Surah As Sajdah السجدة is the 32nd surah with 30 ayahs with three rukus and one Sajdah (verse 15), part of the 21st Juzʼ of the Holy Qur'an. The Surah has been entitled As-Sajdah after the theme of Sajdah (prostration) as expressed in verse 15.
Before reading the exegesis / tafseer of Surah As Sajdah (that is this post), readers are requested to go through our earlier post which presents an Overview of the surah, explaining its main theme.
بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيْمِ
"In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful"
Rukhu 1 [Verses 1-11]
In Rukhu 1, it is explained that the Al-Quran is beyond all doubts, revealed to Muhammad, so that he may warn those people to whom no Warner has come before
1. Alif-Lam-Mim. الٓمّٓ[These disjoined letters are one of the miracles of the Qur'an, and none but Allah (Alone) knows their meanings - see our earlier post for details: Understanding the Holy Quran: Huroof Muqatta’at - Disjoined Letters].
Verses 2-3 exhibit that there is no doubt that this Book, the Quran, is from Allah, the Lord of all the worlds. People try to say that Muhammad (peace be upon him) has made it up, or forged it but those who have wisdom and can think when read the Holy QUran understand that no human being could have written such an eloquent and well meaning and well worded book. It is a Book of truth from Allah to Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) in order that he may warn his people. No warner has come to them before and from this Book they will receive guidance.
( 2 ) [This is] the revelation of the Book about which there is no doubt from the Lord of the worlds.Several Surahs of the Quran begin with one or the other such introductory sentence, which is meant to declare at the outset where from this discourse is being issued. However, here, what has been said is not merely that this Book has been sent down by the Lord of the Worlds, but, besides, it also asserts most forcefully: “It is without any doubt the Book of God: there is absolutely no room for doubt about its having been revealed by Allah.” If this assertive sentence is studied in the actual context itself, it will be seen that it contains the argument also along with the assertion, and this argument was not hidden from the people of Makkah before whom the assertion was being made. The whole life of the person presenting it had been spent before them. They knew that the person presenting the Book with that assertion was the most righteous, the most serious and the most pious and virtuous man of their society. They also knew that until a day before he made the claim to prophethood, no one had ever heard from him those things which he had started presenting suddenly just after his claim to prophethood. They found a marked difference between the diction and style used in the Book and the diction and style used by Muhammad (peace be upon him) himself, in his daily life. They also recognized naturally that one and the same person could not have two styles so different from each other. They were also experiencing the highly miraculous literature being presented in the Book and, being the Arabic speaking people themselves, knew that all their literary men and poets were feeling utterly helpless in producing anything the like of it. They were also not unaware that there was a world of difference between the literary productions and orations of their poets and sorcerers and orators, and the divine discourses being recited before them and the sublimity of the pure themes being presented in them. Then, they could also see what sort of the people of their society were being drawn to his message and what great revolution was taking place in them as soon as they came in contact with his invitation. All these things together supported and proved the assertion and claim. That is why in that background it was enough to say that it is, beyond any doubt, a Book that has been sent down by the Lord of the Worlds. No further argument was needed to substantiate the claim.
( 3 ) Or do they say, "He invented it"? Rather, it is the truth from your Lord, [O Muhammad], that you may warn a people to whom no warner has come before you [so] perhaps they will be guided.In the thrid verse, the first objection of the polytheists of Makkah, which they raised concerning the Prophethood of the Prophet (peace be upon him), is being dealt with. In fact this is not merely a question but also an expression of great surprise and astonishment. It means to imply this: In spite of all those things on account of which this Book is, without any doubt, a revelation from Allah, do those people yet say stubbornly that Muhammad (peace be upon him) has himself forged it and is falsely attributing it to Allah? Don’t they feel any shame in uttering such a senseless and baseless accusation? Don’t they at all realize what opinion will those people form who are aware of Muhammad (peace be upon him) and his work and his discourses and also understand the Book, when they hear their absurd accusation?
