Tafsir of Surah Az-Zumar - Verse 22

The Parable of the Life of this World

Allah tells us that water originates in the sky. This is like the Ayah:

وَأَنزَلْنَا مِنَ السَّمَآءِ مَآءً طَهُوراً

(and We send down pure water from the sky) (25:48). So, Allah sends down water from the sky, and it settles in the earth, then He causes it to flow wherever He wills, and He causes springs, great and small, to flow as needed. Allah says:

فَسَلَكَهُ يَنَابِيعَ فِى الاٌّرْضِ

(and causes it to penetrate the earth, as water springs,) Sa`id bin Jubayr and `Amir Ash-Sha`bi said that all the water on earth has its origins in the sky. Sa`id bin Jubayr said, its origins lie in the snow, meaning that snow piles up in the mountains, then settles at the bottom (of the mountains) and springs flow from the bottom of them.

ثُمَّ يُخْرِجُ بِهِ زَرْعاً مُّخْتَلِفاً أَلْوَانُهُ

(and afterward thereby produces crops of different colors) means, then from the water which comes down from the sky or flows from springs in the earth, He brings forth crops of different colors, i.e., different kinds of forms, tastes, scents, bencfits, etc.

ثُمَّ يَهِـيجُ

(and afterward they wither) means, after they have been ripe and fresh, they become old and you see them turn yellow when they have dried out.

ثُمَّ يَجْعَلُهُ حُطَـماً

(then He makes them dry and broken pieces.) means, then they become brittle.

إِنَّ فِى ذَلِكَ لَذِكْرَى لاٌّوْلِى الاٌّلْبَـبِ

(Verily, in this is a reminder for men of understanding.) means, those who are reminded by this and who learn the lesson from it, that this world is like this -- it is green and fresh and beautiful, then it will become old and ugly. The young man will become a weak, senile old man, and after all of that comes death. The blessed one is the one whose state after death will be good. Allah often likens the life of this world to the way He sends down water from the sky and crops and fruits grow thereby, then they become dry and brittle. This is like the Ayah:

وَاضْرِبْ لَهُم مَّثَلَ الْحَيَوةِ الدُّنْيَا كَمَآءٍ أَنْزَلْنَـهُ مِنَ السَّمَاءِ فَاخْتَلَطَ بِهِ نَبَاتُ الاٌّرْضِ فَأَصْبَحَ هَشِيمًا تَذْرُوهُ الرِّياحُ وَكَانَ اللَّهُ عَلَى كُلِّ شَىْءٍ مُّقْتَدِرًا

(And put forward to them the example of the life of this world: it is like the water (rain) which We send down from the sky, and the vegetation of the earth mingles with it, and becomes fresh and green. But (later) it becomes dry and broken pieces, which the winds scatter. And Allah is able to do everything) (18:45)

The People of Truth and the People of Misguidance are not Equal

أَفَمَن شَرَحَ اللَّهُ صَدْرَهُ لِلإِسْلَـمِ فَهُوَ عَلَى نُورٍ مِّن رَّبِّهِ

(Is he whose breast Allah has opened to Islam, so that he is in light from his Lord) means, is this person equal to the one who is hard-hearted and far from the truth This is like the Ayah:

أَوَمَن كَانَ مَيْتًا فَأَحْيَيْنَـهُ وَجَعَلْنَا لَهُ نُورًا يَمْشِي بِهِ فِى النَّاسِ كَمَن مَّثَلُهُ فِي الظُّلُمَـتِ لَيْسَ بِخَارِجٍ مِّنْهَا كَذَلِكَ

(Is he who was dead and We gave him life and set for him a light (i.e. Belief) whereby he can walk amongst men -- like him who is in the darkness (i.e., disbelief) from which he can never come out) (6:122) Allah says:

فَوَيْلٌ لِّلْقَـسِيَةِ قُلُوبُهُمْ مِّن ذِكْرِ اللَّهِ

(So, woe to those whose hearts are hardened against remembrance of Allah!) meaning, they do not become soft when Allah is mentioned, and they do not feel humility or fear, and they do not understand.

أُوْلَـئِكَ فِى ضَلَـلٍ مُّبِينٍ

(They are in plain error!).

In the first sentence of verse 22, it was said: أَفَمَن شَرَ‌حَ اللَّـهُ صَدْرَ‌هُ لِلْإِسْلَامِ فَهُوَ عَلَىٰ نُورٍ‌ مِّن رَّ‌بِّهِ (So I ask about a person whose heart Allah has opened up for Islam, and consequently he proceeds in a light from his Lord.). The word: شَرَ‌حَ (sharh) literally means to open, enlarge or extend. The expression: شرح الصدر (sharh-us-sadr) means the capacity or capability of the heart (to receive and accommodate input). The sense is that one's heart is capable of learning lessons and receiving benefits by deliberating into Divine signs of creation in the heavens and the earth, particularly so by deliberating in his own creation. Similar is the case with other signs of Allah revealed in the form of scriptures and injunctions. One's heart also has to have the ability to deliberate in them and be benefited by them. In contrast, there is a heart that is straightened or hardened. The statement in a verse of the Qur'an: يَجْعَلْ صَدْرَ‌هُ ضَيِّقًا حَرَ‌جًا He makes his heart narrow, much too narrow - Al-An am, 6:125) and the one in the next verse at this place: لِّلْقَاسِيَةِ قُلُوبُهُم "woe to those whose hearts are too hard to remember Allah - 39:22" has appeared in contrast to this very 'sharh-us-sadr' (a heart opened to acceptance of truth and at ease with it).

According to a narration from Sayyidna ` Abdullah Ibn Masud ؓ ، when the Holy Prophet ﷺ recited this verse: أَفَمَن شَرَ‌حَ اللَّـهُ صَدْرَ‌هُ (Is it not that, a person for whom Allah opens up his heart...), we asked him about the meaning of 'sharh-us-sadr'. He said, "when the light of 'iman (faith) enters the human heart, it enhances its capacity (which makes the comprehension and implementation of Divine commandments easy on the person concerned)." We submitted, 'ya rasulallah, what is the sign of it (that is, of 'sharh-us-sadr' )?' Then, he said:

الانابۃ الی دار الخلود والتجافی عن دارالغرور و اتأھب لموت قبل نزولہ ۔ رواہ الحاکم رفی المستدرک ولبیھقی فی شعب الایمان ۔ (روح المعانی)

"Longing passionately for the eternal home, and seeking refuge from the deceptive abode, and preparing for death before its arrival." - Reported by al-Hakim in al-Mustadrak and al-Baihaqi in Shu` ab-u1-'iman (Ruh-ul-Ma’ ani).

The verse under study has been initiated as headed by an interrogative particle: اَفمَن (afaman). The sense it carries can be explained by saying: 'Can a person whose heart has been opened up for Islam - and he is on the light coming from his Lord, that is, does everything under it - and another person with a hardened heart be equal?' The contrasting part relating to the hardened heart has been mentioned in the next verse with a warning of woeful punishment attached to it.

In this verse (22), it was said: فَوَيْلٌ لِّلْقَاسِيَةِ قُلُوبُهُم (woe to those whose hearts are too hard to remember Allah). The word: الْقَاسِيَةِ (al-qasiyah) is a derivation from: قَسَاوَت (qasawah) which means to be hard-hearted, having no mercy for anyone, and also the one who remains totally unaffected by the need to remember Allah and follow His injunctions.

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.