Tafsir of Surah Ash-Shu'ara' - Verse 204

The Deniers will never believe until They see the Torment

Allah says: `thus We caused denial, disbelief, rejection and stubbornness to enter the hearts of the sinners.'

لاَ يُؤْمِنُونَ بِهِ

(They will not believe in it), i.e., the truth,

حَتَّى يَرَوُاْ الْعَذَابَ الاٌّلِيمَ

(until they see the painful torment.) means, when their excuses will be of no avail, and the curse will be upon them, and theirs will be an evil abode.

فَيَأْتِيَهُم بَغْتَةً

(It shall come to them of a sudden,) means, the punishment of Allah will come upon them suddenly,

وَهُمْ لاَ يَشْعُرُونَفَيَقُولُواْ هَلْ نَحْنُ مُنظَرُونَ

(while they perceive it not. Then they will say: "Can we be respited") means, when they see the punishment, then they will wish they had a little more time so that they can obey Allah -- or so they claim. This is like the Ayah:

وَأَنذِرِ النَّاسَ يَوْمَ يَأْتِيهِمُ الْعَذَابُ

(And warn mankind of the Day when the torment will come unto them) until:

مَا لَكُمْ مِّن زَوَالٍ

(that you would not leave) (14: 44). When every sinner and evildoer sees his punishment, he will feel intense regret. Such was the case of Fir`awn, when Musa prayed against him:

رَبَّنَآ إِنَّكَ ءاتَيْتَ فِرْعَوْنَ وَمَلاّهُ زِينَةً وَأَمْوَالاً فِى الْحَيَوةِ الدُّنْيَا

(Our Lord! "You have indeed bestowed on Fir`awn and his chiefs splendor and wealth in the life of this world) until:

قَالَ قَدْ أُجِيبَتْ دَّعْوَتُكُمَا

((Allah) said: "Verily, the invocation of you both is accepted.") (10:88-89). This supplication had an effect on Fir`awn: he did not believe until he saw the painful torment:

حَتَّى إِذَآ أَدْرَكَهُ الْغَرَقُ قَالَ ءَامَنتُ أَنَّهُ لا إِلِـهَ إِلاَّ الَّذِى ءَامَنَتْ بِهِ بَنواْ إِسْرَءِيلَ

(till when drowning overtook him, he said: "I believe that none has the right to be worshipped but He in Whom the Children of Israel believe.") until:

وَكُنتَ مِنَ الْمُفْسِدِينَ

(and you were one of the mischief-makers) (10:90-91). And Allah says:

فَلَمَّا رَأَوْاْ بَأْسَنَا قَالُواْ ءَامَنَّا بِاللَّهِ وَحْدَهُ

(so when they saw Our punishment, they said: "We believe in Allah Alone...") (40:84-85).

أَفَبِعَذَابِنَا يَسْتَعْجِلُونَ

(Would they then wish for Our torment to be hastened on) This is a denunciation and a threat, because they used to say to the Messenger, by way of denial, thinking it unlikely ever to happen:

ائْتِنَا بِعَذَابِ اللَّهِ

(Bring Allah's torment upon us) (29:29). This is as Allah said:

وَيَسْتَعْجِلُونَكَ بِالْعَذَابِ

(And they ask you to hasten on the torment...) (29:53-55). Then Allah says:

أَفَرَأَيْتَ إِن مَّتَّعْنَـهُمْ سِنِينَ - ثُمَّ جَآءَهُم مَّا كَانُواْ يُوعَدُونَ - مَآ أَغْنَى عَنْهُمْ مَّا كَانُواْ يُمَتَّعُونَ

(Think, if We do let them enjoy for years, and afterwards comes to them that which they had been promised, all that with which they used to enjoy shall not avail them.) meaning, `even if We delay the matter and give them respite for a short while or for a long time, then the punishment of Allah comes upon them, what good will their life of luxury do them then'

كَأَنَّهُمْ يَوْمَ يَرَوْنَهَا لَمْ يَلْبَثُواْ إِلاَّ عَشِيَّةً أَوْ ضُحَـهَا

(The Day they see it, (it will be) as if they had not tarried (in this world) except an afternoon or a morning) (79:46). And Allah says:

يَوَدُّ أَحَدُهُمْ لَوْ يُعَمَّرُ أَلْفَ سَنَةٍ وَمَا هُوَ بِمُزَحْزِحِهِ مِنَ الْعَذَابِ أَن يُعَمَّرَ

(Everyone of them wishes that he could be given a life of a thousand years. But the grant of such life will not save him even a little from punishment) (2:96).

