(Revealed before Hijrah)
Date of Revelation and Context
All authorities including Ibn 'Abbas and Ibn Zubair agree that the Surah belongs to the Middle Meccan period. Noldeke assigns its revelation to the sixth or seventh year of the Call. In its closing verses, the preceding Surah had made a pathetic reference to the agonized outpourings of the Holy Prophet's lacerated heart that, in spite of his best efforts his Message had failed to evoke adequate response in his people. In answer to his cries of agony, the Holy Prophet was told to overlook their faults and invoke God's mercy on them, for, thus his prayer would draw Divine grace and would make them realize their mistake and listen to him. The present Surah opens with the declaration that the Qur'an which fully explains the truths and realities of life has been revealed in a period of spiritual darkness to reclaim mankind from sin.
The Surah is the fifth of the Ha Mim group. Like the preceding Chapter it opens with the subject of revelation of the Qur'an, though in a different form and context. It commences with the theme that whenever darkness enshrouds the face of the earth and humanity is stuck fast in the quagmire of moral turpitude, God raises a Messenger and gives him a new Message to reclaim and regenerate the world. Prophets of God had been appearing at such times of decadence, and now that the moral need of humanity was greatest and spiritual darkness was most intense and overwhelming, God has raised the greatest of His Messengers and has given him the last and most perfect Law-the Qur'an.
The advent of the Holy Prophet is not a novel phenomenon. Divine Messengers had appeared before him in the fullness of time, most prominent among them being Moses. The Surah then gives a pathetic description of the dreadful fate that overtook Pharaoh and his people. They went to their doom in disgrace and ignominy, and God chose the Israelites for the bestowal of His special favors. This is how God brings about transformation in the life of a people. It further says that human life has a great mission. It is for the fulfillment of this great mission that God raises His Messengers in the world. The Surah ends on the note that the principles and ideals of Islam have been taught in a most clear and convincing manner.
 بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيم
[44:1] In the name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful.
 حم
[44:2] Ha Mim[2691A].
 وَالْكِتَابِ الْمُبِينِ
[44:3] By this perspicuous Book.
 إِنَّا أَنزَلْنَاهُ فِي لَيْلَةٍ مُبَارَكَةٍ إِنَّا كُنَّا مُنذِرِينَ
[44:4] Truly, We revealed it in a blessed Night[2692]. Truly, We have ever been warning against evil.
 فِيهَا يُفْرَقُ كُلُّ أَمْرٍ حَكِيمٍ
[44:5] In it all wise things are decided[2693],
 أَمْرًا مِنْ عِنْدِنَا إِنَّا كُنَّا مُرْسِلِينَ
[44:6] By Our own command. Verily, We have ever been sending Messengers,
 رَحْمَةً مِنْ رَبِّكَ إِنَّهُ هُوَ السَّمِيعُ الْعَلِيمُ
[44:7] As a mercy from thy Lord. Verily, He is the All-Hearing, the All-knowing,
 رَبِّ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالأَرْضِ وَمَا بَيْنَهُمَا إِنْ كُنْتُمْ مُوقِنِينَ
[44:8] The Lord of the heavens and the earth and all that is between them, if you would only have faith.
 لاَ إِلَهَ إِلاَّ هُوَ يُحْيِ وَيُمِيتُ رَبُّكُمْ وَرَبُّ آبَائِكُمُ الأَوَّلِينَ
[44:9] There is no God but He. He gives life and He causes death. He is your Lord, and the Lord of your forefathers.
 بَلْ هُمْ فِي شَكٍّ يَلْعَبُونَ
[44:10] Yet they play about in doubt.
 فَارْتَقِبْ يَوْمَ تَأْتِي السَّمَاءُ بِدُخَانٍ مُبِينٍ
[44:11] But watch thou for the day when the sky will bring forth a visible smoke[2694],
 يَغْشَى النَّاسَ هَذَا عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ
[44:12] That will envelop the people. This will be a painful torment.
 رَبَّنَا اكْشِفْ عَنَّا الْعَذَابَ إِنَّا مُؤْمِنُونَ
[44:13] Then will the people cry: ‘Our Lord, remove from us the torment; truly, we are believers.’
 أَنَّى لَهُمُ الذِّكْرَى وَقَدْ جَاءَهُمْ رَسُولٌ مُبِينٌ
[44:14] How can they benefit by admonition, when there has already come to them a Messenger, explaining things clearly,
 ثُمَّ تَوَلَّوْا عَنْهُ وَقَالُوا مُعَلَّمٌ مَجْنُونٌ
[44:15] And yet they turned away from him and said: ‘He is tutored, a man possessed?’
