن سَرَّہ، اَن یُبسَطَ لَہ، فِی رِزقِہٖ وَ یُنسَأ فِی اَثَرہٖ فَلیَصِلَ رَحمَۃ،”. This Hadith has also been reported by al-Bukhari, Muslim and Abu Dawud on the authority of a narration from Yunus Ibn Yazid Ayli. The Hadith means: 'He who wishes that his sustenance and age is increased should treat his close relatives well (Silatu-r-rahim).' This obviously suggests that these deeds increase one's age. But, another Hadith given below has itself clarified its sense:
Ibn Abi Hatim (رح) reports from Sayyidna Abu-d-Darda' ؓ . He says, 'when we mentioned this (subject) before the Holy Prophet ﷺ ، he said, " (Age as such is already fixed and determined by Allah), when the fixed term is over, no one is given the least respite. In fact, increase in age means (in the Hadith cited above) that Allah Ta` a1a blesses one with good children who keep praying for him. This person is not there anymore, but he keeps receiving their prayers in his grave (that is, he keeps on receiving the benefits one would have received if one were alive. Thus, in a way, his age has increased" ). (Both narrations appearing above have been reported by Ibn Kathir). In short, Ahadith that say that some deeds cause age to increase mean increase in the barakah or bliss of age.
Ayahs 35:12–13In the next verse: وَمِن كُلٍّ تَأْكُلُونَ لَحْمًا طَرِ‌يًّا وَتَسْتَخْرِ‌جُونَ حِلْيَةً تَلْبَسُونَهَا (And from each, you eat fresh meat, and derive ornaments that you wear - 35:12), it is being said that one gets fresh meat, that is, fish to eat from both waters, sweet or brackish. In this verse, by alluding to fish as meat, the hint released is that fish is meat, already halal by itself. One does not have to slaughter it. This is contrary to the case of the animals found on land. Unless one slaughters them with the name of Allah, they do not become halal. Fish does not have this condition. It is meat, ready to eat. And the word: حِلْيَةً (hilyah) means ornament and refers to pearls. The verse tells us that the way pearls are found in brackish waters, they are also found in sweet waters, something contrary to the general belief, since it is well known that pearls are harvested from the brackish water of the seas. However, the reality is what is evident from the words of the Qur'an that they form in both - yes, much less in sweet waters and far more in the brackish waters of the sea. That they are found in seas excessively contributed to the popular belief that pearls come only from brackish waters.
By using the masculine form in the last word: تَلْبَسُونَهَا (talbasunaha: that you wear), a hint is being released that the use of pearls is permissible for men as well - contrary to gold and silver, the use of which as an ornament is not permissible for men. (Ruh-ul-Ma’ ani)
Ayahs 35:14–17In the last verse: إِن تَدْعُوهُمْ لَا يَسْمَعُوا دُعَاءَكُمْ وَلَوْ سَمِعُوا مَا اسْتَجَابُوا لَكُمْ (If you call them, they do not hear your call, and even if they were to hear, they would not respond to you. - 35:14). To explain, it can be said that if you call those idols or some prophets or angels you take as god and worship them asking them to help you in distress, they will, first of all, be unable to listen to you because idols do not have the ability to listen. Though, prophets and angels have this ability, yet they are not present everywhere nor do they hear that which is said by everybody. Further on, it was said that, should they, as a matter of supposition, be able to listen, as in the case of angels and prophets, still, they would not fulfill your request, because they themselves have no control over it, and cannot intercede with Allah on behalf of anyone without His permission.
In the last verse: إِن تَدْعُوهُمْ لَا يَسْمَعُوا دُعَاءَكُمْ وَلَوْ سَمِعُوا مَا اسْتَجَابُوا لَكُمْ (If you call them, they do not hear your call, and even if they were to hear, they would not respond to you. - 35:14). To explain, it can be said that if you call those idols or some prophets or angels you take as god and worship them asking them to help you in distress, they will, first of all, be unable to listen to you because idols do not have the ability to listen. Though, prophets and angels have this ability, yet they are not present everywhere nor do they hear that which is said by everybody. Further on, it was said that, should they, as a matter of supposition, be able to listen, as in the case of angels and prophets, still, they would not fulfill your request, because they themselves have no control over it, and cannot intercede with Allah on behalf of anyone without His permission.
The issue of the ability of the dead to hear سماع الموتی sama`-ulmawta) has appeared earlier. The present verse neither confirms nor rejects it. Arguments and proofs relating to this issue are different. They have already been mentioned in details under the commentary on Surah Ar-Rum [ 30] (Ma` ariful-Qur an, Volume VI).
