Surah Az-Zumar (39): Verse 5

Translation and Exegesis (Tafsir)

Verse 5: Khalaqa al-samāwāti wa-l-arḍa... (He created the heavens and the earth...)

Know that the preceding verse indicated His transcendence from having a child by establishing His oneness (Wāḥid) and His overwhelming might (Qahhār), meaning perfect power. Since that issue was built upon these foundations, He immediately followed it with what indicates the perfection of His power and His absolute self-sufficiency. Indeed, the Almighty refuted the divinity of idols by mentioning the attributes by which divinity is established.

We have previously explained in several places in this Book that the proofs Allah mentions for establishing His divinity are either celestial (related to the cosmos) or elemental.

The celestial proofs are of several types:

1. The Creation of the Heavens and the Earth: This meaning points to the existence of the Capable God in many ways, which we explained in the exegesis of the verse: {All praise is due to Allah, who created the heavens and the earth} (Al-An'am: 1).
2. The Alternation of Night and Day: This is what is intended here by His saying: {He covers the night over the day and covers the day over the night} (yukawwiru al-layla ‘ala an-nahār wa yukawwiru an-nahāra ‘ala al-layl). This is because light and darkness are two majestic and formidable armies. Every day, one overcomes the other at times, and the other overcomes the first at other times. This indicates that each is subdued and overpowered, and there must be an Overpowering Victor who manages them both under His decree and control—and that is Allah, the Glorified and Exalted. The meaning of this takwīr (enveloping/rolling) is that He increases one by the amount that the other decreases. The meaning of the enveloping of night and day is also what is mentioned in the Hadith: "We seek refuge in Allah from the reversal after the rolling (al-ḥawr ba‘da al-kawr)," meaning from decline after ascent. Know that He, the Glorified, expressed this meaning using phrases like: {He covers the night over the day}, {He covers [the light with darkness]} (Al-A'raf: 54), {He causes the night to enter the day and causes the day to enter the night} (Fatir: 13), and {And it is He who made the night and the day a succession for those who intend to remember} (Al-Furqan: 62).
3. Consideration of the States of the Celestial Bodies, Especially the Sun and the Moon: The sun is the sovereign of the day, and the moon is the sovereign of the night. Most of the benefits of this world are tied to them. His saying, {Each [celestial body] runs for a specified term} (kullun yajrī li-ajalin musammā), refers to the specified term being the Day of Resurrection. They will continue to run until that Day, and when the Day of Resurrection comes, they will cease. Similar to this is His saying: {and He has subjected the sun and the moon, each running for a specified term} (implied context, referencing verses like Al-Qiyamah: 9, {and the sun and the moon are gathered}). The meaning of this subjugation is that these spheres revolve uniformly, like a millstone, until the Day of Resurrection, at which time the heaven will be rolled up like the rolling up of a scroll for writings.

After mentioning these three types of celestial proofs, Allah says: {Indeed, He is the Exalted in Might, the Forgiving} (Al-‘Azīz al-Ghaffār).

The meaning is that the creation of these great bodies indicates His being ‘Azīz (Exalted in Might, possessing perfect power). However, He is also Ghaffār (Forgiving), possessing immense mercy, grace, and benevolence. Since announcing His great power necessitates fear and awe, His being Ghaffār necessitates abundant mercy, and abundant mercy necessitates hope and desire.

He then followed the celestial proofs with proofs derived from this lower world, beginning with the creation of man: {He created you from one soul, then made from it its mate} (Khalaqakum min nafsin wāḥidatin thumma ja‘ala minhā zawjahā).

The evidence that the creation of man points to the Chosen Creator has been explained many times.

Addressing a potential objection: If someone asks how it is permissible to say, {He created you from one soul, then made from it its mate}, when the mate (Eve) was created before their creation (i.e., before the creation of the subsequent generations), the scholars have answered in several ways:

1. The word thumma (then) is used not only to indicate that one event occurred later than the second, but also to indicate that one statement follows another, as in the saying: "It reached me what you did today, and what you did yesterday was more astonishing." Or: "I gave you something today, and what I gave you yesterday was more."
2. The intended meaning is: He created you from a soul that was created alone, and then made its mate from it.
3. Allah brought forth the progeny of Adam from his back like scattered particles, and then created Eve afterward.