It is being said: “Just, as its being the truth and a revelation from Allah is absolutely certain, so is its being based on wisdom and Allah’s mercy for you also evident. You yourselves know that for the past many centuries no prophet has been raised among you, and you also know that your entire nation has been involved in ignorance and moral degeneration and sheer backwardness. In a state like this if a Prophet (peace be upon him) has been raised among you to awaken you and show you the right way, you should not be surprised. This was a great need which Allah has fulfilled for the sake of your own welfare and wellbeing.”
Here, another question may arise in the minds, which should be answered straightaway. One may ask: When no Prophet had come to the Arabs for hundreds of years before the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), what would be the basis of accountability of the people who had lived in that age of ignorance? They could not tell guidance from deviation and error. Then, if they had gone astray, how could they be held responsible for their deviation? The answer is this: The detailed knowledge of the true faith might have been lost to those people, but even in that age of ignorance the people were not unaware that the true faith was based on Tauhid, and the Prophets had never taught idol-worship to their followers.
This truth was also contained in those traditions which the Arabs had received from the Prophets born in their own land, and they were also aware of this through the teachings of the Prophets Moses, David, Solomon and Jesus (peace be upon them) who had been born in the land adjoining their own. In the traditions of Arabia, it was also well known that in the earliest times the Arabs’ real religion was the religion of Abraham and that idol-worship had been introduced among them by a person named Amr bin Luhay. In spite of the prevalence of shirk and idol-worship, there were living in different parts of Arabia many such people, who rejected shirk, professed Tauhid and openly condemned offering of sacrifices at the shrines of idols. In the age close to the Prophet’s own, there had passed people who were known as Hunafa. These people publicly professed Tauhid as the basis of the faith and declared their dissociation from the religion of the mushriks.
Moreover, the inscriptions belonging to the 4th and 5th centuries A.D. which have been discovered in Yaman as a result of modern archaeological research and investigation, reveal that a monotheistic religion existed there in that age, whose followers acknowledged ar-Rahman (the All-Merciful) and Rabb-us-sama walard (Lord of the heavens and earth) alone as the One and only deity. An inscription. dated 378 A.D. has been found from the ruins of a house of worship, which says that this house of worship has been built for the worship of “God of heavens” or “Lord of heavens”. In an inscription of 465 A.D. there are words which clearly point to the doctrine of Tauhid. Similarly, an inscription of 512 A.D. has been discovered at Zabad, a place between the river Euphrates and Qinnasrin, in northern Arabia, bearing the words: Bismilahu, laizza illa lahu, la shukra, illa lahv. All this shows that before the advent of the Prophet (peace be upon him), the teachings of the former Prophets had not altogether been forgotten, and there still existed many means which at least reminded man of the truth: “Your God is only One God.”
Verses 4-11 below expound on the creation of the mankind. It is Allah who has created the heavens and the earth and everything between them in six days (periods of time), He then set Himself above the throne. (Mentioning the throne establishes the fact that God not only created the worlds but rules over them in a very real way.) There is no protection or intercession except what comes from God Himself, so why will you not listen and take heed. God arranges every matter in the heavens and on earth and then they will ascend to Him in one day, but in the reckoning of the human being this is a period of one thousand years. (This could be understood to mean that events in a thousand years of our history are accomplished by God in one day.)
Allah knows everything that is hidden and everything that is openly revealed. He is Almighty and He is Merciful, the One who perfected everything. He created the beginning of humankind with the creation of Adam from clay. He then made his descendants from an extract of fluid (semen). He then fashioned him in perfect proportions and breathed life into him, giving him hearing, and sight, and a mind. Even so humankind is seldom grateful. And they say, when we are dead and buried will we really be recreated? They disbelieve in the meeting with their Lord. Say, the angel of death, who has been assigned to you will carry you back to your Lord.
