Qxpiv May, 2007 By Shabbir Ahmed, M. D., Florida Chief Adviser and Editor: Hossein Kowsari, California Reviewed by: Abdullah Ali Bashoeb, Hijaz

Surah 57. Al-Hadeed – Iron

[Author’s Note] This is the 57th Surah of the Qur’an and it has 29 verses. The Surah derives its name from iron that serves mankind in various ways. God’s messengers and their companions have had to defend the faith with power when necessitated.

God never enjoined upon mankind monasticism, asceticism, ‘Sufism’, ‘yog’ or mysticism. They are human inventions. Herein we find further emphasis on the Supremacy of the Divine Law following which the humans can achieve Eternal success. ‘Kuffar’ are those who knowingly conceal or deny the Truth. Belief bears its fruit when it is translated into action. Motivation without action is a bird without wings.

With the Glorious Name of Allah, the Instant and Sustaining Source of all Mercy and Kindness

57:1 All things in the heavens and the earth are working relentlessly to fulfill the Divine Plan. He is the Almighty, the Wise.

57:2 Unto Him belongs the Dominion of the heavens and the earth. His are the Laws of life and death and He has Power over all things.

57:3 He has no beginning and He has no ending. He is the Evident in His Attributes and the Hidden in His Person. And He is the Knower of all things. [Time and Space are His creation, and their full understanding is beyond human intellect]

57:4 He it is Who has created the heavens and the earth in six stages, and is established on the Throne of His Almightiness of Supreme Control. He knows all that enters the earth and all that comes forth from it, and all that descends from the sky, and all that ascends therein. And He is with you wherever you may be. And God is Seer of what you do. [Six Stages or Eras: 7:54, 10:3, 11:7, 25:59, 50:38, 57:4, 41:10]

57:5 Unto Him belongs the Kingdom of the heavens and the earth and unto God return all affairs. [All things find their Source in Him and His Laws determine the final end of all actions]

57:6 He merges the night into the day, and merges the day into the night. He is Knower of all that is in the hearts.

57:7 Believe in God and His Messenger. And spend on others of what He has made you trustees of (your wealth and persons). Those of you who believe and spend on fellow humans, theirs will be a Great reward. [Nafaq = Keeping open = Spending on others = Not hoarding]

57:8 And what is amiss with you that keeps you from having conviction in God? And the Messenger invites you to believe in your own Sustainer and has indeed taken your pledge, if you are truly believers.

57:9 He it is Who sends down clear messages to His servant, to bring you out from the depths of darkness unto the splendorous Light. And behold, for you God is Compassionate, Merciful.

57:10 And why should you not spend in the Cause of God when to God belongs the heritage of the heavens and the earth? Those who spend and fight before the victory are not at the same level as the rest of you. They have a greater rank than those who spend and fight after the victory. Unto each God has promised good. He is Aware of what you do. [55:62, 56:8-12]

57:11 Who is it that will lend unto God a goodly loan that He may increase it manifold, and his may be a generous reward?

57:12 On the Day when you will see the believing men and the believing women, their lights shining forth before them, blessing them, (it will be said), “A happy news for you this Day - Gardens beneath which rivers flow, (for you) to abide therein. This, this is the Supreme Triumph!" [57:9]

57:13 On that Day the hypocrite men and the hypocrite women will say to the believers, "Wait, look at us. Let us borrow from your light!" It will be said, "Go back behind and seek light." Then a barrier will be erected with a gate therein. On the inner side of it will be Grace, and on the outer side of it the doom.

57:14 They will cry unto them, "Were we not with you?" The others (believers) will answer, "Yes, certainly! But you let your ‘selves’ succumb to temptation. And you tempted one another, and you were ever hesitant (watching which side was prevailing), and doubted (God’s promise). And your wishful thinking misled you until God’s Command came to pass. And indeed, your own deceptions concerning God deceived you. [The hypocrites used to tell lies about God and His Messenger. Their wishful thinking: That they would never be exposed. 3:179]

57:15 So this Day no ransom can be accepted from you, nor from the open rejecters. Your home is the Fire. That is your caretaker and a miserable destination it is.

57:16 Is it not yet time for the believers that their hearts humble at the remembrance of God, reflecting on the Truth that has been revealed? Do not be like those who were given the Scripture before, and whose hearts were hardened with time. And so, a great many of them have drifted away from Truth.

57:17 Know all of you that God gives life to the land after it has been dead. We have made Our messages clear for you so that you might use your intellect.

