74.37. Liman schaa minkum an yataqaddama awyataakhkhara
74.37. Unto him of you who will advance or hang back. (Pickthall)
74.37. Für den, der von euch will, daß er vorausgeht oder sich verspätet. (Ahmad v. Denffer)
74.37. für jemanden von euch, der vorankommen oder zurückbleiben will. (Bubenheim)
74.37. an jeden unter euch, der zum rechten Weg strebt oder der zurückbleiben will. (Azhar)
74.37. für denjenigen von euch, der vorgehen oder zurückgehen will. (Zaidan)
74.37. für diejenigen von euch, die (entweder auf dem Weg des Heils) vorankommen oder zurückbleiben wollen. (Paret)
74.37. für die unter euch, die vorwärts schreiten oder zurückbleiben wollen. (Rasul)
Tafsir von Maududi für die Ayaat 8 bis 37
When the Trumpet is blown, it shall be a very hard Day, ( 8 ) not easy for the disbelievers. ( 9 ) Leave Me and the person ( 10 ) whom I created alone: ( 11 ) I gave him ample wealth and sons to be present by his side, ( 12 ) and smoothed for him the way to his leadership (and prosperity). Yet he desires that I should give him more. ( 13 ) No, never! He is hostile to Our Revelations. I shall soon make him ascend a hard ascent. He pondered and tried to devise a plan. May God destroy him: what he tried to devise! Yes, may God destroy him: what he tried to devise! Then he looked around: then he frowned and scowled; then he turned his back and showed arrogance. At last, he said, "This is nothing but magic, handed down from the past; nothing but the word of a mere mortal. ( 14 ) Very soon I shall cast him into Hell. And what do you know what Hell is? It leaves nothing and it spares none. ( 15 ) It scorches the skin. ( 16 ) Nineteen keepers are appointed over it. We ( 17 ) have appointed only angels as the keepers of Hell, ( 18 ) and have made their number a trial for the disbelievers, ( 19 ) so that the people of the Book are convinced ( 20 ) and the believers are increased in their faith, ( 21 ) and the people of the Book and the believers may have no doubts, and the sick of the heart ( 22 ) and the disbelievers may say, "What could Allah mean by this strange parable?" ( 23 ) In this way Allah leads astray whom He wills and gives guidance to whom He wills, ( 24 ) and none knows the hosts of your Lord but He Himself. ( 25 ) -And Hell has been mentioned so that the people may take heed. ( 26 ) No, never! ( 27 ) By the moon and by the night when it withdraws, and by the morning when it dawns, this Hell too, is one of the mighty things: ( 28 ) a warning to mankind, a warning to every one of you, who desires to go forward, or to lag behind. ( 29 )
Desc No: 8 As already explained in the introduction, this part of the Surah wa:. sent down a few months after the initial verses when at the beginning of the first ever Hajj season, after the advent of Islam, the Quraish chiefs decided in a conference to start a powerful propaganda campaign to dissuade the outsiders, who came to visit the Ka`bah, from the Qur'an and the Holy Prophet Muhammad (upon whom be Allah's peace and blessings). In these verses, this very scheming of the Quraish has been reviewed, and the review has begun with the words, as if to ay: "You thay act as you please, but even if you succeed in achieving your object by these devices in the world, how will you save yourselves from your evil end un the Day when the Trumpet will be sounded and Resurrection established?" (For explanation of the Trumpet, see E.N. 47 of Al-An`am, E.N. 57 of Ibrahim, E.N. 78 of Ta Ha, E.N. 1 of Al-Hajj, E.N.'s 46, 47 of Ya Sin, E.N. 79 of Az-Zumar, E.N. 52 of Qaf).
Desc No: 9 These words by themselves support the conclusion that that Day will be light for the believers, and its hardships will be specially intended only for the deniers of the Truth. Moreover, these words also contain the meaning that the severity of that Day will be of an enduring and permanent nature for disbelievers it will not be a severity which might be expected to become mild with the passage of time.