( 4 ) It is Allah who created the heavens and the earth and whatever is between them in six days; then He established Himself above the Throne. You have not besides Him any protector or any intercessor; so will you not be reminded?Now the second objection of the mushriks which they raised against the Prophet’s (peace be upon him) message of Tauhid, is being dealt with: They were severely critical of him because he rejected their gods and saints and openly invited the people to the creed that there is no helper, no fulfiller of needs except Allah, and no answerer of prayers, no remover of ills and no sovereign other than Him.
It is being reminded that “Your real God is the Creator of the heavens and earth. But you in your folly have set up others than Him as your helpers and supporters in the vast kingdom of this universe. The Creator of this whole universe and whatever it contains is Allah. Here, everything except His own self is created, and Allah has not gone to sleep after having created and made the world go. But He Himself is the Ruler and Sovereign and Sustainer of His kingdom. Then, how senseless are you that you have set up a few of His creatures as the masters of your destinies! If Allah does not help you, none of them has the power to help you. If Allah should seize you, none of them has the power to secure your liberty. If Allah does not permit, none of them has the power to intercede for you before Him.”
( 5 ) He arranges [each] matter from the heaven to the earth; then it will ascend to Him in a Day, the extent of which is a thousand years of those which you count.That is, “The events of a thousand years of your history are a day’s work for Allah.” He entrusts His scheme of work to the “angels of destiny”, who submit their report of work before Him and receive orders for the scheme of the next day (whose length according to your calculation would be a thousand years). This thing has also been expressed at two other places in the Quran, the study of which can help understand it. The disbelievers of Arabia said, “Muhammad (peace be upon him) claimed to be a Prophet many years ago. He has warned us again and again that if we did not accept his message and rejected his invitation, we would be seized by Allah’s torment. He has been repeating this threat since many years, but the torment has not overtaken us, although we have denied and rejected him clearly over and over again. Had his threats any substance in them, we would have been seized in the torment long ago.” In this connection, in Surah Al-Hajj Allah says: “These people are demanding of you to hasten the chastisement. Allah will never fail to fulfill His threat, but a day with your Lord is equal to a thousand years as you reckon.” (Ayat 47).
In Surah Al-Maarij (Ayats 1-7), it has been said: “An asker has asked for a torment, (the torment) which must befall the disbelievers. There is none to avert it. It is from that God Who is the Owner of the Steps of Ascent. The angels and the Spirit ascend to His Presence in a day whose measure is fifty thousand years. So, have patience, O Prophet, a graceful patience! They think it is far off, but We see it near at hand.”
ذٰلِكَ عٰلِمُ الۡغَيۡبِ وَالشَّهَادَةِ الۡعَزِيۡزُ الرَّحِيۡمُۙ
( 6 ) That is the Knower of the unseen and the witnessed, the Exalted in Might, the Merciful,That is, “For others one thing may be open and known but countless other things are hidden. Whether angels or jinns, prophets or saints, or other pious people, none of them has the knowledge of everything. It is Allah alone Who knows everything. He knows all that has passed, all that is present, and all that will happen in the future.”
Here in this verse two attributes of Allah have been mentioned: “The All Mighty”: The One Who is dominant over everything: no power in the universe can hinder Him in His design and will and obstruct His command from being enforced. Everything is subdued to Him and nothing can resist Him.
The Most Compassionate, that is, He is not tyrannous to His creatures but is Gracious and Merciful in spite of being overwhelmingly dominant and possessor of all power and authority.
For more explanation of these two attributes and other attributes of Allah, please refer to our earlier post: 99 Attributes of Allah.
( 7 ) Who perfected everything which He created and began the creation of man from clay.In the last portion of verse 7 and the verse 8, the creation of man from clay and then from mean fluid has been explained. It is being said “In the beginning He created man directly by His own act of creation, and then placed in man himself such a procreative ability that similar men continue being produced by his sperm-drop. By one excellent act He gave life and consciousness and intellect to a combination of earthly elements by His creative command so that a wonderful creation like man came into being; by another excellent act He placed in man’s own organism such a wonderful machinery for the production of similar more men in the future, whose mode of functioning is highly astonishing and amazing.”
