Sunday, March 19, 2017

Surah Saba Notes (22-30)


Source: Ibn Kathir



The Helplessness of the gods of the Idolators Here

(22) Say: (O Muhammad SAW to those polytheists, pagans, etc.) "Call upon those whom you assert (to be associate gods) besides Allah, they possess not even the weight of an atom (or a small ant), either in the heavens or on the earth, nor have they any share in either, nor there is for Him any supporter from among them.

Allah states clearly that He is the One and Only God, the Self-Sufficient Master, Who has no peer or partner; He is independent in His command and there is no one who can share or dispute with Him in that, or overturn His command. 

So, He says:

(Say: "Call upon those whom you assert besides Allah...'') meaning, the gods who are worshipped besides Allah.

(they possess not even the weight of a speck of dust, either in the heavens or on the earth,) This is like the Ayah:

(And those, whom you invoke or call upon instead of Him, own not even a Qitmir) (35:13).

(nor have they any share in either), means, they do not possess anything, either independently or as partners.

(nor there is for Him any supporter from among them. ) means, nor does Allah have among these rivals any whose support He seeks in any matter; on the contrary, all of creation is in need of Him and is enslaved by Him. 


(23) Intercession with Him profits not, except for him whom He permits. Until when fear is banished from their (angels') hearts, they (angels) say: "What is it that your Lord has said?" They say: "The truth. And He is the Most High, the Most Great."

(Intercession with Him profits not except for him whom He permits.) meaning, because of His might, majesty and pride, no one would dare to intercede with Him in any matter, except after being granted His permission to intercede. 

As Allah says:

(Who is he that can intercede with Him except with His permission) (2:255),

(And there are many angels in the heavens, whose intercession will avail nothing except after Allah has given leave for whom He wills and is pleased with.) (53:26)

It was reported in the Two Sahihs through more than one chain of narration that the Messenger of Allah, who is the leader of the sons of Adam and the greatest intercessor before Allah, will go to stand in Al-Maqam Al-Mahmud (the praised position) to intercede for all of the mankind when their Lord comes to pass judgement upon them. He said: (Then I will prostrate to Allah, may He be exalted, and He will leave me (in that position), as long as Allah wills, and He will inspire me to speak words of praise which I cannot mention now. Then it will be said, "O Muhammad, raise your head. Speak, you will be heard; ask, you will be given; intercede, your intercession will be accepted...'')

(So much so that when fear is banished from their hearts, they say: "What is it that your Lord has said'' They say the truth.) This also refers to the great degree of His might and power. When He speaks words of revelation, the inhabitants of the heavens hear what He says, and they tremble with fear (of Allah) so much that they swoon. This was the view of Ibn Mas`ud, may Allah be pleased with him, Masruq and others.

(So much so that when fear is banished from their hearts,) means, when the fear leaves their hearts. Ibn `Abbas, Ibn `Umar, Abu `Abdur-Rahman As-Sulami, Ash-Sha`bi, Ibrahim An-Nakha`i, Ad-Dhahhak, Al-Hasan and Qatadah said concerning the Ayah,

(So much so that when fear is banished from their hearts, they say: "What is it that your Lord has said'' They say the truth.) "When the fear is lifted from their hearts.'' When this happens, some of them say to others, "What did your Lord say'' Those (angels) who are carrying the Throne tell those who are next to them, then they in turn pass it on to those who are next to them, and so on, until the news reaches the inhabitants of the lowest heaven. Allah says,
They say the truth. meaning, they report what He said, without adding or taking away anything.

(And He is the Most High, the Most Great.) 




Allah has no partner in anything whatsoever

(24) Say (O Muhammad SAW to these polytheists, pagans, etc.) "Who gives you provision from the heavens and the earth?" Say: "Allah, And verily, (either) we or you are rightly guided or in a plain error."

Allah tells us that He is unique in His power of creation and His giving of provision and that He is unique in His divinity also. As they used to admit that no one in heaven or on earth except Allah gave them provision, i.e., by sending down water and causing crops to grow, so they should also realise that there is no god worthy of worship besides Him.

(And verily, (either) we or you are rightly guided or in plain error.) `One of the two sides must be speaking falsehood, and one must be telling the truth. There is no way that you and we could both be following true guidance, or could both be misguided. Only one of us can be correct, and we have produced the proof of Tawhid which indicates that your Shirk must be false.' 

Allah says:

(And verily, (either) we or you are rightly guided or in plain error.) Qatadah said, "The Companions of Muhammad said this to the idolators: `By Allah, we and you cannot be following the same thing, only one of us can be truly guided.''' `Ikrimah and Ziyad bin Abi Maryam said, "It means: we are rightly guided and you are in plain error.''


(25) Say (O Muhammad SAW to these polytheists, pagans, etc.) "You will not be asked about our sins, nor shall we be asked of what you do."