وَمَا يُغْنِى عَنْهُ مَالُهُ إِذَا تَرَدَّى

(And what will his wealth avail him when he goes down) (92:11) Allah says here:

مَآ أَغْنَى عَنْهُمْ مَّا كَانُواْ يُمَتَّعُونَ

(All that with which they used to enjoy shall not avail them.) According to an authentic Hadith:

«يُؤْتَى بِالْكَافِرِ فَيُغْمَسُ فِي النَّارِ غَمْسَةً ثُمَّ يُقَالُ لَهُ: هَلْ رَأَيْتَ خَيْرًا قَطُّ؟ هَلْ رَأَيْتَ نَعِيمًا قَطُّ؟ فَيَقُولُ: لَا وَاللهِ يَا رَبِّ، وَيُؤتَى بِأَشَدِّ النَّاسِ بُؤْسًا كَانَ فِي الدُّنْيَا، فَيُصْبَغُ فِي الْجَنَّةِ صَبْغَةً، ثُمَّ يُقَالُ لَهُ::َهلْ رَأَيْتَ بُؤْسًا قَطُّ؟ فَيَقُولُ: لَا وَاللهِ يَا رَب»

(The disbelievers will be brought and once dipped into the Fire, then it will be said to him: "Did you ever see anything good Did you ever see anything good" He will say, "No, O Lord!" Then the most miserable person who ever lived on earth will be brought, and he will be put in Paradise for a brief spell, then it will be said to him, "Did you ever see anything bad" He will say, "No, O Lord.") meaning: as if nothing ever happened. Then Allah tells us of His justice towards His creation, in that He does not destroy any nation until after He has left them with no excuse, by warning them, sending Messengers to them and establishing proof against them. He says:

وَمَآ أَهْلَكْنَا مِن قَرْيَةٍ إِلاَّ لَهَا مُنذِرُونَ

ذِكْرَى وَمَا كُنَّا ظَـلِمِينَ

(And never did We destroy a township but it had its warners by way of reminder, and We have never been unjust.) This is like the Ayat:

وَمَا كُنَّا مُعَذِّبِينَ حَتَّى نَبْعَثَ رَسُولاً

(And We never punish until We have sent a Messenger) (17:15).

وَمَا كَانَ رَبُّكَ مُهْلِكَ الْقُرَى حَتَّى يَبْعَثَ فِى أُمِّهَا رَسُولاً يَتْلُو عَلَيْهِمْ ءَايَـتِنَا

(And never will your Lord destroy the towns until He sends to their mother town a Messenger reciting to them Our Ayat.) until;

وَأَهْلُهَا ظَـلِمُونَ

(the people thereof are wrongdoers) (28:59).

Commentary

Qur’ an is the name of the collection of its words and meanings

نَزَلَ بِهِ الرُّ‌وحُ الْأَمِينُ ﴿193﴾ عَلَىٰ قَلْبِكَ لِتَكُونَ مِنَ الْمُنذِرِ‌ينَ ﴿194﴾ بِلِسَانٍ عَرَ‌بِيٍّ مُّبِينٍ ﴿195﴾ وَإِنَّهُ لَفِي زُبُرِ‌ الْأَوَّلِينَ ﴿196﴾

It is brought by the Trusted Spirit down [ 193] to your heart, so that you become one of the warners [ 194] in plain Arabic language. [ 195] And of course, it is (mentioned) in the scriptures of the former people. [ 196]