( 8 ) Then He made his posterity out of the extract of a liquid disdained.
This is one of those verses of the Quran, which points to the direct creation of the first man. The scientists since the time of Darwin have felt greatly critical of this concept and have rejected it with contempt as unscientific. But the fact is that they cannot get rid of the concept of the direct creation of the first germ, if not of the first man, or of the first species of animals. If creationism is not accepted, then one will have to accept the utterly absurd idea that life originated merely accidentally; whereas even the simplest form of life as found in the single cell organism is so full of complexities and subtleties that regarding it as the result of an accident would be a million times more unscientific an idea than what the evolutionists think of creationism. And if once it is accepted that the first germ came into being by an act of direct creation, it would be no longer difficult to accept that the first member of every species of animal life was created by the Creator’s own act of creation, and then its race started through different forms of procreation. If accepted, this concept would explain away all those riddles and complexities which have remained unsolved in their theory of evolution in spite of all the scientific theorizing by the upholders of Darwinism.
( 9 ) Then He proportioned him and breathed into him from His [created] soul and made for you hearing and vision and hearts; little are you grateful.This is a fine way of saying something. Before the mention of “breathing into him of His spirit”, man has been referred to in the third person: “He created him, spread his progeny, shaped him, breathed into him His spirit,” for till then he was not even worthy of being addressed. Then, when the spirit had been breathed into him, he became worthy of the honor and it was said: “He gave you the ears, gave you the eyes, gave you the hearts,” for after having been blessed with the Spirit, man became worthy of being addressed.
The ears and the eyes imply the instruments by which man obtains knowledge. Although the senses of taste and touch and smell are also instruments of obtaining knowledge, hearing and sight are the major and by far the more important senses. Therefore, the Quran has mentioned only these two at different places as the most important gifts of God to man. “The Heart” implies the mind which arranges the information obtained through the senses and draws inferences from it, and selects a possible way of action and decides to follow it.
And then it is said "Little are you grateful." That is after having received these invaluable blessings from Allah, when you adopt polytheism and atheism, when you assume godhead yourself or become servants of other gods, when you lose yourself in sensual pleasure by serving your lusts, you in fact tell your God: “We were not worthy of these blessings: You should have made us a monkey, or a wolf, or an alligator, or a crow, instead of man.”
وَقَالُوۡٓا ءَاِذَا ضَلَلۡنَا فِى الۡاَرۡضِ ءَاِنَّا لَفِىۡ خَلۡقٍ جَدِيۡدٍ ؕ بَلۡ هُمۡ بِلِقَآءِ رَبِّهِمۡ كٰفِرُوۡنَ
( 10 ) And they say, "When we are lost within the earth, will we indeed be [recreated] in a new creation?" Rather, they are, in [the matter of] the meeting with their Lord, disbelievers.After answering the disbelievers’ objections about the prophethood and Tauhid, now their objection about the Hereafter, which is the third basic belief of Islam, is being dealt with. The conjunction waw (and) in the beginning of the verse connects this paragraph with the foregoing theme, as if the sequence were like this: “They say: Muhammad is not Allah’s Messenger,” They say: “Allah is not One and the only Deity,” and They say: “We shall not be raised back to life after death.”
Their saying: “When we have become dust” is meaningless for that which is “we” can never become dust. Dust is the destiny of the body after it has become devoid of the “we”. The body itself is not the “we”. When alive, limbs and other parts of the body may be cut off one by one, but the “we” remains intact. No part of it is cut off with the cut off limb. And when the “we” has vacated a body, the “we” remains no longer applicable even in its remotest sense although the body still remains intact. That is why a sincere lover goes and buries the body of his beloved, because the beloved is no more in the body.
