Surah Az-Zumar (39): Verse 8

Translation and Exegesis

Allah, the Exalted, having clarified the falsehood of polytheistic speech and established that He alone deserves worship, demonstrates in this verse the contradictory nature of the path of these disbelievers who worship idols.

When they are afflicted by any kind of harm, they turn only to Allah to seek its removal. But once that harm is lifted, they revert to worshipping their idols. It is evident that they only returned to Allah during distress because He is the One capable of bringing good and averting harm. If they recognize this truth in some circumstances, they ought to acknowledge it in all circumstances. Thus, their approach in this matter is proven to be contradictory.

It has been said that "man" refers to specific individuals, such as 'Utbah ibn Rabi'ah and others. Another view is that it refers to the disbeliever previously mentioned, as the discourse follows established context.

This encompasses all adversities, whether affecting his body, wealth, family, or children, as the term is unrestricted, and there is no reason to limit it.

This means he seeks refuge with his Lord and calls upon Him, having no hope in anyone else for the removal of the harm. This is why it says: {turning to Him in repentance} (مُنِيبًا إِلَيْهِ), meaning returning to Him alone to remove that harm, as Inabah (repentance/turning back) is returning.

This means He bestowed upon him. The author of Al-Kashshaf mentioned two interpretations for the root of khawwalahu:

1. Making him a steward of wealth (خائل مال), derived from the saying: He is a steward of wealth (خائل مال وخال مال) if he diligently manages it. This is related to the narration that the Prophet (PBUH) used to attend to his companions with admonition (يتخول أصحابه).
2. Making him boastful/proud (يخول), derived from khāla yakhūlu (to be proud or boastful). The Arabs say:

Indeed, wealth has a long trailing skirt, swaying proudly.

This means he forgets the Lord to whom he was supplicating and beseeching. The word mā (what) here means man (who), as in the verse {And what He created of the male and the female} (Al-Layl: 3), and {Nor will you be worshippers of what I worship} (Al-Kafirun: 3), and {then marry those that please you of [other] women} (An-Nisa: 3).

Another interpretation is that he forgets the harm for which he was supplicating Allah to remove. The meaning of "he forgets" is that he abandons his supplication as if he never sought refuge with his Lord. If it meant literal forgetfulness, he would not be blamed for it. It is also possible that it means he forgets not to seek refuge, and that there is no god but Him, so he reverts to taking partners with Allah.

This involves several issues:

Issue 1 (Qira'at): Ibn Kathir and Abu 'Amr recited li-yuḍilla (with a fatḥa on the yā’), meaning "to mislead others." The rest recited li-yuḍalla (with a ḍammah on the yā’), meaning "so that he may be misled."

Issue 2 (Contradiction): Allah, the Exalted, expresses astonishment at their inconsistency across these two states. During distress, they believe there is no refuge except in Him. During ease and leisure, they return to setting up partners with Him. Since they only turn to Him in distress because He is the capable one regarding good and evil, this reality remains true during ease. Their state in these two times establishes their contradiction and lack of intellect.

Issue 3 (Meaning of Misleading): The meaning of {to mislead [others] from His path} is that he does not limit this to misleading himself but invites others—either by his actions or words—to share in his polytheism, thus accumulating sin upon sin. The lām (for) in {to mislead} is the lām al-'āqibah (the lām of consequence), as in {So the people of Pharaoh picked him up [out of the water] so that he would become for them an enemy and a source of grief} (Al-Qasas: 8).

After describing this contradictory behavior, Allah warns them: {Say, "Enjoy your disbelief for a little while"} (قُلْ تَمَتَّعْ بِكُفْرِكَ قَلِيلًا). This is not a command but a reprimand, making him realize the brevity of his enjoyment in this world, after which his destination will be the Fire.

Transition to the Believers

After explaining the characteristics of the polytheists and the misguided who rely on others besides Allah, Allah follows this by describing the state of the truthful ones whose only recourse and reliance is upon the grace of Allah. He says: {Is one who is devoutly obedient during the hours of the night, prostrating and standing...} (أَمَّنْ هُوَ قَانِتٌ آنَاءَ اللَّيْلِ سَاجِدًا وَقَائِمًا).

This involves several issues:

Issue 1 (Qira'at of Am): Nafi', Ibn Kathir, and Hamzah recited Aman (with a lightened mīm), and the rest recited Ammann (with a doubled mīm).

• Lightened mīm (أَمْ): Two possibilities: (1) The alif is the alif of interrogation preceding man (who), and the answer is omitted, implying "like one who is not so," or "like the one who set up rivals for Allah," relying on the preceding context. (2) The alif is a call (nida’), as if saying, "O one who is devoutly obedient, are you among the people of Paradise?"
• Doubled mīm (أَمَّنْ): Al-Farra' said the original was A-am man (Is it... or who...), where the mīm was assimilated into the following mīm. In this case, it is the am used in comparison, like in your statement: "Is Zayd better, or Amr?"