57:18 Indeed, the men and women who stand true to their proclamations of belief and lend a goodly loan to God, they will be repaid manifold. And theirs will be a generous reward.

57:19 For, those who (thus) believe in God and His messengers, it is they – they who are indeed true, and they who are the witnesses to (the Glory of) their Lord. For them is their reward and their light. But, those who openly reject Our messages and those who deny them in practice - it is they who will be companions of the Insurmountable Barrier (that bars their ‘selves’ from developing).

57:20 Know all of you that (in comparison to Eternity) the life of this world is only play and a fleeting delight, and your mutual bragging, and pursuit of riches and children. It is like abundant rain that brings forth plantation and pleases the farmers. But then the plantation may wither and you can see it turn into yellow hay. And in the end it crumbles into dust! But in the Hereafter it is either grievous suffering or forgiveness from God and His approval. And what is the life of this world, but an enjoyment of illusion.

[Therefore, invest in the life to come for lasting rewards. 3:14-15, 10:24-25, 16:92, 18:45-46, 14:18, 24:39, 83:26, 102:1. Kuffar in this verse, very uniquely, has been used in the very literal sense. Contrary to the popular translations, Kuffar here does not mean ‘disbelievers’ or 'unbelievers'. It refers to those who conceal the Truth. This is the only verse in the Qur’an where Kuffar is indicating those who hide something - specifically, the farmers who cover the seed with soil. While that in itself is a laudable work, in the given similitude the verse is talking about a crop that quickly turns into useless chaff. However, in this instance Kuffar = Farmers. In general, the term indicates those who conceal the Truth, and actively and knowingly hide or deny it. Also those who 'hide gratitude' or refuse to be grateful for any blessings bestowed upon them, including the blessing of guidance]

57:21 Be foremost in seeking the protection from your Lord, and a Garden as vast as the heaven and the earth. It has been readied for those who choose to believe in God and His messengers. Such is God’s Bounty that He bestows upon him who wills it. And God is the Lord of abounding Bounty. [The Paradise encompasses the entire Universe. 3:133]

57:22 No disaster befalls the earth, nor yourselves but according to the Laws that We have already recorded in the Book of Decrees. Surely, all this is easy for God.

57:23 Thus despair not over whatever has left you, nor exult for whatever you have been given. For, God does not love those who are boastful, proud.

57:24 They are stingy and enjoin the people to be stingy. But if one turns away, then God is Rich, Praiseworthy.

57:25 Indeed, We sent Our messengers with the evident Truth and revealed with them the Law and the Standard of right and wrong that mankind may deal in justice. And We have bestowed on from high the iron in which there is awesome power and many benefits for people. For, God marks out those who help Him and His messengers although the victory may initially be obscure to them. Surely, God is Strong, Almighty. [Meezaan = Balance of measure = Standard of justice. As proven by modern science, the iron is not native to earth. It has come down from higher celestial bodies]

57:26 We sent Noah and Abraham and granted prophethood and Scripture to their progeny. Some of them remained rightly guided, but a great many of them drifted away.

57:27 Then, in succession, We followed them up with (other of) Our messengers. We caused them to be followed by Jesus son of Mary and gave him the Gospel. And We placed kindness and compassion in the hearts of those who followed him. As for monastic asceticism - We had never ordained it to them. They invented it themselves to seek God’s approval. But then, they did not uphold the Gospel with right observance. And so those who truly believed among them, We gave them their reward. But, a great many of them have been drifting away.

57:28 O You who have chosen to be graced with belief! Be mindful of God and put faith in His Messenger. And He will bestow on you a double reward of His Grace. He will appoint for you a light by which you shall walk, and He will absolve your faults. For, God is Forgiving, Merciful.

57:29 And the People of the Scripture should know that they have no power whatsoever over the Bounty of God. All Bounty is in God’s hand and He grants it according to His Laws. And God is the Lord of a tremendous Bounty. [He is the Lord of the Worlds and the Lord of all mankind and He does not discriminate between people. 1:1, 114:1]

Surah 58. Al-Mujadilah – The Pleading

[Author’s Note] This is the 58th Surah of the Qur’an and it has 22 verses. This Surah shines with a beautiful example of freedom of expression in the court of God and the Prophet. Every time we seek Guidance from the Book of God we must remind ourselves to do some act of kindness. Confidential meetings of any sort must not disregard collective good. Believers must make room for one another to succeed in the society.