Thus, the very first premise of the disbelievers’ objection is baseless. As for its second part, “Shall we be recreated?” this question containing surprise and denial would not have arisen, had the objectors considered and taken into account the meaning of the “we” and its creation. The present existence of this “we” is nothing more than that a little of coal and iron and lime and some other earthly substances got together from here and there to combine themselves into a body, which became the home of the “we”. Then what happens when it dies? When the "we" has left the body, the constituent substances of its abode which had been gathered together from different parts of the earth go back to the same earth. The question is: He who had made this home for the “we”, can He not make the same home from the same substances once again and settle the “we” in it? When this was possible before and has in actual fact existed, what can hinder its possibility and its existing as an actual fact once again? These are such things as can be understood by the application of a little of the common sense. But why doesn’t man allow his mind to think on these lines? Why does he raise the meaningless objections about the life of Hereafter? Leaving out all these details, Allah has answered this question in the second sentence, saying: “The fact is that they disbelieve in the meeting with their Lord.” That is, “The real thing is not this that the recreation of man is something odd and remote in possibility, which they cannot understand, but in fact, what prevents them from understanding this is their desire to live freely and independently in the world and commit any sin, any excess that they please and then escape free from here: they should not be held accountable for anything, nor answerable for any of their misdeeds.”
( 11 ) Say, "The angel of death will take you who has been entrusted with you. Then to your Lord you will be returned."That is, “Your ego will not mix in the dust, but as soon as its term of action comes to an end, God’s angel of death will come and will take it out of the body and seize it completely. No part of it will be allowed to become dust with the body. It will be taken intact into custody and produced before its Lord.” However, it must be understood that treatment by the angels of death of a guilty soul is different from their treatment of a believing, righteous soul. (For details, see (Surah An-Nisa: Ayat 97), (Surah Al-Anaam: Ayat 93), (Surah An-Nahl: Ayat 28), (Surah Al-Waqiah: Ayats 83-94).
The verse also means that man does not cease to exist after death, but his soul survives the body. The words of the Quran: “The angel of death shall seize you completely,” point out the same reality. For something which does not exist cannot be seized. Seizing something and taking it into custody implies that the seized thing should be in possession of the seizer.
Rukhu 2 [Verses 12-22]
Verses 12-14 are for those who deny the happening of the Day of Judgement. It is said herein that if only you could see how the criminals hang their heads in shame asking their Lord to return them to the world. We are now convinced and will try to do better, they say. If it had been God’s will He could have given guidance to every soul. But God’s word will be fulfilled and Hell will be filled with jinn and humankind. You ignored the meeting planned for Judgment Day and now you will be ignored by God. You will taste the punishment for all of eternity.
( 12 ) If you could but see when the criminals are hanging their heads before their Lord, [saying], "Our Lord, we have seen and heard, so return us [to the world]; we will work righteousness. Indeed, we are [now] certain."
وَ لَوۡ شِئۡنَا لَاٰتَيۡنَا كُلَّ نَفۡسٍ هُدٰٮهَا وَلٰـكِنۡ حَقَّ الۡقَوۡلُ مِنِّىۡ لَاَمۡلَئَنَّ جَهَنَّمَ مِنَ الۡجِنَّةِ وَالنَّاسِ اَجۡمَعِيۡنَ
( 13 ) And if We had willed, We could have given every soul its guidance, but the word from Me will come into effect [that] "I will surely fill Hell with jinn and people all together.That is, “Had it been Our will to give guidance to the people after having made them observe and experience the reality, We would not have brought you here after making you undergo this hard test in the world. We could have given you such guidance even before. But we wanted to test you by keeping the reality hidden from your eyes and senses in order to see whether you could recognize it by your intellect after perceiving its signs in the universe and in your own selves or not, whether you could take advantage of the help that We provided to you through Our Prophets and Our Books to recognize the reality or not, and whether after knowing the reality, you could attain such control over your self or not that you should free yourselves from the service of your desires and lusts and believe in the reality and mend your ways and attitudes accordingly.