Issue 2 (Meaning of Qānit): Al-Qānit is one who fulfills the obligations of obedience. This is derived from the saying: "The best prayer is the prayer of Qunūt," which refers to standing in it. Similarly, Qunūt in Fajr prayer is supplication while standing. Ibn 'Umar (RA) said: "I do not know Qunūt except as reciting the Qur'an, long standing, and reciting {Is one who is devoutly obedient...}." Ibn 'Abbas said Qunūt is obedience to Allah, based on {To Him belongs everyone who is in the heavens and the earth; all are obedient to Him} (Al-Baqarah: 116). Qatadah interpreted {during the hours of the night} as the beginning, middle, and end of the night.

This phrase indicates the virtue of night vigil (Qiyām al-Layl), suggesting it is superior to daytime worship for several reasons:

1. Night worship is more concealed from eyes, making it further removed from ostentation (Riyā’).
2. Darkness prevents sight, and the sleep of people prevents hearing. When the heart is free from preoccupation with external affairs, it returns to its primary goal: knowing and serving Allah.
3. Night is the time for sleep, so abandoning it is more difficult, resulting in greater reward.
4. Allah says: {Indeed, the rising [in prayer] during the night is more firm in [its] footing and more suitable for [the recitation of] speech} (Al-Muzzammil: 6). The word {prostrating} (sājidā) is a ḥāl (state). It is also read as sājidun wa qā’imun (prostrating and standing) as the predicate of an implied servant, with the wāw connecting the two attributes.

First Benefit: The verse begins by mentioning action ('amal) and concludes by mentioning knowledge ('ilm). The action is being devoutly obedient, prostrating, and standing. The knowledge is in the concluding question: {Are those who know equal to those who do not know?} This indicates that human perfection is confined to these two objectives: action is the beginning, and knowledge/unveiling (mukāshafah) is the end.

Second Benefit: Allah points out that the benefit of action is only achieved through consistency. Qunūt means the person is fulfilling his obligations of obedience, indicating that knowledge is only beneficial if the person adheres to it consistently. {Prostrating and standing} refers to the types of actions. {Fearing the Hereafter and hoping for the mercy of his Lord} indicates that upon consistency, the station of overwhelming power (qahr) is first revealed—that is, {fearing the Hereafter}—followed by the station of mercy, {hoping for the mercy of his Lord}. Then, various forms of unveiling occur, which is what is meant by {Are those who know equal to those who do not know?}.

Third Benefit: In the context of fear, He says {fearing the Hereafter}, not attributing the fear to Himself. In the context of hope, He attributes it to Himself: {hoping for the mercy of his Lord}. This indicates that the aspect of hope is more complete and fitting in the presence of Allah.

Issue 3 (Specific Individual): It is said that "one who is devoutly obedient during the hours of the night" refers to 'Uthman, because he used to revive the night in a single rak'ah and recite the entire Qur'an in one rak'ah. However, the correct view is that it refers to everyone described by this attribute, including 'Uthman and others, as the verse is not restricted to him.

Issue 4 (Implied Context): There is undoubtedly an omission in the speech. The meaning is: "Is one who is devoutly obedient like others?" This omission is eloquent because Allah mentioned the disbeliever before this verse and follows it with: {Say, "Are those who know equal to those who do not know?"}. The implied structure is: Say, are those who know—whose description is that they are devoutly obedient during the hours of the night, prostrating and standing—equal to those who do not know—whose description is that they invoke Allah alone during affliction and associate partners with Him during ease and leisure? When this context is understood, the meaning becomes clear. Allah described the disbelievers as not knowing because, even though Allah granted them knowledge, they turned away from acquiring it. For this reason, He made them as if they were not people of understanding, in the sense that they did not benefit from their intellects and hearts.

This is a great indication of the virtue of knowledge. We have elaborated on this meaning in the exegesis of {And He taught Adam the names, all of them} (Al-Baqarah: 31). The author of Al-Kashshaf said: "By 'those who know,' He means those previously mentioned, the devoutly obedient. By 'those who do not know,' He means those who do not perform this action, as if He equated the devoutly obedient with the knowledgeable. This is a warning against those who acquire knowledge but do not remain devoutly obedient, who are tempted by it and then tempted by the world; they are considered ignorant by Allah."

This vast difference between the knowledgeable and the ignorant is only recognized by those of understanding. It is reported that a scholar was asked: "You say knowledge is better than wealth, yet we see scholars gathering at the doors of kings, but we do not see kings gathering at the doors of scholars." The scholar replied: "This also indicates the virtue of knowledge, because the scholars knew the benefits contained in wealth and thus sought it. The ignorant ones did not recognize the benefits contained in knowledge, so naturally, they abandoned it."

Surah Az-Zumar (39): Verses 10–17

{Say, "O My servants who have believed, fear your Lord. For those who do good in this world is good, and the earth of Allah is spacious. Indeed, the patient will be given their reward without measure."}

{Say, "Indeed, I have been commanded to worship Allah, [being] sincere to Him in religion.}

{And I have been commanded to be the first of the Muslims."}

{Say, "Indeed, I fear if I should disobey my Lord, the punishment of a great Day."}

{Say, "It is Allah whom I worship, sincerely to Him my religion.}

{So worship whatever you will besides Him." Say, "Indeed, the losers are those who lose themselves and their families on the Day of Resurrection. That is indeed the manifest loss.}

{They will have coverings of fire above them and coverings beneath them. With that Allah frightens His servants, [saying], "O My servants, then fear Me!"}