With the Glorious Name of Allah, the Instant and Sustaining Source of all Mercy and Kindness

58:1 God has indeed heard her who pleads with you (O Prophet) concerning her husband, and complains unto God. And God has heard your mutual dialogue. Certainly, God is Hearer, Seer.

58:2 Those of you who ‘divorce’ their wives by calling them mothers, they, by no means, become their mothers. Their mothers are only those who gave birth to them. And so, behold, they only utter what is contrary to reason, and thus, false. And behold, God is Absolver of faults, Forgiving. [The procedure of divorce has been clearly given in 2:228-230, 4:3, 4:19, 4:35, 4:128, 33:4, 65:1-2. Zihr = Extra = Redundant = Sundry = Putting away = Senseless word or action. Zihaar = Addressing the wife as mother and thinking that it nullifies the wedlock. Implicitly this encompasses similar meaningless utterances under any circumstances]

58:3 Hence, those of you who have made senseless declarations about their wives, estranged them, and then wish to go back on their utterance - they should free a human being from bondage before the couple may have intimate relations with each other. This you are admonished to perform. And God is aware of all you do. [Freeing from bondage includes relieving someone from any kind of oppression and from a crushing burden of debt]

58:4 However, he who does not have the means thereof, let him observe Saum (Abstinence as in the month of Ramadhan 2:183) for two consecutive months before the couple may intimately touch each other. And if he is unable to do that either, he should arrange the feeding of sixty needy ones. This is so that you might be true to your faith in God and His Messenger. These are the bounds ordained by God. And for the deniers of the Divine Commands is a painful doom.

58:5 Surely, those who oppose God and His Messenger will be disgraced as were disgraced those before their times. Thus, We have sent down clear messages, and for the rejecters is a shameful suffering.

58:6 On the Day when God will raise all of them together, He will inform them of what they truly accomplished. God keeps a meticulous record even though they may have forgotten it. For, God is Witness over all things.

58:7 Do you not realize that God knows all that is in the heavens and all that is on earth. There is no secret meeting of three but He is their fourth, nor of five but He is their sixth, nor of less than that or more but He is with them wherever they may be. And ultimately, on the Day of Resurrection, He will inform them of what they truly accomplished. Indeed, God is Knower of all things.

58:8 Have you not noticed those who were forbidden secret meetings, and yet revert to what they were forbidden? And they hold secret meetings for hampering progress, creating dissension in the society, and disobeying the Messenger. And when they come to you (O Messenger), they do not greet you in the way that God greets you. And they say to themselves, “Why does not God punish us for what we say?” Sufficient for them is Hell wherein they will burn. And how miserable is that destination! [Ithm = Hampering progress. ‘Udwaan = Wedges of discord]

58:9 O You who have chosen to be graced with belief! If you have to confer secretly, never do it for hampering progress, dissension and disobedience of the Messenger. But confer to expand opportunities in the society and preserve the gains you have made. And remain mindful of God unto Whom you all shall be gathered.

[Birr = Usually translated as the vague and mundane ‘good’ = Creating room for fellow humans to make progress = Virtue = Make expanse = Make room for others in the society = Help people to adjust and make progress in a new environment = Exponential growth. Taqwa = Seeking to journey through life in security = Protect oneself from disintegration of the personality = Journeying in security = Being careful = Getting empowered against evil = Avoid overstepping the Laws = Preserving the gains = Exercising caution = Preserving oneself against deterioration = Good conduct = Building character = Choosing to live upright = Fear the consequences of violating Divine Commands = Being mindful of the Creator = Remaining conscious of the Divinely ordained Values = Taking precaution]

58:10 Indeed, conspiracy comes forth from selfish desire, in the end causing grief to the believers, but it cannot harm them contrary to Divine Laws. Hence, in God should the believers put their trust. [Satan, the selfish desire cannot overwhelm believers unless they forsake Divine Commands 15:42, 17:65, 38:83. In these verses, 9 and 10, the terms Ithm, ‘Udwaan, Birr, Taqwa have been translated in their broad and exact Qur’anic sense]

58:11 O You who have chosen to be graced with belief! When you are told, “Accommodate one another in your collective life”, do accommodate, seeing that God will open up His resources for you. And when you are told, “Rise up”, do rise up to the occasion. God will exalt to high ranks those of you who choose to believe and who have been granted knowledge. For, God is Aware of all you do. [Fas’h = Open up = Make room = Accommodate others]

58:12 O You who have chosen to be graced with belief! Whenever you wish to confer with the Messenger by yourself, give something in charity to the needy or do an act of benevolence. That will be for your own good and erase the imprints of your faults on your ‘selves’. But if you have no opportunity, then, remember, God is Forgiving, Merciful. [He absolves faults and rewards good intentions]

58:13 Is it that you are afraid of a transgression if you are not able to do such an act of kindness before you confer with the Messenger? Yet if you fail to find an opportunity to do it, God has already accepted your repentance. Hence, stay focused on establishing Salaat, the Divine System, and setting up the Just Economic Order of Zakaat. And obey God and His Messenger. For, God is Aware of all you do.