You have failed in this test. Now setting the same test once again will be useless. If the second test is set in a condition when you remember everything that you have seen and heard here, it will be no test at all. And if, like before, you are given re-birth in the world, while you do not remember anything and the reality is kept hidden from you, and you are set the test once again as before the result will not be, any different.” (For further explanation, see (Surah Al-Baqarah: Ayat 210), (Surah Al-Anaam: Ayats 7-9, 27-28, 158), (Surah Yunus: Ayat 19), (Surah Al-Muminun: Ayats 99-100).
The word ajmain (all together) here does not mean that all jinns and all men will be cast into Hell, but it means that the satans and the men who follow them, will be cast into Hell all together.
( 14 ) So taste [punishment] because you forgot the meeting of this, your Day; indeed, We have [accordingly] forgotten you. And taste the punishment of eternity for what you used to do."That is, “You became so absorbed in pleasure-seeking in the world that you totally forgot that you had to meet your Lord on this Day.”
Verses 15-22 give glad tidings to the people who believe in God’s revelations prostrate themselves whenever they are reminded of them. They bow down in worship and praise God. They are not arrogant, and they forsake their beds in order to pray to their Lord with fear and hope. They are charitable with what God has given them. Nobody knows what joy they will receive as a reward for what they have done. Is a believer like a transgressor? Of course not! Those who believe and do good deeds will be rewarded with gardens of Paradise. However, those who defy God will have their eternal home in the Fire. Every time they try to leave they will be returned and told to taste the punishment. They will surely taste the calamities and disasters of this world in the hope that they will return to the Right Path. The one who rejects the messages from God recited to him will surely face retribution.
اِنَّمَا يُؤۡمِنُ بِاٰيٰتِنَا الَّذِيۡنَ اِذَا ذُكِّرُوۡا بِهَا خَرُّوۡا سُجَّدًا وَّسَبَّحُوۡا بِحَمۡدِ رَبِّهِمۡ وَهُمۡ لَا يَسۡتَكۡبِرُوۡنَ۩
( 15 ) Only those believe in Our verses who, when they are reminded by them, fall down in prostration and exalt [Allah] with praise of their Lord, and they are not arrogant. (As Sajdah)In other words, they do not regard it as below their dignity to give up their false notions and believe in Allah’s revelations and adopt His service and obedience. Their conceit does not hinder them from accepting the truth and obeying their Lord.
۩ Readers are to perform sajdah / prostration after reading verse 15.
( 16 ) They arise from [their] beds; they supplicate their Lord in fear and aspiration, and from what We have provided them, they spend.That is, they worship their Lord instead of enjoying sensuous pleasures at night. They devote themselves to the adoration of their Lord, spend their nights in His remembrance, tremble out of fear of Him, and pin all their hopes on Him. “Who forsake their beds” does not mean that they do not sleep at all at night, but that they spend a part of the night in Allah’s worship.
( 17 ) And no soul knows what has been hidden for them of comfort for eyes as reward for what they used to do.Abu Hurairah has been quoted as saying that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “Allah says: I have made ready for My righteous servants that which has neither been seen by the eye, nor heard by the ear, nor ever conceived by any man.” (Bukhari, Muslim, Tirmidhi and Imam Ahmad).
اَفَمَنۡ كَانَ مُؤۡمِنًا كَمَنۡ كَانَ فَاسِقًا ؕ لَا يَسۡتَوٗنَ
( 18 ) Then is one who was a believer like one who was defiantly disobedient? They are not equal.Here mumin (believer) and fasiq (sinner) have been used as two contrasting terms. Mumin is he who believes in Allah as his Lord and the One and only deity and adopts obedience of the law which Allah has sent down through His Prophets. Contrary to this, fasiq is he who adopts the attitude of fisq (disobedience, rebellion, independence and obedience to others than Allah). This is it said: “They can neither have the same way of thinking and life in the world nor can they be treated alike by God in the Hereafter.”