Desc No: 10 The address is directed to the Holy Prophet (upon whom be peace) and it means: "O Prophet, leave the case of the person (Walid bin al-Mughirah) to Me, who in the disbelievers' conference proposed that you should be branded as a sorcerer among the pilgrims coming from different parts of Arabia; it is now for Me to deal with him; you need not bother yourself about it at all. "
Desc No: 11 This sentence can have two meanings and both are correct: (1) "That when I created him, he was not at that time born with any wealth and children and position of authority and chieftainship; ¦ and (2) "that I alone was his Creator: those other gods whose godhead he is so ardently trying to keep established and is opposing your invitation to One God for the same object, were not My associates in creating him. "
Desc No: 12 Walid bin al-Mughirah had ten or twelve' sons of whom Hadrat Khalid bin Walid became most famous. For these sons the word shuhud has been used, which can have several meanings: (1) That they do not have to run about and go abroad in search of their livelihood: they have enough provisions at home; therefore, they can always remain at the beck and call of their father; (2) that all his sons are prominent and influential people: they sit in assemblies and conferences with him; and (3) that they are the people of high rank and position and their testimony is accepted in all matters of life.
Desc No: 13 Its one meaning is that there is still no end to his greed. In spite of having all this he still desires that he should be granted every good thing of the world. Another meaning which Hadrat Hasan Basri, and some other scholars have given is:, "He used to say: If what Muhmmad (upon whom be peace) says is really true that there is another life after death, and there will be a Paradise also in it, then that Paradise too has been prepared for me."
Desc No: 14 The reference is to what happened in the conference of the disbelievers of Makkah. From the details of it that we have given in the Introduction, it becomes obvious that this man in his heart had become fully convenced of the Qur'an's being Divine Word, but in order to save his position as a chief of his people, he was not prepared to affirm faith. When in the conference he himself turned down all the accusations that the Quraish chiefs were proposing against the Holy Prophet (upon whom be peace), he was compelled to devise an accusation from himself, which could be spread among the Arabs in order to bring a bad name to the Holy Prophet. Then, the way he struggled against his conscience, and the way he devised an accusation at last after a prolonged mental conflict, has been vividly depicted here.
Desc No: 15 This can have two meanings: first, that it will bum to ashes whoever is cast into it, but even after death he will not escape from punishment: he will be given life once again and burnt once again, This very subject has been treated at another place thus: He will neither die in it nor live." (AI-A`la: 13) Another meaning also can be: "It will leave none who has deserved the punishment and it will spare none from being punished. "
Desc No: 16 After saying that it will leave nothing of the body unconsumed, making mention of "scorching of the skin" separately seems to be somewhat unnecessary. But this form of the punishment has been mentioned separately in particular because it is the skin of a man's face and body which actually makes his personality prominent, and it is its ugliness which makes him feel most ill at ease. He is not so grieved at the internal troubles of his body as, for instance, at his face being ugly, or that there should be spots on the skin of the exposed parts of his body, abhorrent to others. That is why it has been said: If the people who feel proud of their personalities in the world because of having handsome faces and splendid bodies, treat the Revelations of Allah mockingly, as did Walid bin al-Mughirah, their faces will be scorched and their skins burnt black.
Desc No: 17 The whole passage from here to "none knows the hosts of your Lord but He Himself", is a parenthetical sentence, which has been inserted here to answer an objection of the disbelievers, who had started mocking it when they heard the Holy Prophet (upon whom be peace) say that 19 keepers had been appointed over Hell. Their objection was: "How strange that, on the one hand, we are told that all human beings, from the time of the Prophet Adam till Resurrection, who disbelieved and committed evil, will be cast into Hell. and, on the other, that there will be only 19 keepers, who will administer punishment to the countless numbers of men in such a huge Hell. " This caused a huge laughter among the chiefs of Quraish. Abu Jahl said: "Brothers, are you so powerless that even as many as ten of you at a time will not be able to overpower a single policeman of Hell?" At this a wrestler of the Bani Jumha said: ` Well I will deal with and overpower at least 17 of them by myself; as for the remaining two, you all together can tackle them. " In response these sentences have been inserted as a parenthetical clause.