Ayahs 35:18–21Commentary
Verse 18: وَلَا تَزِرُ وَازِرَةٌ وِزْرَ أُخْرَ‌ىٰ (And no bearer will bear the burden of any other person) means that, on the Day of Judgment, no one will be able to bear the burden of another person's sins. Everyone will have to bear his or her burden. As for what appears in Surah Al-` Ankabut (29:13): وَأَثْقَالًا مَّعَ أَثْقَالِهِمْ , which means that people who make others go astray will not only bear the burden of going astray personally, but will also bear the burden of having made others go astray. it does not mean that they will somehow lighten the burden of those they had caused to go astray. Instead, their burden will weigh on them as it was in its own place and because of the crime of those who made people go astray, being twofold, their burden too will become twofold, one: that of being astray and two: that of making others go astray. Therefore, there is no contradiction in these two verses. (Ruh-ul-Ma’ ani)
Explaining this verse, Sayyidna ` Ikrimah ؓ said: On that Day, a father would say to his son, 'You know how affectionate a father I was to you?' He will say, 'yes, your favors to me are countless. You have certainly faced many a hardship for me during the life of the world.' Then, the father will say, 'son, today I need you. Give me some of your good deeds, so that I can have my salvation.' The son will say, 'father, the return you asked for is not much, but what can I do? If I were to give that to you, I shall be facing the same situation that you are facing now, therefore, I am sorry, I cannot help you.' Then, he will say the same thing to his wife, 'I sacrificed everything for you during the life of the world. Today, I need a few of your good deeds. Please give these to me.' The wife will give him the same answer as was given by the son.
Sayyidna ` Ikrimah ؓ said that this is what the verse: لَا تَزِرُ وَازِرَةٌ وِزْرَ أُخْرَ‌ىٰ (And no bearer will bear the burden of any other) means. Then he said that the noble Qur'an has taken up this subject in several of its verses. At one place, it has said: لَّا يَجْزِي وَالِدٌ عَن وَلَدِهِ وَلَا مَوْلُودٌ هُوَ جَازٍ عَن وَالِدِهِ شَيْئًا that is, on that Day, neither a father would be able to have his son be spared from the punishment, nor would a son be able to do that for his father (31:33). The essential sense is that no one will save another person by carrying the burden of his sins over one's own shoulders. However, the matter of intercession (shafa'ah) is dierent. Similarly, in another verse, it was said: يَوْمَ يَفِرُّ الْمَرْ‌ءُ مِنْ أَخِيهِ وَأُمِّهِ وَأَبِيهِ that is, on that Day, one will run from his brother and his mother and father and his wife and children (80:34, 35). The purpose of running is no other but that he would be in fear, lest these people try to pass on the burden of their sins on him or come up with a request for some of his good deeds. (Ibn Kathir)
Ayahs 35:22–26At the beginning of the verse: وَمَا أَنتَ بِمُسْمِعٍ مَّن فِي الْقُبُورِ (And you cannot make hear those who are in the graves - 22.), disbelievers have been likened to the dead and believers, to the living. In congruence to this, the expression: (those in the graves) here means the disbelievers. The sense is that 'the way you cannot make the dead hear you, you can also not make these living disbelievers hear you.'
This verse has itself clarified it that, at this place, making someone hear means the kind of listening that is going to be useful, effective and beneficial. Otherwise, the effort to make disbelievers listen, in the absolute sense, has remained an exercise in futility since ever. It has even been a matter of common observation that a call was beamed at them, and they did listen to it. Therefore, the verse means that 'the way you cannot bring the dead to the right path by making them hear the Divine Word because they have shifted from the avenue of deeds in the world to the arena of recompense in the Hereafter where, even if they confess to their faith, it will not be deemed as trustworthy, similar to that is the condition of the disbelievers. This proves that the negation of making the ( dead hear referred to in this verse means a particular listening that is beneficial, something because of which the listener forsakes the false and takes to the true. From this presentation, it becomes clear that the present verse has nothing to do with the issue of the ability of the dead to hear. Whether or not the dead hear the living is a different issue in its own place. A detailed discussion about it has appeared in the commentary on Surah Ar-Rum and Surah An-Naml (Ma’ ariful-Qur’ an, Volume VI).
