Surah 40. Ghafir

when they shall have to carry the shackles and chains [of their own making] around their necks,⁵² and are dragged

  - Mohammad Asad

For an explanation of the allegory of "shackles" and "chains", see note [13] on 13:5 , note [44] on the last but one sentence of 34:33 , and notes [6] and [7] on 36:8 .

when, with yokes and chains around their necks, they shall be dragged

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

when shackles will be around their necks and chains 'on their legs'. They will be dragged

  - Mustafa Khattab

When carcans are about their necks and chains. They are dragged

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

When the yokes (shall be) round their necks and the chains; they shall be dragged along ⁴⁴⁴⁸

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

The rejection of Allah's Message, however brought, carries its own penalty. The yoke of slavery to Sin and Evil is fastened more and more firmly round the rejecter's neck, because there is no one to safeguard his freedom, and the chains of superstitions and the ugly consequences of evil restrict his freedom and the limited faculty of choice which was given by Allah to man. This process receives its climax at the Hour of Judgment.

into burning despair, and in the end become fuel for the fire [of hell].⁵³

  - Mohammad Asad

Thus Mujahid (as quoted by Tabari) explains the verb yusjarun. As regards my rendering of hamim as "burning despair", see surah {6}, note [62].

through scalding fluid and burned in the fire of hell.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

through boiling water, then burned in the Fire 'as fuel'.

  - Mustafa Khattab

Through boiling waters; then they are thrust into the Fire.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

In the boiling fetid fluid then in the Fire shall they be burned; ⁴⁴⁴⁹

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

The sinner gets dragged further and further in the disgusting consequences of his evil actions, until the fire of destruction closes in upon him.

And then they will be asked: "Where now are those [powers] to which you were wont to ascribe divinity

  - Mohammad Asad

Then they shall be asked: "Where are those gods whom you invoked in worship

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Then they will be asked, 'Where are those 'idols' you used to associate

  - Mustafa Khattab

Then it is said unto them: Where are (all) that ye used to make partners (in the Sovereignty)

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Then shall it be said to them: "Where are the (deities) to which ye gave part-worship

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

side by side with God?" They will answer: "They have forsaken us - or, rather, what we were wont to invoke aforetime did not exist at all!"⁵⁴ [And they will be told:] "It is thus that God lets the deniers of the truth go astray: ⁵⁵

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "we have not been invoking aforetime any [real] thing": thus realizing, belatedly, the intrinsic nothingness of all those imaginary powers and values - including the belief in man's alleged self-sufficiency and greatness - to which they paid homage in life.

I.e., by allowing them to pursue illusions and foolish fancies in consequence of their unwillingness to acknowledge the self-evident truth of God's existence and uniqueness and of man's utter dependence on Him. For a discussion of the problem of God's "letting" a sinner go astray, see note [4] on 14:4 .

besides Allah?" They will answer: "They have forsaken us, now we have come to know that those to whom we used to invoke, were in fact nothing." Thus Allah confounds the disbelievers.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

with Allah?' They will cry, 'They have 'all' failed us. In fact, we did not invoke anything 'real' before.' This is how Allah leaves the disbelievers to stray.

  - Mustafa Khattab

Beside Allah? They say: They have failed us: but we used not to pray to anything before. Thus doth Allah send astray the disbelievers (in His guidance).

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

"In derogation of Allah?" They will reply: "They have left us in the lurch: nay we invoked not of old anything (that had real existence)." Thus does Allah leave the Unbelievers to stray. ⁴⁴⁵⁰

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

All falsehoods will vanish: Cf. vii. 36. The only Reality will be fully manifest even to those to whom Evil was made to seem alluring in the lower life. They will feel in their inmost souls that they had been pursuing mere shadows, things of no real existence. This was the result of their rejecting the Light and the Grace of Allah: they got entangled in the mazes of error.

this is an outcome of your having arrogantly exulted on earth without any [concern for what is] right, and of your having been so full of self-conceit!

  - Mohammad Asad

It will be said: "You have met this fate because during your life on earth, you took delight in things other than the truth and you led a wanton life.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

'They will be told,' 'This 'punishment' is for being prideful on earth unjustly and for acting arrogantly.

  - Mustafa Khattab

(And it is said unto them): This is because ye exulted in the earth without right, and because ye were petulant.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

"That was because ye were wont to rejoice on the earth in things other than the Truth and that ye were wont to be insolent. ⁴⁴⁵¹

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Allah does not withdraw His grace from any unless (1) they actively and deliberately take a delight in things that are vain or false, and (2) they insolently reject the things that are truer-in other words, unless men are deliberately false to their own lights, as illuminated by the Light of Allah.

Enter [now] the gates of hell, therein to abide: and how vile an abode for all who are given to false pride!"