[58:12. The Command in these two verses, 12 and 13 is fully applicable even today. It serves as a constant Reminder to us for doing an act of kindness whenever we 'confer' with God and His Messenger, the teachings embodied in the Qur’an. This act of kindness certainly includes conveying even one verse to one person. ‘Each one teach one’. It is unfortunate that some of the traditional commentators consider these two verses abrogated after the exalted Prophet’s lifetime! The very thought of abrogation of any verses of the Qur’an is absolutely untenable and non-Qur’anic. 2:106]

58:14 Have you not seen those who befriend a people whom God disapproves? They are neither of you nor of them, and they knowingly swear on falsehood.

58:15 God has readied for them a severe suffering. Indeed, very disruptive is their behavior indeed.

58:16 They use their oaths as cover and bar others from the Path of God. For them will be a shameful doom.

58:17 Their wealth and their children and party will avail them not against God. It is they who are companions of the Fire, therein to abide.

58:18 On the Day, when God will raise them all together, they will then swear unto Him as they now swear to you, and they fancy that they have some standing. Nay! Certainly, they are the liars.

58:19 Their selfish desire has overpowered them, and made them oblivious to God’s Reminder. Such as these are the party of the Satan. Oh, certainly, it is they, the Satan’s party who are the ultimate losers.

58:20 Indeed, those who oppose God and His Messenger, it is they who will finally be brought low.

58:21 For, God has decreed, “It is I and My messengers who must prevail.” Behold! God is Strong, Almighty.

58:22 You will not find those who truly believe in God and the Last Day endear anyone who opposes God and His Messenger, even though they be their fathers or their sons or their brothers or their tribe. God has inscribed conviction on their hearts, and has strengthened them with Energy from Himself. Hence, He will admit them into Gardens underneath which rivers flow. Well pleased is God with them, and well pleased are they with Him. They are the party of God. Oh, certainly, it is they, the party of God, who are truly successful.

Surah 59. AL-Hashr – The Gathering

[Author’s Note] This is the 59th Surah of the Qur’an and it has 24 verses. The title refers to the gathering of forces and peaceful exile in 4 Hijrah (627 CE) of the Jewish tribe of Banu Nadhir near Madinah. They were banished from there after they had repeatedly violated the peace treaties they had signed with the exalted Prophet. They kept joining hands with the Makkans, the hypocrites and some clans attempting to annihilate the believers. For their treachery, Banu Nadhir lost their citizenship and got exiled according to the treaty. They were allowed to take with them all movable property except weapons of war. With 600 camels laden with their belongings, the tribe was allowed to migrate peacefully to any place of their choosing and thereupon they relocated themselves in Syria.

Whenever we reflect upon the Book of God in all sincerity, we cannot fail to perceive the Truth of this Divine allegory: “Had We sent down this Qur’an upon a mountain, you would have seen it humble itself and rent asunder from the awe of God.” [59:21]

With the Glorious Name of Allah, the Instant and Sustaining Source of all Mercy and Kindness

59:1 All that is in the heavens and all that is on earth strives to manifest the limitless glory of God. For, He is Almighty, the Wise.

59:2 He it is Who evicted the disbelievers among the People of the Book from their homes at the first gathering (of the forces). You never thought that they would leave and they thought that their strongholds would defend them against God. But God’s Requital came to them from directions they little expected, and caused awe in their hearts. So, they dismantled their dwellings with their own hands and (got them dismantled) at the hands of the believers. Learn a lesson, then, O You who are endowed with insight! [‘God came’ = His Requital came. They dismantled their immovable property to prevent Muslims from benefiting from it]

59:3 And if God had not decreed banishment for them, behold, He would have punished them harder in this world, yet for them is suffering of the Fire in the life to come.

59:4 This, because they had opposed God and His Messenger. And whoever opposes God, for him God is Stern in grasping.