Ayah 35:27Commentary
Sequence of the Verses
Some early commentators have said that these verses return to the subject of Tauhid, Oneness of Allah or pure monotheism supported by proofs of Divine power and mastery in nature. Some others have said that described in the previous verses were different states of people along with examples, such as: وَمَا يَسْتَوِي الْأَعْمَىٰ وَالْبَصِيرُ وَلَا الظُّلُمَاتُ وَلَا النُّورُ وَلَا الظِّلُّ وَلَا الْحَرُ‌ورُ. (And the blind and the sighted are not equal, (35:19) nor darkness and light, nor shade and heat of the sun - 35:19-20). What is being said here further clarifies that mutual difference in Divine creations is something inherent. It exists even in organic and inorganic substances, in fact, it is present not only in shapes and colors, but in traits and temperaments as well.
A subtle grammatical point
The Holy Qur'an has mentioned different colors of fruits at the first place in Verse 27, and of the mountains at the second place. But the grammatic style is different in both places. With regard to fruits the difference of colors is mentioned by an adverbial phrase (translated above as ' having different cobblers', while in the case of mountains, it has been expressed by an adjectival phrase (translated above as ' of different cobblers'. According to the Arabic grammar, an adjective normally refers to the permanent quality of a thing, while an adverb may refer to a quality or condition that is subject to change. Keeping this in view, there may be a hint here to the effect that the difference of colors in fruits does not remain constant in a single state, rather keeps changing after brief intervals. On the contrary, there are the colors of human beings and other life forms. These are generally fast and abiding, and do not change.
And in case of mountains, used there was the word: جُدَدٌ (judad). This is the plural form of: جُدَّہ (juddah) the well-recognized meaning of which is that of a mini pathway also known as: جادہ (jadah). Some respected elders have taken juddah in the sense of a tract, patch or segment that, in both situations, denotes parts of the mountains being different in colors. Out of these, white was mentioned first while black, last. In between, along with the mention of red, the expression: مُّخْتَلِفٌ أَلْوَانُهَا (of different colors) was introduced. This could be releasing a hint that, in reality, the colors in this world are no more than two - white and black. The rest of the colors in the spectrum emerge by compounding different degrees of white and black.
Ayah 35:28The place where the word: كَذَٰلِكَ (kadhalik: translated above by the words, 'as well' ) appears in verse 28 just before: كَذَٰلِكَ إِنَّمَا يَخْشَى اللَّـهَ مِنْ عِبَادِهِ الْعُلَمَاءُ (Only those of His slaves fear Allah who are knowledgeable), but in the translation above it has been separated from the next verse by a full stop, because this is the place of a stop (waqf) according to the consensus of the majority of commentators and scholars. As such, it is a sign denoting that this word is related to the previous subject, that is, the creation of all that exists in categories and kinds and different colors is a very special sign of the power and wisdom of Allah Ta’ ala.
Then there are narrations that suggest that this word is related to the next sentence. If this interpretation is adopted, the full stop would be appropriate after the words, 'having different colors, and the word 'kadhalika' should be translated as 'similarly' in which case, it would mean that 'the way fruits, mountains, human beings and other life forms are marked out by different colors, similarly, there are different degrees among people who have the awe or fear of Allah in their hearts. Someone may have achieved its highest degree. Others may have arrived at what is less than that. Then, the whole thing depends on knowledge. Whoever has a certain degree of knowledge will have a corresponding degree of the awe or fear of Allah. (Ruh-ul-Ma’ ani)
In previous verses, it was said: إِنَّمَا تُنذِرُ الَّذِينَ يَخْشَوْنَ رَ‌بَّهُم بِالْغَيْبِ (18) This is to give solace to the Holy Prophet ﷺ which means, 'when you warn people and convey the message of Allah to them, only those who have the awe of Allah without having seen Him get the maximum benefit out of it.' In symmetry with this, the present verse: إِنَّمَا يَخْشَى اللَّـهَ مِنْ عِبَادِهِ الْعُلَمَاءُ (Only those of His slaves fear Allah who are knowledgeable - 35:28) has mentioned people about whom it can be said that they have the awe of Allah and fear Him as is His due. Then, there is another parallelism here. Mentioned earlier were disbelievers and deniers along with the different states they were submerged in. In the present verse, what has been put forth is the opposite of it. The verse talks about the men of Allah (the auliya' of Allah) particularly. The word:إِنَّمَا (innama) is used in the Arabic language to describe hasr or exclusiveness. Therefore, this sentence obviously means that only the ` Ulama' (the knowing, the learned, the initiated) fear Allah or have the genuine awe of Allah. But Tafsir authority, Ibn ` Atiyyah and others said that the wayإِنَّمَا (innama) is employed to show exclusiveness, it is also used to describe the singularity of something, and the later is what is meant here - that fearing Allah and remaining in awe of Him is a specially incumbent attribute of the ` Ulama'. It does not necessarily imply that those other than them have no such fear and awe in them. (Al-Bahr ul-Muhit, Abu Hayyan)
And the word: عُلَمَاءُ (Ulama' ) in the verse means people who have due knowledge of the being and attributes of Allah Ta’ ala and who have the fact of His power and control, and His favors and blessings, on what He has created, always in sight. In the terminology of the Qur'an, no one is considered to be an ` alim simply by virtue of knowing the Arabic language, grammar and rhetoric unless he has acquired the knowledge and understanding of the attributes of Allah Ta’ ala in the manner stated above.