  - Mohammad Asad

Now enter the gates of hell to live therein forever. What an evil abode will be for the arrogant!"

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Enter the gates of Hell, to stay there forever. What an evil home for the arrogant!'

  - Mustafa Khattab

Enter ye the gates of hell, to dwell therein. Evil is the habitation of the scornful.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

"Enter ye the gates of Hell to dwell therein: and evil is (this) abode of the arrogant!" ⁴⁴⁵²

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Cf. xxxix. 72.

HENCE, remain thou patient in adversity - for, verily, God's promise always comes true. And whether We show thee [in this world] something of what We hold in store for those [deniers of the truth], or whether We cause thee to die [ere that retribution takes place - know that, in the end], it is unto Us that they will be brought back.⁵⁶

  - Mohammad Asad

See the almost identical passage in 10:46 , as well as the corresponding notes [66] and [67].

So be patient, O Prophet, Allah's promise is true. Whether We let you witness the evil consequences with which they are being threatened, or We recall you before We smite them, in any case, they shall all return to Us.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

So be patient 'O Prophet'. Surely Allah's promise is true. Whether We show you some of what We threaten them with, or cause you to die 'before that', to Us they will 'all' be returned.

  - Mustafa Khattab

Then have patience (O Muhammad). Lo! the promise of Allah is true. And whether we let thee see a part of that which We promise them, or (whether) We cause thee to die, still unto us they will be brought back.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

So persevere in patience! For the Promise of Allah is true: and whether We show thee (in this life) some part of what We promise them or We take thy soul (to Our Mercy) (Before that) (in any case) it is to Us that they shall (all) return. ⁴⁴⁵³

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Cf. x. 46, and n. 1438. As the eventual justice and readjustment of values must take place, when every soul retums to the Judgment-Seat of Allah, it makes no difference if good and evil meet their deserts in this very life or not. Cf. also xiii. 40.

And, indeed, [O Muhammad,] We sent forth apostles before thy time, some of them We have mentioned to thee,⁵⁷ and some of them We have not mentioned to thee. And it was not given to any apostle to bring forth a miracle other than by God's leave.⁵⁸ Yet when God's will becomes manifest,⁵⁹ judgment will [already] have been passed in all justice, and lost will be, then and there, all who tried to reduce to nothing [whatever they could not understand].⁶⁰

  - Mohammad Asad

I.e., in the Qur'an.

See 6:109 - "Miracles are in the power of God alone" - and the corresponding note [94]. Both passages (6:109 and the present one) relate to the futile demand of Muhammad's opponents to be shown a miracle in proof of the divine origin of the Qur'an - the implication being that it is not God's will to convince the deniers of the truth by means of what is commonly regarded as miracles ".

Lit., "when God's command comes", i.e., whether it be in this world or on the Day of Judgment: a reference to the retribution spoken of in verse {77} above.

I.e., in this case, divine revelation as such. For the above rendering of al-mubtilun, see note [47] on the last sentence of 29:48 .

O Prophet, We have sent many Rasools before you; of them there are some whose stories We have relayed to you and others whose stories We have not relayed to you. It was not possible for any of those Rasools to bring a sign except by the leave of Allah. Then when the command of Allah came, the matter was decided with justice, and it was the wrongdoers who suffered the loss.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

We already sent messengers before you. We have told you the stories of some of them, while others We have not. It was not for any messenger to bring a sign without Allah's permission. But when Allah's decree comes, judgment will be passed with fairness, and the people of falsehood will then be in 'total' loss.

  - Mustafa Khattab

Verily We sent messengers before thee, among them those of whom We have told thee, and some of whom We have not told thee; and it was not given to any messenger that he should bring a portent cave by Allah's leave, but when Allah's commandment cometh (the cause) is judged aright, and the followers of vanity will then be lost.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

We did aforetime send apostles before thee: of them there are some whose story We have related to thee and some whose story We have not related to thee. It was not (possible) for any apostle to bring a Sign except by the leave of Allah: but when the Command of Allah issued the matter was decided in truth and justice and there perished there and then those who stood on Falsehoods. ^{4454 4455}

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Cf. iv. 164. Allah sent Messengers of His Truth to every people. There are some whose names are known to us through the holy Qur-an, but there are a large number whose names are not made known to us through that medium. We must recognise the Truth wherever we find it.

The Signs of Allah are everywhere, and can be seen by the discerning eye at all times. But if any extraordinary Signs are demanded by cynics or Unbelievers, they will not be granted merely because they are demanded. It is Allah's Will that issues them, not merely the desire of human beings, even if he be a Messenger of Allah. But when an extraordinary Sign does issue by the Command of Allah, it means that the cup of the iniquitous is full; that their case is decided, and their time of respite is past; and that Justice takes the place of Mercy, and evil is blotted out.

