Surah Az Zumar Notes (8-16)

Source: Ibn Kathir

It is an aspect of Man's Disbelief that He remembers Allah at times of difficulty then associates others with Him after He has been relieved of His Distress

(8) And when some hurt touches man, he cries to his Lord (Allah Alone), turning to Him in repentance, but when He bestows a favour upon him from Himself, he forgets that for which he cried for before, and he sets up rivals to Allah, in order to mislead others from His Path. Say: "Take pleasure in your disbelief for a while: surely, you are (one) of the dwellers of the Fire!"

(And when some hurt touches man, he cries to his Lord, turning to Him in repentance.) means, at times of need, he prays to Allah and seeks His help alone, not associating anything with Him.  This is like the Ayah: (And when harm touches you upon the sea, those that you call upon vanish from you except Him. But when He brings you safe to land, you turn away. And man is ever ungrateful.) (17:67).  Allah says: (But when He bestows a favor upon him from Himself, he forgets that for which he cried for before,) means, at the time of ease, he forgets that supplication and prayer.  This is like the Ayah: (And when harm touches man, he invokes Us, lying on his side, or sitting or standing. But when We have removed his harm from him, he passes on as if he had never invoked Us for a harm that touched him!) (10:12). (and he sets up rivals to Allah, in order to mislead others from His path.) means, at times of ease, he associates others in worship with Allah and sets up rivals to Him. (Say: "Take pleasure in your disbelief for a while, surely, you are (one) of the dwellers of the Fire!'') means, say to those whose way this is, `enjoy your disbelief for a while!' This is a stern threat and solemn warning, as in the Ayat: (Say: "Enjoy! But certainly, your destination is the Fire!'') (14:30). (We let them enjoy for a little while, then in the end We shall oblige them to (enter) a great torment.) (31:24) The Obedient and the Sinner are not equal

(9) Is one who is obedient to Allah, prostrating himself or standing (in prayer) during the hours of the night, fearing the Hereafter and hoping for the Mercy of his Lord (like one who disbelieves)? Say: "Are those who know equal to those who know not?" It is only men of understanding who will remember (i.e. get a lesson from Allah's Signs and Verses).

Allah says, `is the one who is like this equal to one who associates others in worship with Allah and sets up rivals to Him' They are not equal before Allah, as He says:

(Not all of them are alike; a party of the People of the Scripture stand for the right, they recite the Ayat of Allah Ana'a Al-Layl, prostrating themselves (in prayer).) (3:113). 

And Allah says here:

(Is one who is obedient to Allah, Ana'a Al-Layl prostrating and standing) meaning, one who is humble and fears Allah when he prostrates and stands (in prayer). 

It was reported that Ibn Mas`ud, may Allah be pleased with him, said: "The obedient one is one who obeys Allah and His Messenger .'' Ibn `Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, Al-Hasan, As-Suddi and Ibn Zayd said, Ana'a Al-Layl means in the depths of the night.

(fearing the Hereafter and hoping for the mercy of his Lord.) means, in his worship he feels both fear and hope. Both are essential in worship, and fear should be stronger during one's lifetime. Allah says:

(fearing the Hereafter and hoping for the mercy of his Lord. ) At the time of death, hope is uppermost, 

as Imam `Abd bin Humayd recorded in his Musnad from Anas, may Allah be pleased with him, who said, "The Messenger of Allah entered upon a man who was dying, and said to him,(How do you feel) He said, `I am both afraid and hopeful.' The Messenger of Allah said: (These do not co-exist in a person's heart at times such as this, but Allah will give him what he hopes for and protect him from that which he fears.)'' This was recorded by At-Tirmidhi, An-Nasa'i in Al-Yawm wal-Laylah, and Ibn Majah from the Hadith of Yasar bin Hatim from Ja`far bin Sulayman. At-Tirmidhi said, "Gharib.'' 

Imam Ahmad recorded that Tamim Ad-Dari, may Allah be pleased with him, said that the Messenger of Allah said: (Whoever recites one hundred Ayat in one night, it will be recorded as if he prayed all night.) This was also recorded by An-Nasa'i in Al-Yawm wal-Laylah.