(Say: "You will not be asked about our sins, nor shall we be asked of what you do.'') This indicates disowning them, saying, `you do not belong to us and we do not belong to you, because we call people to Allah, to believe that He is the Only God and to worship Him alone. If you respond, then you will belong to us and we to you, but if you reject our call, then we have nothing to do with you and you have nothing to do with us.' This is like the Ayat:

(And if they deny you, say: "For me are my deeds and for you are your deeds! You are innocent of what I do, and I am innocent of what you do!'') (10:41)


(26) Say: "Our Lord will assemble us all together (on the Day of Resurrection), then He will judge between us with truth. And He is the (Most Trustworthy) AllKnowing Judge."

(Say: "Our Lord will assemble us all together...'') means, `on the Day of Resurrection, He will bring all of creation together in one arena, then He will judge between us with truth, i.e., with justice.' Each person will be rewarded or punished according to his deeds; if they are good, then his end will be good, and if they are bad, then his end will be bad. On that Day they will know who has attained victory, glory and eternal happiness, 

as Allah says: 

(And on the Day when the Hour will be established -- that Day shall (all men) be separated. Then as for those who believed and did righteous good deeds, such shall be honoured and made to enjoy luxurious life (forever) in a Garden of Delight. And as for those who disbelieved and denied Our Ayat, and the meeting of the Hereafter, such shall be brought forth to the torment.) (30:14-16). 


(27) Say (O Muhammad SAW to these polytheists and pagans): "Show me those whom you have joined to Him as partners. Nay (there are not at all any partners with Him)! But He is Allah (Alone), the AllMighty, the AllWise."

(Say: "Show me those whom you have joined with Him as partners...'') means, `show me those gods whom you made as rivals and equals to Allah.'

(Nay) means, He has no peer, rival, partner or equal. 

Allah says:

(But He is Allah), meaning, the One and Only God Who has no partner.

(the Almighty, the All-Wise.) means, the Owner of might with which He subjugates and controls all things, the One Who is Wise in all His Words and deeds, Laws and decrees. Blessed and exalted and sanctified be He far above all that they say. And Allah knows best.




The Prophet was sent to all of Mankind Allah says to His servant and Messenger Muhammad

(28) And We have not sent you (O Muhammad SAW) except as a giver of glad tidings and a warner to all mankind, but most of the men know not.

(And We have not sent you except as a giver of glad tidings and a warner to all mankind,) i.e., to all of the creation among those who are accountable for their deeds. 

This is like the Ayah:

(Say: "O mankind! Verily, I am sent to you all as the Messenger of Allah.'') (7:158)

(Blessed be He Who sent down the Criterion to His servant that he may be a warner to all creatures.) (25:1)

(And We have not sent you except to all mankind) meaning, to all the people. 

Qatadah said concerning this Ayah, "Allah, may He be exalted, sent Muhammad to both the Arabs and the non-Arabs, so the most honoured of them with Allah is the one who is most obedient to Allah.'' 

In the Two Sahihs it was reported that Jabir, may Allah be pleased with him said, "The Messenger of Allah said: (I have been given five things which were not given to any of the Prophets before me. I have been aided by fear (the distance of ) a month's journey. The entire earth has been made a Masjid and a means of purification for me so that when the time for prayer comes, any man of my Ummah should pray. The spoils of war have been made permissible for me, whereas they were not permitted for any before me. I have been given the power of intercession, and the Prophets before me were sent to their own people, but I have been sent to all of the mankind.)'' 

It was also recorded in the Sahih that the Messenger of Allah said: (I have been sent to the black and the red.) Mujahid said, "This means to the Jinn and to mankind.'' Others said that it meant the Arabs and the non-Arabs. Both meanings are correct.



How the Disbelievers asked about when the Resurrection would happen, and the Response to Them Allah tells us how the disbelievers believed it unlikely that the Hour would ever come to pass:

(29) And they say: "When is this promise (i.e. the Day of Resurrection will be fulfilled) if you are truthful?"

(And they say: "When is this promise if you are truthful'') This is like the Ayah:

(Those who believe not therein seek to hasten it, while those who believe are fearful of it, and know that it is the very truth...) (42:18) 

Then Allah says:


(30) Say (O Muhammad SAW): "The appointment to you is for a Day, which you cannot put back for an hour (or a moment) nor put forward."

(Say: "The appointment to you is for a Day, which you cannot for an hour move back nor forward.'') meaning, `you have an appointed time which is fixed and cannot be changed or altered. When it comes, you will not be able to put it back or bring it forward,' as Allah says:

(Verily, the term of Allah when it comes, cannot be delayed) (71:4).

(And We delay it only for a term (already) fixed. On the Day when it comes, no person shall speak except by His leave. Some among them will be wretched and (others) blessed.) (11:104-105).

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