Know that after establishing the proof of the Creator through the creation of man, He followed it by establishing the proof through the existence of animals: {And He sent down for you of the livestock eight pairs} (wa anzaala lakum min al-an‘āmi thamāniyata azwāj). These are the camels, cattle, sheep, and goats. We have explained how these animals indicate the existence of the Creator in the exegesis of {And the livestock He created for you; in them is warmth...} (An-Nahl: 5).

Regarding the phrase {And He sent down for you} (wa anzaala lakum), there are several interpretations:

1. Allah’s decree, predestination, and judgment are described as being "sent down from heaven" because everything that occurs is written in the Preserved Tablet.
2. No animal can live except through vegetation, and vegetation cannot stand except through water and earth, and water descends from the sky. Thus, the meaning is as if He sent them down.
3. He created them in Paradise and then sent them down to Earth.

His saying, {eight pairs} (thamāniyata azwāj), means a male and a female from camels, cattle, sheep, and goats. The word zawj (pair) is the name for each one accompanied by another; if it stands alone, it is an individual of that pair. Allah says: {And made from it the two kinds, the male and the female} (Al-Qiyamah: 39).

Then Allah says: {He creates you in the wombs of your mothers, creation after creation} (yakhluqukum fī buṭūni ummahātikum khalqan min ba‘di khalq).

There are several points concerning this:

1. Recitations: There are variations in the recitation of the word ummahātikum (your mothers) regarding the vowelization of the first letter (Hamza) and the second letter (Mīm).
2. After mentioning the creation of people from one person (Adam, peace be upon him), He followed it with the creation of livestock. They were singled out because they are the noblest creatures after humans. He then mentioned a state common to both humans and livestock: being created in the wombs of their mothers.
3. His saying, {creation after creation} (khalqan min ba‘di khalq), refers to what Allah mentioned in Surah Al-Mu'minun (23:12-14): {And We have certainly created man from an extract of clay. Then We placed him as a sperm-drop in a firm lodging. Then We made the sperm-drop into a clinging clot, and We made the clot into a lump of flesh, and We made the lump of flesh into bones, and We clothed the bones with flesh; then We developed him into another creation. So blessed is Allah...}.
4. His saying, {in three darknesses} (fī ẓulumātin thalāth): It is said these three darknesses are the abdomen, the womb, and the placenta. Others say they are the loins, the womb, and the abdomen. The manner of deriving evidence from these stages has already been mentioned in the exegesis of {It is He who forms you in the wombs as He wills}.

Know that after explaining and describing these proofs, Allah says: {That is Allah, your Lord} (Dhālika Allāhu Rabbukum). Meaning: That thing whose wondrous actions you have recognized is Allah, your Lord.

In this verse, there is evidence that He, the Glorified and Exalted, is transcendent from having parts and limbs, and transcendent from being a body subject to location. This is because when Allah intended to make His specific Essence known to His servants, He mentioned only His being the Doer of these things. If He were a body composed of parts, defining Him by those parts would be defining the thing by the components of its reality. If that definition (by parts) were possible, then relying only on the definition by actions would be deficient and imperfect, which is impossible. Therefore, relying solely on the definition by actions is appropriate only because the definition by parts is impossible and non-existent. This proves that He, the Glorified and Exalted, is exalted above corporeality, limbs, and parts.

Then Allah says: {To Him belongs the dominion} (Lahu al-mulk). This implies exclusivity: His is the dominion, and no one else’s. Once it is established that no dominion belongs to anyone but Him, it necessitates affirming that there is no god but Him. If there were another god, that god would either have dominion or not. If he had dominion, then both would be capable owners, and conflict (tamānu‘) could occur between them, as established in {If there were within them other deities besides Allah, there would have been corruption in both} (Al-Anbiya: 22), which is impossible. If the second had no power or dominion, he would be deficient and unfit for divinity. Thus, since the proof indicates that no dominion belongs to anyone but Allah, it necessitates saying: There is no god for the worlds, nor any object of worship for all creation, except Allah, the One, the True, the Self-Sufficient.

Then know that after He clarified the perfection of Allah’s power, wisdom, and mercy through these proofs, He followed this by refuting the methodology of the polytheists and the misguided in several ways.