(Say: "Are those who know equal to those who know not'') means, is this one equal with the one who sets up rivals to Allah to mislead (men) from His path

(It is only men of understanding who will remember. ) means, the only one who will understand the difference between them is the one who has understanding. And Allah knows best.

The Command for Taqwa, Emigration and to worship Him alone with all Sincerity

Allah commands His believing servants to remain steadfast in their obedience and have Taqwa of Him.

(10) Say (O Muhammad SAW): "O My slaves who believe (in the Oneness of Allah Islamic Monotheism), be afraid of your Lord (Allah) and keep your duty to Him. Good is (the reward) for those who do good in this world, and Allah's earth is spacious (so if you cannot worship Allah at a place, then go to another)! Only those who are patient shall receive their rewards in full, without reckoning."

(Say: "O My servants who believe, have Taqwa of your Lord. Good is for those who do good in this world...'') means, the one who does good deeds in this world, will have a good (reward) in this world and in the Hereafter.

(and Allah's earth is spacious!) Mujahid said, "So emigrate through it and strive hard and keep away from idols.''

(Only those who are patient shall receive their reward in full, without reckoning.) Al-`Awza`i said, "Their reward will not be weighed or measured; they will be given an immense reward.'' As-Suddi said:

(Only those who are patient shall receive their reward in full, without reckoning.) means, "In Paradise.''

(11) Say (O Muhammad SAW): "Verily, I am commanded to worship Allah (Alone) by obeying Him and doing religious deeds sincerely for Allah's sake only and not to show off, and not to set up rivals with Him in worship;

(Say: "Verily, I am commanded to worship Allah, making religion sincerely for Him...'') means, `I am commanded to worship Allah alone in all sincerity, with no partner or associate.'

(12) "And I am commanded (this) in order that I may be the first of those who submit themselves to Allah (in Islam) as Muslims."

Creating Fear of the Punishment of Allah

(13) Say (O Muhammad SAW): "Verily, if I disobey my Lord, I am afraid of the torment of a great Day."

Allah `says, say O Muhammad, even though you are the Messenger of Allah:'

(Verily, if I disobey my Lord, I am afraid of the torment of a great Day.) meaning the Day of Resurrection. This is a conditional sentence, and if what is referred to here applies to the Prophet , it applies even more so to others,

(14) Say (O Muhammad SAW) "Allah Alone I worship by doing religious deeds sincerely for His sake only and not to show-off, and not to set up rivals with Him in worship."

(Say: "Allah Alone I worship by doing religious deeds sincerely for His sake only. So, worship what you like besides Him.'') This is also a threat, and a disowning of them.

(15) So worship what you like besides Him. Say (O Muhammad SAW): "The losers are those who will lose themselves and their families on the Day of Resurrection. Verily, that will be a manifest loss!"

(Say: "The losers...'') means, the greatest losers of all,

(are those who will lose themselves and their families on the Day of Resurrection.) means, they will be separated and will never meet again, whether their families have gone to Paradise and they have gone to Hell, or all of them have gone to Hell, they will never meet or feel happiness again.

(Verily, that will be a manifest loss!) means, this is the clearest and most obvious loss. 

Then He describes their state in the Fire:

(16) They shall have coverings of Fire, above them and covering (of Fire) beneath them; with this Allah does frighten His slaves: "O My slaves, therefore fear Me!"

(They shall have coverings of Fire, above them and covering (of Fire) beneath them.) This is like the Ayat:

(Theirs will be a bed of Hell (Fire), and over them coverings (of Hell-fire). Thus do We recompense the wrongdoers) (7:41)

(On the Day when the torment (Hell-fire) shall cover them from above them and from underneath their feet, and it will be said: "Taste what you used to do.'') (29:55)

(With this Allah frightens His servants:) means, Allah tells us about this, which will undoubtedly come to pass, to frighten His servants, so that they will keep away from unlawful things and from sin.

(O My servants, therefore have Taqwa of Me!) means, `fear My wrath, My anger, My punishment and My vengeance.'