It is God who [at all times works wonders for you ⁶¹ thus, He] provides for you [all manner of] livestock, so that on some of them you may ride, and from some derive your food,

  - Mohammad Asad

I.e., by providing in a wondrous manner the means of man's subsistence, and by endowing him with the miracle of a creative intellect which enables him to make fruitful use of so many natural phenomena. (This passage connects with the statement implied in verse {78} that "miracles are in the power of God alone": see note [58].)

It is Allah Who has provided you with cattle, that you may use some for riding and some for food;

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

It is Allah Who made cattle for you so that you may ride some and eat others.

  - Mustafa Khattab

Allah it is Who hath appointed for you cattle, that ye may ride on some of them, and eat of some--

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

It is Allah Who made cattle for you that ye may use some for riding and some for food; ⁴⁴⁵⁶

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Cf. xvi. 5-8. The fact that beasts, which in their wild state are so noxious, are, when domesticated, so useful to man, is itself one of the great and standing Signs of Allah's care for man. The great usefulness of cattle is very instructive. They serve for riding, and many of them for food; further, they are used for the plough, and they produce milk, or wool, or hair; and from their carcases man derives bones and horns for many industrial uses; but passing on to higher aspects of life, they further social, moral, and spiritual uses as draught-animals, in that transport serves one of the fundamental purposes of civilisation, being in this respect like ships for international commerce: xxx. 46, and n. 3565. It is by means of human intercourse through transport that we can carry out the highest needs of our culture, "any need there may be in our hearts", i.e., in our inner being.

and find [yet other] benefits in them;⁶² and that through them you may attain to the fulfilment of [many] a heartfelt need:⁶³ for on them, as on ships, you are borne [through life].

  - Mohammad Asad

The "other benefits" are both concrete and abstract in their nature: concrete benefits like wool, skins, etc., and abstract ones like beauty (cf. {16:6-8}, as well as Solomon's reverence for the God-created beauty of horses expressed in {38:31-33}) or the all-time companionship of man and dog symbolized in the legend of the Men of the Cave ( 18:18 and {22}).

Lit., "a need in your bosoms" [or "hearts"]: i.e., a genuine need.

and there are also other advantages in them for you; they take you where you wish to go carrying you on their backs as ships carry you by the sea.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Also, you find in them 'other' benefits.¹ And by means of them you may reach destinations you desire. And you are carried upon 'some of' them and upon ships.

  - Mustafa Khattab

 i.e., milk, wool, and hide.

(Many) benefits ye have from them and that ye may satisfy by their means a need that is in your breasts, and may be borne upon them as upon the ship.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

And there are (other) advantages in them for you (besides); that ye may through them attain to any need (there may be) in your hearts; and on them and on ships ye are carried.

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

And [thus] He displays His wonders before you: which, then, of God's wonders can you still deny?

  - Mohammad Asad

Thus, He shows you His signs; then, which signs of Allah you will deny?

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And He shows you His signs. Now which of Allah's signs will you deny?

  - Mustafa Khattab

And He showeth you His tokens. Which, then, of the tokens of Allah do ye deny?

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

And He shows you always His Signs; then which of the Signs of Allah will ye deny? ⁴⁴⁵⁷

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

The Signs of Allah's goodness and mercy are so numerous that it is impossible to enumerate them. Which of them can any mortal deny? This is the theme of that highly poetical Sura, Rahman (S.lv.).

HAVE THEY, then, never journeyed about the earth and beheld what happened in the end to those [deniers of the truth] who lived before their time? More numerous were they, and greater in power than they are, and in the impact which they left on earth: but all that they ever achieved was of no avail to them -

  - Mohammad Asad

Have they never travelled through the earth and seen what was the end of those who have gone before them? They were more in number and superior in strength than these and they have left behind great traces of their power in the land; yet all that they did was of no avail to them.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Have they not travelled throughout the land to see what was the end of those who were 'destroyed' before them? They were far superior in might and 'richer in' monuments throughout the land, but their 'worldly' gains were of no benefit to them.