The first is His saying: {So how are you turned away?} (Fa-annā tuṣrafūn). Our companions (Ash'arites) and the Mu'tazilites use this verse as proof.

• For our companions (Ash'arites): The verse explicitly states that they were not turned away from these proofs by themselves, but someone else turned them away—and that someone is Allah. Furthermore, rational proof supports this: everyone desires to attain truth and correctness for themselves. Since they did not attain it, but rather attained ignorance and misguidance, we know it came from another, not from themselves.
• For the Mu'tazilites: The verse expresses astonishment at this turning away. If Allah Himself were the agent of this turning away, this astonishment would lose its meaning.

Then Allah says: {If you disbelieve, then indeed, Allah is free from need of you} (Wa in takfurū fa-inna Allāha ghanīyyun ‘ankum). The meaning is that Allah did not impose obligations upon the obligated to gain a benefit for Himself or repel a harm from Himself, because He is absolutely Self-Sufficient (Ghanī). Gaining benefit or repelling harm is impossible for Him.

We affirm that He is Self-Sufficient for several reasons:

1. He is Necessarily Existent by Himself, and necessarily existent in all His attributes. Whoever is like this is absolutely Self-Sufficient.
2. If He were in need, that need would either be eternal or contingent (newly arising). The first is false, as it would imply He created what He needed eternally, which is impossible because creation and eternity are contradictory. The second is false because need implies deficiency, and a Wise Being would not be prompted to acquire deficiency for Himself.
3. Even if doubt remained about whether desire, aversion, or need could apply to Him, it is known by necessity that the God capable of creating the heavens, the earth, the sun, the moon, the stars, the Throne, the Footstool, the four elements, and the three generations of beings (minerals, plants, animals) cannot benefit from Zayd’s prayer or ‘Amr’s fasting, nor be harmed by this one’s lack of prayer or that one’s lack of fasting. Thus, based on what we have mentioned, if all creation disbelieved and persisted in ignorance, Allah is free from need of them.

Then Allah says next: {And He is not pleased with disbelief for His servants} (Wa lā yarḍā li-‘ibādihī al-kufr). Meaning, even though His faith does not benefit Him, nor does disbelief harm Him, He is not pleased with disbelief.

Al-Jubba'i used this verse to argue in two ways:

1. The Mujbirah (Determinists) say that Allah created the disbelief of the servants, and in the aspect that He created it, it is true and correct. Al-Jubba'i argued: If that were the case, He would be pleased with disbelief in the aspect He created it, which contradicts the verse.
2. If disbelief were by Allah’s decree, we would be obligated to be pleased with it, as being pleased with Allah’s decree is obligatory. Since the Ummah agrees that being pleased with disbelief is disbelief itself, it is established that disbelief is neither by Allah’s decree nor by His pleasure.

The Ash'arites responded to this argument in several ways:

1. The usage in the Qur'an often restricts the term ‘ibād (servants) to the believers. Allah says: {And the servants of the Most Merciful are those who walk upon the earth humbly} (Al-Furqan: 63), and {A spring from which the servants of Allah drink} (Al-Insan: 6), and {Indeed, My servants—you will have no authority over them} (Al-Hijr: 42). Under this interpretation, {And He is not pleased with disbelief for His servants} means He is not pleased with disbelief for the believers, which does not harm us.
2. We say that disbelief occurs by Allah’s will (irādah), but we do not say it occurs by Allah’s pleasure (riḍā). Pleasure is defined as praising and commending an action. Allah says: {Allah has certainly pleased the believers} (Al-Fath: 18), meaning He praises and commends them.
3. The late Shaykh, Diya' al-Din Omar (may Allah have mercy on him), used to say that pleasure (riḍā) means refraining from blame and objection, not meaning will (irādah). The proof for this is the poetry of Ibn Durayd:

   I was pleased by compulsion, and whoever was displeased by the decree of fate was pleased by compulsion— This proves what we have said.

4. Even if pleasure is defined as will, the statement {And He is not pleased with disbelief for His servants} is general. It must be restricted by verses indicating that He wills disbelief from the disbeliever, such as {But you will not will except that Allah wills} (Al-Insan: 30). And Allah knows best.

Then Allah says: {And if you are grateful, He is pleased with it for you} (Wa in tashkurū yarḍahu lakum). Meaning, since He clarified that He is not pleased with disbelief, He clarified that He is pleased with gratitude.