The words بِلِسَانٍ عَرَ‌بِيٍّ مُّبِينٍ (in plain Arabic language - 195) in these verses makes it clear that Qur'an is only that which is in Arabic language. Any translation of a passage or the whole of Qur'an in any language cannot be called Qur'an. But the next sentence وَإِنَّهُ لَفِي زُبُرِ‌ الْأَوَّلِينَ (And of course, it is [ mentioned ] in the scriptures of the former people - 196) does not seem to be in consonance with it, because the pronoun 'it' is apparently refers to the Qur'an and means that the Qur'an was also in the earlier scriptures, i.e. in Torah, Injil and Zabur. It is also well known that the earlier books, namely Torah, Injil and Zabur, were not in the Arabic language. Hence the inclusion of the meanings of Qur’ an in them is referred in this verse as ` Qur'an'. Answer to this apparent contradiction is that according to majority of the Ummah, sometimes even the subject matter of the Qur’ an is called Qur'an in a general sense, because the real purpose of a book is the subjects it deals with. The statement that earlier books also contained Qur'an is in this sense only that they included some Qur'anic subjects. This statement is also endorsed by many narrations of hadith.

Sayyidna Maquil ibn Yasar ؓ has reported a Hadith in Mustadrak of Hakim that the Holy Prophet ﷺ has said that Surah Al-Baqarah was given to him from ` adh-dhikr al-'awwal', and Surah Taha, Tawasin طوسین all Surahs starting from Tasin) and Hawamim حَوَامیم (all Surahs beginning with Ha) were given from the tablets of Sayyidna Musa (علیہ السلام) ، while Surah Al-Fatihah was given to him from under the Arsh عَرش (the great Throne). Tabarani, Hakim, Baihaqi etc. have reported on the authority of Sayyidna Abdullah ibn Masud ؓ that Surah Al-Mulk is present in Torah as well. (Al-Hadith). The Surah سَبِّحِ اسْمَ رَ‌بِّكَ الْأَعْلَى has itself said, إِنَّ هَـٰذَا لَفِي الصُّحُفِ الْأُولَىٰ صُحُفِ إِبْرَ‌اهِيمَ وَمُوسَىٰ (87:18, 19) that is these subjects have also appeared in the books of Sayyidna Ibrahim (علیہ السلام) and Sayyidna Musa (علیہ السلام) .

The gist of all these verses and narrations is that many a subjects of the Qur'an were also covered in the earlier books as well. But it does not jean that those parts of the earlier books in which the Qur'anic subjects were covered are given the name of Qur'an. No one in the Ummah is of the opinion that those parts of the earlier books, be called Qur'an. Instead the majority of Ummah believes that Qur'an is the name not only of its wordings but also of its meanings. If someone picks up some of the Quranic words from different places and put them together to make a passage like الحمد للہ العزیز الرّحیم الَّذی لہ ملک السَّمٰوٰت و ھو رَبّ العٰلمین خالق کُلّ شیٔ وھو الْمُسْتَعَانُ , it will not be called Qur'an, despite the fact that all these words are taken from the Qur'an. Likewise, only the meanings of Qur'an, irrespective of the language they are rendered in, cannot be regarded as Qur'an.

Reciting translation of Qur’ an in prayers is not allowed by consensus of Ummah

The whole Ummah is unanimous on the rule that reciting the translation of the Qur'an in any other language like Urdu, Persian, English etc. is not sufficient for discharging the obligation of recitation in Sala, except in a case of extreme necessity. The jurists who are reported to have relaxed this rule have, later on, changed their view.

Urdu translation of Qur’ an is not allowed to be called Urdu Qur’ an

If only the translation of the Qur'an is written in any language without the Arabic text, it cannot be called the Qur'an. Some people call the Urdu translation of the Qur'an as Urdu Qur'an, or the English translation of the Qur'an as English Qur'an. It is not right and amounts to disrespect of the Holy Book. Printing, calling or trading of something in the name of Qur'an, without the Arabic text of the Qur'an, is not permitted. This subject is dealt with in detail in my treatise (تحذیر الاخوان عن تغییر رسم القرآن)

When, on behalf of God, the call for Truth appears at the level of a prophet, it appears in its final and perfect shape. That is why it becomes necessary for God’s punishment to visit any community which denies the prophet. However, until this punishment is actually administered, man considers himself safe from it. In order to prove the divine call baseless, he adopts various tactics. Sometimes he derides the prophet’s personality and sometimes he calls the Divine revelation brought by him spurious. Sometimes he says that if God is against them, why does He not punish them? The only responsibility of the prophet, or the preacher acting on behalf of the prophet, is that he should make the people aware of the Truth. All matters over and above that are the responsibility of God and He shows them this when He wills.