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Islam Word Quran & Seerah

Surah 13 Ar-Ra'd — Ayah 33

سُورَةُ الرَّعۡدِ · Medinan · Taj Mehmood Amroti

33

أَفَمَنْ هُوَ قَآئِمٌ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ نَفْسٍۭ بِمَا كَسَبَتْ ۗ وَجَعَلُوا۟ لِلَّهِ شُرَكَآءَ قُلْ سَمُّوهُمْ ۚ أَمْ تُنَبِّـُٔونَهُۥ بِمَا لَا يَعْلَمُ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ أَم بِظَٰهِرٍۢ مِّنَ ٱلْقَوْلِ ۗ بَلْ زُيِّنَ لِلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ مَكْرُهُمْ وَصُدُّوا۟ عَنِ ٱلسَّبِيلِ ۗ وَمَن يُضْلِلِ ٱللَّهُ فَمَا لَهُۥ مِنْ هَادٍۢ

سڀڪنھن ماڻھو جيڪي ڪمايو تنھن جي جيڪو خبر رکندڙ ھجي (سو بيخبر بتن جھڙو آھي) ڇا؟ ۽ (ڪافرن) الله جا شريڪ مقرّر ڪيا آھن، (اي پيغمبر کين) چؤ ته اُنھن (جي وصفن) جا نالا بيان ڪريو، يا کيس اُھو جتائيندا آھيو ڇا جيڪي (ھو) زمين ۾ نه ڄاڻندو آھي؟ يا (بنا حقيقت جي الله سان شريڪ ڪرڻ اِھي) ڇڙيون ڳالھيون آھن، بلڪ ڪافرن کي سندن بڇڙو خيال سھڻو ڪري ڏيکاريو ويو آھي ۽ اُھي سنئين واٽ کان روڪيا ويا آھن، ۽ جنھن کي الله گمراھ ڪري تنھن کي ڪو ھدايت ڪرڻ وارو ڪونه آھي.

afaman huwa qāimun ʿalā kulli nafsin bimā kasabat wajaʿalū lillahi shurakāa qul sammūhum am tunabbiūnahu bimā lā yaʿlamu fī l-arḍi am biẓāhirin mina l-qawli bal zuyyina lilladhīna kafarū makruhum waṣuddū ʿani l-sabīli waman yuḍ'lili l-lahu famā lahu min hādin

Word by word

  • أَفَمَنْ afaman Is then He Who
  • هُوَ huwa (He)
  • قَآئِمٌ qāimun (is) a Maintainer
  • عَلَىٰ ʿalā of
  • كُلِّ kulli every
  • نَفْسٍۭ nafsin soul
  • بِمَا bimā for what
  • كَسَبَتْ ۗ kasabat it has earned
  • وَجَعَلُوا۟ wajaʿalū Yet they ascribe
  • لِلَّهِ lillahi to Allah
  • شُرَكَآءَ shurakāa partners
  • قُلْ qul Say
  • سَمُّوهُمْ ۚ sammūhum Name them
  • أَمْ am Or
  • تُنَبِّـُٔونَهُۥ tunabbiūnahu (do) you inform Him
  • بِمَا bimā of what
  • لَا lā not
  • يَعْلَمُ yaʿlamu He knows
  • فِى fī in
  • ٱلْأَرْضِ l-arḍi the earth
  • أَم am or
  • بِظَـٰهِرٍۢ biẓāhirin of the apparent
  • مِّنَ mina of
  • ٱلْقَوْلِ ۗ l-qawli the words
  • بَلْ bal Nay
  • زُيِّنَ zuyyina (is) made fair-seeming
  • لِلَّذِينَ lilladhīna to those who
  • كَفَرُوا۟ kafarū disbelieve
  • مَكْرُهُمْ makruhum their plotting
  • وَصُدُّوا۟ waṣuddū and they are hindered
  • عَنِ ʿani from
  • ٱلسَّبِيلِ ۗ l-sabīli the Path
  • وَمَن waman And whoever
  • يُضْلِلِ yuḍ'lili (by) Allah
  • ٱللَّهُ l-lahu Allah lets go astray
  • فَمَا famā then not
  • لَهُۥ lahu for him
  • مِنْ min any
  • هَادٍۢ hādin guide
Tafsir · Ibn Kathir (Abridged)

There is no Similarity between Allah and False Deities in any Respect

Allah said,

أَفَمَنْ هُوَ قَآئِمٌ عَلَى كُلِّ نَفْسٍ بِمَا كَسَبَتْ

(Is then He (Allah) Who takes charge of every person and knows all that he has earned) Allah is the guard and watcher over every living soul and knows what everyone does, whether good or evil, and nothing ever escapes His perfect observation. Allah said in other Ayat,

وَمَا تَكُونُ فِى شَأْنٍ وَمَا تَتْلُواْ مِنْهُ مِن قُرْءَانٍ وَلاَ تَعْمَلُونَ مِنْ عَمَلٍ إِلاَّ كُنَّا عَلَيْكُمْ شُهُودًا إِذْ تُفِيضُونَ فِيهِ

(Neither you do any deed nor recite any portion of the Qur'an, nor you do any deed, but we are witness thereof, when you are doing it.) 10:61 and Allah said,