( 19 ) As for those who believed and did righteous deeds, for them will be the Gardens of Refuge as accommodation for what they used to do.The 'near punishments' in the world descend as calamities - but in fact these are not mere calamities but warnings of Allah, which are sent to make man conscious of the reality and to remove his misunderstandings. If man learns a lesson from these and corrects his belief and conduct here in the world, he will not have to face the greater torment of Allah in the Hereafter.
( 20 ) But as for those who defiantly disobeyed, their refuge is the Fire. Every time they wish to emerge from it, they will be returned to it while it is said to them, "Taste the punishment of the Fire which you used to deny."
( 21 ) And we will surely let them taste the nearer punishment short of the greater punishment that perhaps they will repent.
( 22 ) And who is more unjust than one who is reminded of the verses of his Lord; then he turns away from them? Indeed We, from the criminals, will take retribution.Signs like calamities, losses in business and of family, droughts, famines etc proclaim consistently and clearly: “O man, you are neither without God, nor the servant of many gods, but your God is only One Allah: no other way of life is correct for you except the way of His service and obedience. You have not been left to live a free and independent and irresponsible life in this world, but you have to appear before yow God and render an account of your deeds after your life-activity here has come to an end, and be rewarded or punished accordingly. Therefore, it is in yow own interest that you should follow the guidance which your God has sent through His Prophets and His Books for your instruction and desist from an independent way of lift.” Now, obviously, the man who has been warned in so many different ways, for whose admonition countless different signs have been provided, and who has been blessed with the eyes to see and the ears to hear and the mind to think, and yet he closes his eyes to all these signs, and closes his ears to the admonitions of his well-wishers, and uses his mind for inventing stupid and blind philosophies only can be a wretched and wicked person. He only deserves to be given full punishment for rebellion when he appears before his God after the expiry of the period of test in the world.
Rukhu 3 [Verses 23-30]
The final verses [23-30] tell (Prophet Muhammad): Do not have any doubt in the Book you are receiving (Quran). It meets the same criteria as the Book we gave to Prophet Moses as a guide for the Children of Israel. When they were patient and believed in Our signs We raised leaders from among them who guided according to their Book.
And on the Day of Judgment God will decide the matters over which they differed. They do not understand how many previous generations were destroyed by God. They walk and dwell in the same places but still do not see the signs, nor do they hear. They do not think about how God sends down rain onto the barren land. Without it they would have no crops or vegetation, for their livestock or for themselves. They do not listen and they do not see. They ask when the Day of Judgment will take place. Tell them that on that Day believing will be of no benefit to the disbelievers. It will be too late and they will not be granted reprieve. Do not pay any attention to them, turn away and wait. They are also waiting.
( 23 ) Verily We bestowed the Book upon Moses. So entertain no doubt if (the Prophet Muhammad) received the same. We had made that Book a guidance for the Children of Israel.That is, “That Book (Torah) was made a means of guidance for the children of Israel, and this Book The Holy Quran), likewise, has been sent down for your guidance.” As has already been elucidated in (Ayat 3), the full meaning of this verse can be understood only if one keeps in view the historical background. History bears evidence, and the disbelievers of Makkah also were not unaware, that the children of Israel had been passing miserable lives for centuries in Egypt. At such a Juncture, Allah raised the Prophet Moses (peace be upon him) among them, and delivered them from bondage. Then He sent down the Book to them, because of which the same very suppressed and subdued nation received guidance and became a prominent nation in the world. Alluding to this historical background, the Arabs are being told: “Just as that Book was sent for the guidance of the Israelites, so has this Book been sent for your guidance.”
( 24 ) And We made from among them leaders guiding by Our command when they were patient and [when] they were certain of Our signs.That is, “Whatever progress the children of Israel made and whatever heights they attained by that Book, was not simply due to the reason that a Book had been sent among them. It was not an amulet that they might have hung around their necks and they might have started ascending the steps of glory under its good and protective influence. But the glory was the direct result of their firm faith in the revelations of Allah, and of the patience and perseverance that they showed in following the divine commandments. Among the Israelites, the leadership also belonged to only those who were true believers of the Book of Allah and were not tempted at all by the greed of worldly gains and enjoyments.