Explaining this verse, Hasan al-Basri (رح) said: ` Alim is a person who fears Allah in private and in public, and likes what Allah likes him to do, and hates what is detestable in the sight of Allah.
And Sayyidna ` Abdullah Ibn Masud ؓ said:
لیَسَ العِلمُ الحدِیثِ و لٰکِنّ العِلمَ عَن کَثرَۃِ الخَدیَۃِ
Memorizing many ahadith (or, talking a lot) is no 'Um (knowledge). Instead, (real) knowledge comes when one has the awe and fear of Allah with it.
In short, the degree of the fear of Allah one has shall go on to make him an ` Alim of that very degree. And Ahmad Ibn Salih al-Misri said: Fear of Allah cannot be recognized on the basis of someone's prolific reporting of events or abundance of knowledge, in fact, it is identified through one's adherence to the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of the Prophet. (Ibn Kathir)
Shaykh Shahabuddin as-Suhrawardi (رح)) said: This verse clearly indicates that a person who has no fear of Allah is no ` alim. (Mazhari) This is confirmed by the sayings of the early forbears of Islam (Salaf).
Sayyidna Rabi' Ibn Anas ؓ said:
مَن لَّم یَخش فَلَیسَ بِعَالِمِ
One who does not fear Allah is not an Vim.
And early commentator, Mujahid said:
انَّما العَالِمُ مَن خَشِیَ اللہَ
Only he who fears Allah is the (real) Vim.
Someone asked Sa'd Ibn Ibrahim: Who knows Divine Law at its best in the city of Madinah? He said: a;J r mti (He who is the most fearing of his Lord).
And Sayyidna ` Ali al-Murtada ؓ defined a Faqih (master of Islamic jurisprudence) by saying:
اِنَّ الفَقِیہِ حَقَّ الفَقِیہِ مَن لَّم یَقنط النَّاسَ مِن رَّحمَۃِ اللہِ وَ لَم یرخص لَھُم فِی مَعَاصِی اللہِ تَعَالٰی ، وَلم یُؤمِنھُم مَّن عَذَابِ اللہِ تَعَالٰی وَ لَم یَدَعُ القُرآنَ رَغبَہُ عَنہُ الٰی غَیرِہٖ اَنَّہ لَاخَیرَ فِی عِبَادَۃِ لَّاعِلمَ فِیھَا وَلَا عِلمِ لَّا فِقہ فِیہِ ولَاقِرَاَء لَّاتَدَبُّرَ فِیہِ (قرطبی)
A Faqih, perfect as he must be, is he who would not make people lose hope in the mercy of Allah, nor leave them free to indulge in acts of disobedience to Him, nor give them the guarantee of remaining safe from the punishment of Allah, nor forsake the Qur'an by indulging in pursuits other than it. (And he said): Verily, there is no good in an act of worship that is without knowledge, and there is no good in a knowledge that is without understanding, and there is no recitation (Qira'ah of the Qur'an) without deliberation in it. (Qurtubi)
The clarifications appearing above also help remove the doubt about many ` Ulama' who do not seem to have the kind of awe and fear of Allah required of them. These clarifications tell us that, in the sight of Allah, the bland knowledge of Arabic is not what 'ilm is, and certainly, the one who is proficient in it is not an ` Alim. Anyone who does not have the fear of Allah in his heart is simply not an ` Alim in the terminology of the Qur'an.
However, at times, awe and fear of Allah are rooted in one's creed and reason because of which one adheres to the injunctions of the Shari’ ah as a matter of obligation. Then, there are occasions when this awe and fear of Allah become the very state of one's existence and rise to the degree of a firmly ingrained asset whereby the readiness to follow the Shari’ ah becomes a natural reflex. The first degree of the awe and fear of Allah is mandatory and, for an ` Alim necessary. The second degree is certainly superior and sublime, but not necessary. (Bayan ul-Qur an)