وَمَا تَسْقُطُ مِن وَرَقَةٍ إِلاَّ يَعْلَمُهَا

(Not a leaf falls, but He knows it.) 6:59

وَمَا مِن دَآبَّةٍ فِي الاٌّرْضِ إِلاَّ عَلَى اللَّهِ رِزْقُهَا وَيَعْلَمُ مُسْتَقَرَّهَا وَمُسْتَوْدَعَهَا كُلٌّ فِى كِتَابٍ مُّبِينٍ

(And no moving creature is there on earth but its provision is due from Allah. And He knows its dwelling place and its deposits. All is in a Clear Book.)11:6,

سَوَآءٌ مِّنْكُمْ مَّنْ أَسَرَّ الْقَوْلَ وَمَنْ جَهَرَ بِهِ وَمَنْ هُوَ مُسْتَخْفٍ بِالَّيْلِ وَسَارِبٌ بِالنَّهَارِ

(It is the same (to Him) whether any of you conceals his speech or declares it openly, whether he be hid by night or goes forth freely by day.) 13:10

يَعْلَمُ السِّرَّ وَأَخْفَى

(He knows the secret and that which is yet more hidden.) 20:7 and,

وَهُوَ مَعَكُمْ أَيْنَ مَا كُنتُمْ وَاللَّهُ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ بَصِيرٌ

(And He is with you wherever you may be. And Allah is the All-Seer of what you do.) 57:4 Is He Who is like this similar to the idols, that the polytheists worship, which can neither hear nor see nor do they have a mind nor able to bring good to themselves or to their worshippers nor prevent harm from themselves or their worshippers The answer to the question in the Ayah was omitted, because it is implied, for Allah said next,

وَجَعَلُواْ للَّهِ شُرَكَآءَ

(Yet, they ascribe partners to Allah.) which they worshipped besides Him, such as idols, rivals and false deities,

قُلْ سَمُّوهُمْ

(Say: "Name them!") make them known to us and uncover them so that they are known, for surely, they do not exist at all! So Allah said,

أَمْ تُنَبِّئُونَهُ بِمَا لاَ يَعْلَمُ فِى الاٌّرْضِ

(Is it that you will inform Him of something He knows not in the earth) for had that thing existed in or on the earth, Allah would have known about it because nothing ever escapes His knowledge,

أَم بِظَـهِرٍ مِّنَ الْقَوْلِ

(or is it (just) a show of words) or doubts expressed in words, according to Mujahid, while Ad-Dahhak and Qatadah said, false words. Allah says, you (polytheists) worshipped the idols because you thought that they had power to bring benefit or harm, and this is why you called them gods,

إِنْ هِىَ إِلاَّ أَسْمَآءٌ سَمَّيْتُمُوهَآ أَنتُمْ وَءَابَآؤُكُم مَّآ أَنزَلَ اللَّهُ بِهَا مِن سُلْطَـنٍ إِن يَتَّبِعُونَ إِلاَّ الظَّنَّ وَمَا تَهْوَى الاٌّنفُسُ وَلَقَدْ جَآءَهُم مِّن رَّبِّهِمُ الْهُدَى

(They are but names which you have named - you and your fathers - for which Allah has sent down no authority. They follow but a guess and that which they themselves desire, whereas there has surely come to them the guidance from their Lord!)53:23 Allah said next,

بَلْ زُيِّنَ لِلَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ مَكْرُهُمْ

(Nay! To those who disbelieved, their plotting is made fair seeming,) or their words, according to Mujahid. This Ayah refers to the misguidance of the polytheists and their propagation night and day. Allah said in another Ayah,

وَقَيَّضْنَا لَهُمْ قُرَنَآءَ فَزَيَّنُواْ لَهُم

(And We have assigned for them (devils) intimate companions, who have made fair-seeming to them.) Allah said next,

وَصُدُّواْ عَنِ السَّبِيلِ

(and they have been hindered from the right path;) Some read with Fatha over the Sad (i.e. wa Saddu), which would mean, `and they hindered from the right path, feeling fond of the misguidance they are in, thinking that it is correct, they called to it and thus hindered the people from following the path of the Messengers.' Others read it with Damma over the Sad (i.e. wa Suddu), which would mean, `and they have been hindered from the right path,' explained it this way: because they thought that their way looked fair or correct, they were hindered by it from the right path, so Allah said,

وَمَن يُضْلِلِ اللَّهُ فَمَا لَهُ مِنْ هَادٍ

(and whom Allah sends astray, for him there is no guide.) Allah said in similar instances,

وَمَن يُرِدِ اللَّهُ فِتْنَتَهُ فَلَن تَمْلِكَ لَهُ مِنَ اللَّهِ شَيْئاً

(And whomsoever Allah wants to suffer a trial, you can do nothing for him against Allah.) 5:41, and,

إِن تَحْرِصْ عَلَى هُدَاهُمْ فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ لاَ يَهْدِى مَن يُضِلُّ وَمَا لَهُمْ مِّن نَّـصِرِينَ

(If you covet for their guidance, then verily, Allah guides not those whom He makes to go astray. And they will have no helpers.)16:37