The object is to warn the disbelievers of Arabia that just as the coming of the Book of Allah had decided the destinies of the children of Israel, so will this Book decide the destinies among you. Now only those people will become the leaders, who will believe in it and follow the truth presented by it patiently and resolutely. Those who turn away from it are destined to end up in failure and wretchedness.
( 25 ) Indeed, your Lord will judge between them on the Day of Resurrection concerning that over which they used to differ.The allusion is to the differences and schisms in which the children of Israel were involved after they became deprived of the faith and belief and gave up obedience of their righteous leaders and were given to the worship of the world. One result of this is obvious and before the whole world: they suffer from disgrace and infamy and misfortune; the other result is that which is not known, to the world: it will appear on the Day of Resurrection.
( 26 ) Has it not become clear to them how many generations We destroyed before them, [as] they walk among their dwellings? Indeed in that are signs; then do they not hear?That is, “Have they not learned any lesson from this continuous experience of history that to whichever nation a messenger came, the decision of its destiny became dependent upon the attitude it adopted with regard to him? If it rejected its messenger, it could not escape its doom. The only people to escape were those who believed in the messenger. Those who disbelieved became an object of warning for ever and ever.”
( 27 ) Have they not seen that We drive the water [in clouds] to barren land and bring forth thereby crops from which their livestock eat and [they] themselves? Then do they not see?Keeping the context in view it becomes obvious that this thing has not been mentioned here for the sake of providing an argument for the life-after-death, as generally found in the Quran, but in this context its object is different. This, in fact, contains a subtle allusion to this effect: “Just as a person seeing a barren land cannot imagine that it will ever bloom and swell with vegetation, but a single shower of the rain sent by God changes its color altogether, so is the case with the message of Islam at this juncture. People think that it is not going to gain ground, but a single manifestation of Allah's power and grace will cause it to gain such glory that people will be amazed at its progress.”
( 28 ) And they say, "When will be this conquest, if you should be truthful?"That is, “It is not a thing for which you should feel so impatient and restless. When the torment of Allah comes, you will get no time to mend your ways. Make the best of the time which is available before the coming of the torment. If you will believe only when you see the torment, it will not avail you anything then.”
( 29 ) Say, [O Muhammad], "On the Day of Conquest the belief of those who had disbelieved will not benefit them, nor will they be reprieved."
( 30 ) So turn away from them and wait. Indeed, they are waiting.In conclusion, the Holy Prophet has been addressed to the effect: "These people mock at what you say and ask as to when you will attain this decisive victory. Tell them: when the time comes for the final judgment regarding you and us, believing then will not profit you at all. If you have to believe, believe now. But if you intend to await the final judgment, then await it as you please."
You may now like to listen to Arabic recitation of Surah As Sajdah with English subtitles:
You may refer to our post "114 Chapters (Sūrahs) of the Holy Qur'an" for translation, meaning and summary / exegesis of other chapters (Though not complete but building up from 30th Juzʼ / Part backwards for chapters in 30th Juzʼ / Part are shorter and easier to understand).
Reading the Holy Quran should be a daily obligation of a Muslim - Reading it with translation will make it meaningful. But reading its Exegesis / Tafsir will make you understand it fully.
An effort has been made to gather explanation / exegesis of the surahs of the Holy Qur'an from authentic sources and then present a least possible condensed explanation of the surah. In that:
- The plain translation has been taken from the Holy Quran officially published by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. [3]
- And the exegesis of the chapters of the Holy Quran are basically based on the "Tafhim al-Qur'an - The Meaning of the Qur'an" by one of the most enlightened scholars of the Muslim World Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi. [1]
- In addition the references of other sources which have been explored have also been given above. Those desirous of detailed explanations and tafsir (exegesis), may refer to these sites.
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