There are several issues concerning this:

Issue 1: Recitations of the Pronoun hu (it) in yarḍahu: The reciters differed on the vowelization of the hā’ (pronoun) in three ways:

1. Nafi', Abu Amr, Ibn Amir, Asim, and Hamza read it with a short, unextended ḍammah on the hā’.
2. Abu Amr and Hamza, in some narrations, read it with a silent hā’ for ease.
3. Nafi', Ibn Kathir, Ibn Amir, and Al-Kisa'i, in some narrations, read it with a fully extended ḍammah (as if followed by a wāw). Al-Wahidi said some extended the hā’ by adding a wāw because the preceding letter has a vowel, similar to ḍaraba-hu (He struck him) and lahu (to him); just as these are extended by all reciters, so too is yarḍahu. Others vocalized the hā’ without adding the wāw, because the original form is yarḍāhu, and the alif dropped due to the jussive mood is not necessarily dropped, so it remains like the original. With the alif remaining, adding a wāw is not permissible, and similarly here.

Issue 2: The Nature of Gratitude: Gratitude (Shukr) is a composite state involving speech, belief, and action. Speech is the acknowledgment of the blessing received. Belief is the conviction that the blessing originates from that Benefactor.

Then Allah says: {And no bearer of burdens will bear the burden of another} (Wa lā taziru wāziratun wizra ukhrā).

Al-Jubba'i argued that this proves Allah does not punish anyone for the actions of another. If Allah caused their disbelief, it would not be permissible for Him to punish them for it. Furthermore, it is not permissible to punish children for the sins of their fathers, contrary to what others say. He also used this verse to deny the obligation of the diya (blood money) falling upon the paternal relatives (al-‘āqilah).

Then Allah says: {Then to your Lord is your return} (Thumma ilā Rabbikum marji‘ukum).

Know that we have often mentioned that the most important goals for a human are to know their Creator as much as possible, to know what benefits and harms them in this worldly life, and to know their state after death. In this verse, after presenting numerous proofs from the higher and lower worlds regarding the perfection of the Creator's power, knowledge, and wisdom, He followed it by commanding gratitude and forbidding disbelief, and then clarifying the state after death by saying: {Then to your Lord is your return}.

There are several issues here:

Issue 1: The Anthropomorphists (Mushabbihah) relied on the word ilā (to) to claim that the God of the universe is in a direction. We have answered this repeatedly.

Issue 2: The Philosophers claimed that these souls existed before the bodies and relied on the word rujū‘ (return) found in this verse and others.

Issue 3: This verse proves the establishment of Resurrection and the Final Hour.

Then He says: {And He will inform you of what you used to do} (Fayunabbi’ukum bi-mā kuntum ta‘malūn). This is a warning for the disobedient and good tidings for the obedient.

His saying, {Indeed, He is Knowing of the innermost thoughts} (Innahu ‘alīmun bi-dhāti aṣ-ṣudūr), serves as the reason (‘illah) for the preceding statement. Meaning, He can inform you of your deeds because He knows all knowable things, including the motives and deterrents in your hearts. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: "Indeed, Allah does not look at your forms nor your sayings, but He looks at your hearts and your deeds."

Verse 6:

(The verse structure in the source text is slightly fragmented here, but the translation covers the meaning of the subsequent verses 6-7 of Surah Az-Zumar.)

Exegesis of the following section (Verses 6-7):

This section contrasts the devoted believer with the misguided disbeliever.

Verse 6: {Is one who is devoutly obedient during periods of the night, prostrating and standing [in prayer], fearing the Hereafter and hoping for the mercy of his Lord, [like one who is not]?}

This describes the state of the true servant who worships Allah in the darkness of the night, fearing the punishment of the Hereafter and hoping for His mercy.

Verse 7: {Say, "Are those who know equal to those who do not know?"}

This is a rhetorical question emphasizing the vast difference between the knowledgeable (those who know Allah and His truth) and the ignorant (those who reject Him).

Verse 7 (Cont.): {Indeed, only they who have understanding will be reminded.}

Only those possessing true intellect (ulū al-albāb) will take heed of this clear distinction.

(The text then continues with the contrast between the disbeliever and the believer, which is the core theme of verses 6-7.)