Desc No: 18 That is, "It is foolish on your part to compare the angelic powers to human powers. They will be angels, not men, and you cannot imagine what tremendous powers Allah has granted to the angels He has created."
Desc No: 19 That is, "Although apparently there was no need to mention the number of the keepers of Hell, yet We have mentioned it so that it becomes a trial for every such person who may be concealing any kind of unbelief in his heart. Such a man may be making a great display of his faith but if he conceals even a tinge of the doubt about the Godhead and supreme powers of God, or about Revelation and Prophethood, anywhere in his heart, his disbelief would immediately be exposed as soon as he would hear that only 19 policemen would control countless numbers of the culprits from among the jinn and men in such a huge jail and would also administer punishment to each of them individually. "
Desc No: 20 Some commentators have explained it thus: "As in the scriptures of the Jews and Christians themselves also the same number of the angels has been mentioned as keepers of Hell, they would be convinced of this thing's being truly from Allah as soon as they heard it." But in our opinion this commentary is not correct for two reasons. First, we have not been able to see anywhere in the existing scriptures of the Jews and Christians in spite of search that the number of the angels appointed over Hell is 19. Second, there are many things in the Qur'an, which also have been mentioned in the scriptures of the Jews and Christians, yet they explain them away, saying that the Prophet Muhammad (upon whom be Allah's peace and blessings) has plagiarized these from their books. For these reasons the correct meaning of this statement in our opinion is: The Holy Prophet Muhammad (upon whom be Allah's peace and blessings) knew fully well that he would be ridiculed as soon as the disbelievers heard that 19 angels had been appointed over Hell, but in spite of this, he presented without the least hesitation and fear publicly before the people what had been revealed to him from Allah, and did not at all mind the jesting and mocking by the people. The pagans of Arabia were unaware of the unique distinction of the Prophets, but the followers of the earlier scriptures were fully aware that the Prophets in every age used to convey to their people intact whatever they received from God, whether it pleased them or displeased them. On this very basis it was to be expected of the Jews and the Christians that they would be convinced of the Prophet Muhammad's truth for only a Prophet could present an apparently strange thing without any hesitation before the people in an environment charged with antagonism and hostility. This also is evident that such a thing was shown by the Holy Prophet on many other occasions. Its most prominent example is the event of the mi'raj (ascension) which he related openly before a general assembly of the disbelievers and did not at all care how his opponents would behave and react after they had heard the story of the wonderful event.
Desc No: 21 It has been explained at several places in the Qur'an above that on the occasion of every trial when a believer remains steadfast to his faith, and forsaking the way of doubt and denial, disobedience or disloyalty to the faith, adopts the way of faith, obedience and loyalty to it, it increases and strengthens him all the more in faith and resignation (For explanation, see 'Al-Imran: 173, Al-Anfal: 2, At-Taubah: 124125, Al-Ahzab: 22, Al-Fath: 4 and the corresponding E.N.'s).