59:5 Whatever palm-trees you cut down or left standing on their roots, it was by God’s leave, in order that He might disgrace those who drifted away from their treaties. [3:159. Lina = Softness, gentleness = Soft young palm-tree. Faasiq = One who drifts away]

59:6 And whatever God has turned over to His Messenger, you did not toil on any horse or camel for it. But God gives His messengers upper hand according to His Laws. For, God is the Appointer of due measure for all things.

59:7 Whatever God has turned over to His Messenger from those communities belongs to God and His Messenger (the Central Authority). [The Messenger will spend it on]

The Central Government (The Central Authority)

- The welfare of the families of the believers.
- The orphans.
- Those who still feel left alone in the society.
- The widows.
- Those who have no means of earning their livelihood.
- The disabled who cannot move around looking for the Bounty of God.
- The homeless son of the street.
- Those who are on their way to join you, and
- Those who travel a distance to seek help.

So that it may not keep revolving between the wealthy among you. Hence, take what the Messenger gives you, and abstain from what he forbids you. Be mindful of God. Surely, God is Stern in grasping.

59:8 And it is for the poor refugees who have been expelled from their homelands and their property. And they seek God’s Bounty and approval, and support God and His Messenger. They are the ones true to their faith.

59:9 Also, (true are) those who resided in the city (Madinah) before them and attained faith. They love those who immigrated to them, and find no hesitation in their hearts in helping them. But rather give them preference over themselves, even though poverty be their own lot. And whoever is saved from greediness of the heart, such are the ones who truly prosper.

59:10 And those who come after the first immigrants, say, “Our Lord! Forgive us and our brethren who came into Faith before us, and let not be any malice in our hearts toward those who believe. Our Lord! Certainly, You are Compassionate, Merciful.”

59:11 Have you not noted the hypocrites how they told their disbelieving brethren among the People of the Scripture, “If you are driven out, we certainly will go forth with you, and shall never heed anyone against you. And if you are attacked, certainly we shall help you.” But God bears witness that they are liars.

59:12 If they (Banu Nadhir) are driven away, they (the hypocrites) will not go forth with them, and if they are attacked they will not help. And even if they try to help them, they will turn their backs in flight, and themselves find no help.

59:13 Nay, you believers arouse a fear in their hearts more intense than even the fear of God. This is because they are a people who do not understand (that all strength derives from following Divine Laws).

59:14 They will never fight you, even if they form a coalition, other than from within the fortified strongholds or from behind walls. Within themselves is great adversity for each other. You may think they are united but their hearts are far apart. This is so, because they are a people who do not use reason. [Their alliances are based on selfishness rather on a noble ideology]

59:15 Their example is the same as of those who lately preceded them. They tasted the calamity for their (wrong) decisions, and theirs is the awful doom.

59:16 They (the hypocrites) are like Satan. He says unto man, “Deny the Truth!” But as soon as man has denied the Truth, it says, “Indeed, I am not responsible for you. Surely, I fear God, Lord of the worlds.”

59:17 Thus, the end for both is in the Fire, therein to abide. Such is the reward of those who relegate the Truth. [Both = The person and his selfish desire]

59:18 O You who have chosen to be graced with belief! Be mindful of God and watch everyday what you have invested for your ‘selves’ for tomorrow. Again, remain conscious of God (today and every day). Indeed, God is fully Aware of all your actions.

59:19 And be not like those who forgot God, therefore, He (His Law) made them forget themselves. It is they who have drifted away (from the road to success).

59:20 Not equal are the dwellers of the Fire and the dwellers of the Garden. Dwellers of the Garden, they are the ones crowned with honor.

59:21 Had We sent down this Qur’an upon a mountain, you would have indeed seen it humble itself and rent asunder for awesomeness of God. Such examples We cite for mankind, so that they might think.

59:22 He is God; there is no god besides Him. Knower of all that is secret or open. He is the Instant and Sustaining Source of all Mercy and Kindness.

59:23 He is God; there is no god besides Him (no deity, no law-giver and none worthy of worship or obedience)! The King Supreme, the Impeccable, the Peace and the Source of all peace, the Guardian of faith and security, the Watcher over all things, the Majestic, All Powerful, the Superb. Glorious is God, far above what they ascribe unto Him.

59:24 He is God, the Supreme Creator, the Shaper out of nothing, the Designer. His Names are the most beautiful Names, and His alone are the attributes of perfection. All things in the heavens and the earth strive to manifest His glory. And He is Almighty, the Wise. [He runs the Universe in His Infinite power with His Infinite wisdom]