Tafsir of Surah Fussilat - Verse 38

From among the Signs of Allah

Here Allah reminds His Creation of His power, and that He is the One Who has no equal, and He is Able to do all things. Allah's saying;

وَمِنْ ءَايَـتِهِ الَّيْلُ وَالنَّهَارُ وَالشَّمْسُ وَالْقَمَرُ

(And from among His signs are the night and the day, and the sun and the moon.) means, He created the night with its darkness and the day with its light, and they alternate without ceasing. And He created the sun with its shining light, and the moon with its reflected light. and He allotted their stages and gave them separate orbits in the heavens, so that by the variations in their movements man may know the stages of night and day, of weeks, months and years, and time periods related to people's rights, acts of worship and various transactions. Moreover, because the sun and moon are the most beautiful of the heavenly bodies that can be seen in both the upper and lower realms, Allah points out that they are created entities which are in a state of enthrallment to Him, subject to His dominion and control. So He says:

لاَ تَسْجُدُواْ لِلشَّمْسِ وَلاَ لِلْقَمَرِ وَاسْجُدُواْ لِلَّهِ الَّذِى خَلَقَهُنَّ إِن كُنتُمْ إِيَّاهُ تَعْبُدُونَ

(Do not prostrate yourselves to the sun nor to the moon, but prostrate yourselves to Allah Who created them, if you (really) worship Him.) meaning, `do not associate anything in worship with Him, for your worship of Him will be of no benefit to you if you worship others alongside Him, because He does not forgive the association of others in worship with Him.' He says:

فَإِنِ اسْتَكْبَرُواْ

(But if they are too proud, ) i.e., to worship Him Alone, and they insist on associating others with Him,

فَالَّذِينَ عِندَ رَبِّكَ

(then there are those who are with your Lord) i.e., the angels,

يُسَبِّحُونَ لَهُ بِاللَّيْلِ وَالنَّهَارِ وَهُمْ لاَ يَسْـَمُونَ

(glorify Him night and day, and never are they tired.) This is like the Ayah:

فَإِن يَكْفُرْ بِهَا هَـؤُلاءِ فَقَدْ وَكَّلْنَا بِهَا قَوْماً لَّيْسُواْ بِهَا بِكَـفِرِينَ

(But if these disbelieve therein, then, indeed We have entrusted it to a people who are not disbelievers therein.) (6:89).

وَمِنْ ءَايَـتِهِ

(And among His signs) means, signs of His ability to bring the dead back to life.

أَنَّكَ تَرَى الاٌّرْضَ خَـشِعَةً

(that you see the earth barren,) means, lifeless, with nothing growing in it; it is dead.

فَإِذَآ أَنزَلْنَا عَلَيْهَا الْمَآءَ اهْتَزَّتْ وَرَبَتْ

(but when We send down water (rain) to it, it is stirred to life and growth.) means, it brings forth all kinds of crops and fruits.

إِنَّ الَّذِى أَحْيَـهَا لَمُحْىِ الْمَوْتَى إِنَّهُ عَلَى كُلِّ شَىْءٍ قَدِيرٌ

(Verily, He Who gives it life, surely is able to give life to the dead. Indeed He is Able to do all things.)

وَهُمْ لَا يَسْأَمُونَ (and they do not get weary. - 38) This is one of the verses called ` Verses of sajdah' the recitation of which makes it obligatory to perform sajdah (prostration) for the one who recites them and the one who listens to them. This sajdah is called sajdah of tilawah. There is consensus of the Ummah on the point that sajdah of tilawah is wajib (obligatory) in this Surah, but the scholars differ regarding the exact place where it becomes wajib. Qadi Abu Bakr Ibn-ul-` Arabi has written in Ahkam-ul-Qur'an that Sayyidna ` Aliand Sayyidna Ibn Masud ؓ used to prostrate at the end of the verse 37 i.e. at the end ofإِن كُنتُمْ إِيَّاهُ تَعْبُدُونَ (if it is Him whom you worship.) Imam Malik has adopted this very stance. Sayyidna Ibn ` Abbas ؓ ، however, used to prostrate at the end of the verse 38 i.e. at the end of لَا يَسْأَمُونَ ۩ (and they do not get weary.)

Sayyidna ` Abdullah Ibn ` Umar ؓ has also advised prostration at this place. Masruq, Abu ` Abdur Rahman Sulami, Ibrahim Nakha` i, Ibn Sirin, Qatadah, etc., and most jurists used to prostrate at verse 38, i.e. at the end of لَا يَسْأَمُونَ ۩. Imam Abu Bakr Jassas has said in Ahkam-ul-Qur'an that this has been the view of all the leading Hanafi scholars. He has further said that in view of the differences, it is on the safer side to prostrate at the end of the verse 38, because even if prostration becomes wajib at the end of the verse 37, then the obligation would be discharged if it is performed after the recitation of the verse 38, and if it becomes wajib at the verse 38, then, the discharge of obligation (if it is performed after verse 38) is more obvious.

The greatest human blunder is having regard for outward appearances. In ancient times, the sun, the moon and stars appeared quite dazzling to man, so he took them as deities and started worshipping them. In the present age, it is the glamour of the material side of civilization which appears dazzling. So, materialism has now been given the same status as was enjoyed in former times by the sun and the moon, though the sun, the moon and other phenomena are all creations of God. A man should worship the Creator and not His creations. The arrogance of the proud is not related to the call of Truth but to the preacher giving that call. It appears to the leaders of an age that the preacher of Truth is smaller in stature than themselves and that therefore the message conveyed by him is also of lesser import.