  - Mustafa Khattab

Have they not travelled in the land to see the nature of the consequence for those before them? They were more numerous than these, and mightier in power and (in the) traces (which they left behind them) in the earth. But all that they used to earn availed them not.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Do they not travel through the earth and see what was the end of those before them? They were more numerous than these and superior in strength and in the traces (they have left) in the land: yet all that they accomplished was of no profit to them. ⁴⁴⁵⁸

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Cf. ix. 69. For any generation to take inordinate pride in its own single achievements in science or skill becomes ridiculous if we consider the broad stream of history. In the first place, men will find that a great deal of what they attribute to their own merits only became possible owing to the earlier work of their predecessors. Secondly, many of their predecessors were more numerous and mightier in power than they, although the perspective of time may have reduced the apparent depth of their influence, and the monuments which they have left behind may have suffered from the destroying hand of Time. Thirdly, and most important of all, when they forgot Allah and His inexorable Law, nothing of their own handiwork profited them: they perished in the common ruin as all vanities must perish. Cf. also xl. 21 above, and n. 4387. See how the recapitulation rounds off the argument.

for when their apostles came to them with all evidence of the truth, they arrogantly exulted in whatever knowledge they [already] possessed: ⁶⁴ and [so, in the end,] they were overwhelmed by the very thing which they were wont to deride.⁶⁵

  - Mohammad Asad

I.e., they were fully satisfied with their own empirically or speculatively acquired or inherited knowledge; and so, in their arrogant conviction that man is "self-sufficient" and, therefore, not in need of any guidance by a Power beyond the reach of human perception, they rejected whatever ethical and spiritual truths were offered them by the prophets.

I.e., the idea of God's existence and inescapable judgment: see 6:10 and the corresponding note [9].

When their Rasools came to them with clear revelations, they proudly boasted about their own knowledge; but the very forewarned scourge at which they mocked, hemmed them in.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

When their messengers came to them with clear proofs, they were prideful in whatever 'worldly' knowledge they had,¹ and were 'ultimately' overwhelmed by what they used to ridicule.

  - Mustafa Khattab

 And ridiculed the divine knowledge brought to them by their messengers.

And when their messengers brought them clear proofs (of Allah's Sovereignty) they exulted in the knowledge they (themselves) possessed. And that which they were wont to mock befell them.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

For when their apostles came to them with Clear Signs they exulted in such knowledge (and skill) as they had; but that very (Wrath) at which they were wont to scoff hemmed them in. ^{4459 4460}

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Arrogance and an exaggerated idea of Self were at the bottom of the Evil to which they succumbed.

Cf. xvi. 34. Nothing could stop Justice of Allah punishing Evil. What they had ridiculed came as an inexorable fact. None of their grandeur or art or science or skill was of any use when they lost their souls!

And then, when they [clearly] beheld Our punishment,⁶⁶ they said: "We have come to believe in the One God, and we have renounced all belief in that to which we were wont to ascribe a share in His divinity!"⁶⁷

  - Mohammad Asad

I.e., the God-willed, catastrophic breakdown of their society and civilization in consequence of their persistent rejection of all spiritual values.

This evidently includes their past belief in man's supposedly "unlimited possibilities" and the illusory conviction that one day he would achieve "mastery over nature".

When they saw Our scourge, they cried out: "We believe in Allah, the One and Only, and we reject all those gods whom we used to associate with Him."

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

When they saw Our punishment, they cried, ''Now' we believe in Allah alone and reject what we had been associating with Him!'

  - Mustafa Khattab

Then, when they saw Our doom, they said: We believe in Allah only and reject (all) that we used to associate (with Him).

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

But when they saw Our punishment they said: "We believe in Allah the One Allah and we reject the partners we used to join with Him."

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

But their attaining to faith after they had beheld Our punishment could not possibly benefit them⁶⁸ such being the way of God that has always obtained for His creatures-: and so, then and there, lost were they who had denied the truth.⁶⁹

  - Mohammad Asad

I.e., firstly, because this belated faith could not unmake a reality which had already come into being, and, secondly, because it could not contribute to their spiritual growth inasmuch as it was not an outcome of free choice but had been, rather, forced on them by the shock of an irreversible calamity.

The "way of God" (sunnat Allah) is the Qur'anic term for the totality of natural laws instituted by the Creator: in this case, the law that faith has no spiritual value unless it arises out of a genuine, inner enlightenment.

But after seeing Our scourge, their professing the faith (Islam) was of no use to them; such was the practice of Allah in dealing with His servants in the past, and thus the disbelievers were lost.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

But their faith was of no benefit to them when they saw Our torment. This has 'always' been Allah's way 'of dealing' with His 'wicked' servants. Then and there the disbelievers were in 'total' loss.

  - Mustafa Khattab

But their faith could not avail them when they saw Our doom. This is Allah's law which hath ever taken course for his Bondsmen. And then the disbelievers will be ruined.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

But their professing the Faith when they (actually) saw Our Punishment was not going to profit them. (Such has been) Allah's way of dealing with His servants (from the most ancient times). And even thus did the rejecters of Allah perish (utterly)! ⁴⁴⁶¹

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Again and again were they given chances, and again and again did they reject them. When it was too late, and in fact when it had no meaning, they offered to profess Faith. That was of no use. Allah does not accept unmeaning things of that kind. He wants to train and purify our will. For their disobedience and rebellion they perished utterly.