Desc No: 22 As "sickness of the heart" in the Qur'an is generally understood to imply hypocrisy, seeing this word here some commentators have expressed the view that this verse was revealed at Madinah, for the hypocrites appeared at Madinah. But this view is not correct for several reasons. In the first place, the assertion itself that there were no hypocrites at Makkah is false, and its false-hood has been exposed in the Introduction to the Surah Al-`Ankabut and in its vv. 1011. Secondly, in our opinion it is not a correct way of writing commentary that in respect of a certain sentence occurring in a particular discourse which was revealed on a particular occasion, under particular circumstances, one should declare that it had been sent down on another occasion but has been inserted here without any relevance. The historical background of this part of Surah AlMuddaththir is fully well known to us from authentic traditions. This was revealed in connection with a particular event of the earliest period of the life at Makkah. The whole context bears full relevance to the event. What could, therefore, be the occasion in this context that this one sentence, if it was revealed many years later at Madinah, should have been inserted here? As for the question what is implied by the disease of the heart here, its answer is that it implies the disease of doubt. Not only in Makkah but in the entire world also there have been, and are, very few such people, who might deny God, Hereafter, Revelation, Prophethood, Heaven. Hell, etc. absolutely. In every age the greater majority by far has been of those people, who have been involved in the doubt whether there is God, or no God, Hereafter or no Hereafter, whether Heaven and Hell really exist, or are mere figments of the imagination, and whether the Messengers did really come and receive Revelation or not. This same doubt has led most people to unbelief, otherwise the number of such people in the world who denied these truths absolutely has never been great. For a person who has any common sense knows that there is no rational ground whatever for denying the possibility of the existence of these things, or of declaring them absolutely impossible.
Desc No: 23 This dces not mean that they accepted it as Divine word but wondered why Allah had said such a thing. But what they actually meant was: "A discourse which contained such an irrational and impossible thing could not be a Revelation from Allah."
Desc No: 24 That is, Allah in this very way sometimes sends down in the course of His Revelations and Commandments such things as become a means of test and trial for the people. It is one and the same thing which a truth-loving, good-natured and right-minded person hears and understanding its right meaning in the right way, adopts the straight path, but which when heard by an obstinate, perverse and wilful wrongdoer, makes him to misconstrue it and make it a new excuse for fleeing from the truth. Since the first man is himself a lover of the truth, Allah grants him guidance, for it is not the way of Allah to lead the seekers after truth forcibly astray; and since the second man himself does not want guidance, but chooses only error for himself, Allah also pushes him on to the way of error and deviation, for it is also not the way of Allah to forcibly pull to the way of the truth him who has an aversion to the truth. (The question of Allah's granting guidance and misguidance has been fully explained at many places for example, see E.N.'s 10. 16, 19, 20 of Al-Baqarah; E.N. 173 of An-Nisa', E.N.'s 17, 28, 90 of AlAn`am, E.N. 13 of Yunus, E.N. 54 of Al-Kahf, E..N. 71 of Al-Qasas)
Desc No: 25 That is, none knows but Allah what different kinds and how many of the creatures He has created in the universe, what powers He has granted them, and what services He is taking from them. If the man clinging to the tiny globe of the earth seeing the tiny world around himself with his limited sight, is involved in the misunderstanding that the universe of God contains nothing but what he can perceive by his senses or by his instruments, this would only be his own shortsightedness, other wise this universe is so vast and limitless that it is not in the power of man to obtain full knowledge about any of the things here, not to speak of comprehending mentally the concept of all its vastnesses.
Desc No: 26 "The people may take heed" the people may recover their senses and wake up before they make themselves worthy of Hell and suffer its punishment, and should think of saving themselves from it.
Desc No: 27 That is, it is not a hollow thing which may be mocked like that.
Desc No: 28 That is, "Just as the moon and the night and the day are the great signs of the powers of Allah, so also is Hell a great sign of His powers. If the existence of the moon and the alternation of the night and day so regularly were not impossible, why should the existence of Hell be impossible as you think it is? You see these phenomena day and night; therefore, they do not surprise you: otherwise these things in themselves also are great marvels of the powers of Allah. If you had not observed them and somebody were to tell you that there is also such a thing as the moon in the world, or, there is a sun which leaves the world dark when it hides and makes the world shine forth with light when it appears, then the people like you would have made jests of it too as you make jests of Hell."
Desc No: 29 That is, the people have been warned to this effect. Now, let him who heeds the warning go forward on the right way, and let him who wills still lag behind. "
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