Tafsir of Surah Fussilat - Verse 54

The Qur'an and the Proofs of its Truth Allah says:

قُلْ

(Say) -- `O Muhammad, to these idolators who disbelieve in the Qur'an'--

أَرَءَيْتُمْ إِن كَانَ

(Tell me, if it) -- this Qur'an --

مِنْ عِندِ اللَّهِ ثُمَّ كَفَرْتُمْ بِهِ

(is from Allah, and you disbelieve in it) means, `what do you think your position is before the One Who revealed it to His Messenger' Allah says:

مَنْ أَضَلُّ مِمَّنْ هُوَ فِى شِقَاقٍ بَعِيدٍ

(Who is more astray than one who is in opposition far away.) means, he is in a state of disbelief, stubbornness and opposition to the truth, and is following a path that leads far away from guidance. Then Allah says:

سَنُرِيهِمْ ءَايَـتِنَا فِى الاٌّفَاقِ وَفِى أَنفُسِهِمْ

(We will show them Our signs in the universe, and within themselves,) meaning, `We will show them Our evidence and proof that the Qur'an is true and has indeed been sent down from Allah to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ , through external signs,

فِى الاٌّفَاقِ

(in the universe), ' such as conquests and the advent of Islam over various regions and over all other religions. Mujahid, Al-Hasan and As-Suddi said, "And signs within themselves means, the battle of Badr, the conquest of Makkah, and other events which befell them, where Allah granted victory to Muhammad ﷺ and his Companions, and inflicted a humiliating defeat on falsehood and its followers." It may also be that what is meant here is man and his physical composition. As detailed in the science of anatomy, which indicates the wisdom of the Creator -- may He be blessed and exalted -- and the different inclinations and opposite natures that people have, good and bad, etc., and the (divine) decrees to which man is subjected, having no power to change and over which he has no control.

حَتَّى يَتَبَيَّنَ لَهُمْ أَنَّهُ الْحَقُّ أَوَلَمْ يَكْفِ بِرَبِّكَ أَنَّهُ عَلَى كُلِّ شَىْءٍ شَهِيدٌ

(until it becomes manifest to them that this (the Qur'an) is the truth. Is it not sufficient in regard to your Lord that He is a Witness over all things) means, sufficient is Allah as a Witness over the words and deeds of His servants, and He bears witness that Muhammad ﷺ is telling the truth in what he says, as Allah says:

لَّـكِنِ اللَّهُ يَشْهَدُ بِمَآ أَنزَلَ إِلَيْكَ أَنزَلَهُ بِعِلْمِهِ

(But Allah bears witness to that which He has sent down unto you; He has sent it down with His knowledge) (4:166).

أَلاَ إِنَّهُمْ فِى مِرْيَةٍ مِّن لِّقَآءِ رَبِّهِمْ

(Lo, Verily, they are in doubt concerning the meeting with their Lord.) means, they doubt that the Hour will come, they do not think about it or strive for it or pay heed to it; on the contrary, they regard it as irrelevant and do not care about it. But it will undoubtedly come to pass. Then Allah states that He is Able to do all things and He encompasses all things, and it is very easy for Him to bring about the Hour:

أَلاَ إِنَّهُ بِكُلِّ شَىْءٍ مُّحِيطُ

(Verily, He is surrounding all things!) means, all of creation is subject to His control, dominion and knowledge; He is controlling all things by His power, so whatever He wills happens, and whatever He does not will does not happen, and there is no god worthy of worship apart from Him. This is the end of the Tafsir of Surah Fussilat. To Allah be praise and blessings.

سَنُرِ‌يهِمْ آيَاتِنَا فِي الْآفَاقِ وَفِي أَنفُسِهِمْ (We will show them Our signs in the universe and within their own beings - 53). The word "Afaq' used in the text literally means ` horizons' which includes all sides of the whole universe. (That is why it is translated above as ` universe' ) In other words, if one looks at the creatures and creations of the whole universe, big and small, in the skies, on the earth and in between them, they all bear witness not only to the existence of Allah Ta’ ala, but also to His Knowledge, His all-encompassing authority, and to His being One and unique. If one looks even nearer, at one's own self, at each organ and limb, at the fine and fragile mechanisms and systems functioning inside him to provide ease and comfort, it simply leaves one wondering. And these fragile mechanisms and systems have been made so durable that they do not wear out even after seventy, eighty year's use. Look at the springs inside the joints. Had they been made of steel by humans, they would have been rendered unserviceable long ago. Look at the skin of the hands and then lines made thereon that last for the whole life, and yet do not wear out. If a person of even an ordinary intellect ponders over these matters, he is bound to believe that the Creator and Sustainer of all these things is a Being who has limitless knowledge and Authority, and there simply cannot be anyone like Him.l

(1). The words used in the text are, "We will show them Our signs" which indicate that the signs of Allah's power and majesty that have been manifested to the mankind so far are not the only signs of Allah. In fact Allah Ta ala will continue to show His signs, both in the universe and in man's own creation, up to the Day of Judgment. Thus the present verse covers all the new discoveries of science that man is able to reach till the end of the universe.

Alhamdulillah

the commentary on

Surah Hameem As-Sajdah

ends here.

The story of all the people inhabiting this world is the story of the present. No story is the story of the future, because nobody’s future could ratify its present. In such a world it was forecast by the Quran about itself one thousand five hundred years ago that the events and facts occurring after its advent would go on testifying to the correctness of the Quran. In the ensuing ages, the Quran will not only maintain its veracity, but will become clearer and more rationally established. The Quran will always be ‘the book of the hour’. All these forecasts in respect of the Quran have proved, quite wonderfully, to be one hundred per cent correct. Academic research, historical events and revolutions throughout the ages, have all built up evidence in favour of the Quran, so much so that even non-Muslim research has borne testimony to the fact that, in view of its rare qualities, the Quran itself provides the proof of its being a Book of God. No human writing can possess such eternal qualities. Those who do not bow down before the veracity of the Quran, in spite of this clear reality, simply prove that their audacity has made them lacking in seriousness; it is only frivolous people who can indulge in the unreasonable behaviour of not accepting reality, in spite of clear evidence in support of it.