 إِنَّا كَاشِفُوا الْعَذَابِ قَلِيلاً إِنَّكُمْ عَائِدُونَ
[44:16] We shall remove the punishment for a little while, but you will certainly revert to disbelief[2695].
 يَوْمَ نَبْطِشُ الْبَطْشَةَ الْكُبْرَى إِنَّا مُنتَقِمُونَ
[44:17] On the day when We shall seize[2696] you with the great seizure, then certainly We will exact retribution.
 وَلَقَدْ فَتَنَّا قَبْلَهُمْ قَوْمَ فِرْعَوْنَ وَجَاءَهُمْ رَسُولٌ كَرِيمٌ
[44:18] And We tried the people of Pharaoh before them, and there came to them a noble Messenger,
 أَنْ أَدُّوا إِلَيَّ عِبَادَ اللَّهِ إِنِّي لَكُمْ رَسُولٌ أَمِينٌ
[44:19] Saying, ‘Deliver to me the servants of Allah. Truly, I am to you a Messenger, faithful to my trust;
 وَأَنْ لاَ تَعْلُوا عَلَى اللَّهِ إِنِّي آتِيكُمْ بِسُلْطَانٍ مُبِينٍ
[44:20] ‘And exalt not yourselves in defiance of Allah. Surely, I come to you with a clear authority.
 وَإِنِّي عُذْتُ بِرَبِّي وَرَبِّكُمْ أَنْ تَرْجُمُونِي
[44:21] ‘And I seek refuge in my Lord and your Lord, lest you stone me.
 وَإِنْ لَمْ تُؤْمِنُوا لِي فَاعْتَزِلُونِ
[44:22] ‘And if you believe me not, then keep yourselves away from me.’
 فَدَعَا رَبَّهُ أَنَّ هَؤُلاَءِ قَوْمٌ مُجْرِمُونَ
[44:23] Then he prayed unto his Lord, saying, ‘These are indeed a sinful people.’
 فَأَسْرِ بِعِبَادِي لَيْلاً إِنَّكُمْ مُتَّبَعُونَ
[44:24] God said, ‘Take My servants away by night; for you will surely be pursued.
 وَاتْرُكِ الْبَحْرَ رَهْوًا إِنَّهُمْ جُندٌ مُغْرَقُونَ
[44:25] ‘And leave thou the sea at a time when it is motionless[2697]. Surely, they are a host that are doomed to be drowned.’
 كَمْ تَرَكُوا مِنْ جَنَّاتٍ وَعُيُونٍ
[44:26] How many were the gardens and the springs that they left behind!
 وَزُرُوعٍ وَمَقَامٍ كَرِيمٍ
[44:27] And the cornfields and the noble places!
 وَنَعْمَةٍ كَانُوا فِيهَا فَاكِهِينَ
[44:28] And the comforts wherein they took delight!
 كَذَلِكَ وَأَوْرَثْنَاهَا قَوْمًا آخَرِينَ
[44:29] Thus it was destined to be. And We made another people inherit these things.
 فَمَا بَكَتْ عَلَيْهِمُ السَّمَاءُ وَالأَرْضُ وَمَا كَانُوا مُنظَرِينَ
[44:30] And the heaven and the earth wept not for them, nor were they given a respite[2698].
 وَلَقَدْ نَجَّيْنَا بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ مِنَ الْعَذَابِ الْمُهِينِ
[44:31] And We delivered the children of Israel from the abasing torment
 مِنْ فِرْعَوْنَ إِنَّهُ كَانَ عَالِيًا مِنَ الْمُسْرِفِينَ
[44:32] Inflicted by Pharaoh; he was surely haughty even among the extravagant.
 وَلَقَدْ اخْتَرْنَاهُمْ عَلَى عِلْمٍ عَلَى الْعَالَمِينَ
[44:33] And We chose them knowingly above the peoples of their time[2699].
 وَآتَيْنَاهُمْ مِنْ الآياتِ مَا فِيهِ بَلاَءٌ مُبِينٌ
[44:34] And We gave them some Signs wherein was a clear trial.
 إِنَّ هَؤُلاَءِ لَيَقُولُونَ
[44:35] These people do say:
 إِنْ هِيَ إِلاَّ مَوْتَتُنَا الأُولَى وَمَا نَحْنُ بِمُنشَرِينَ
[44:36] ‘It is but our first and only death, after which there is no life and we shall not be raised again.
 فَأْتُوا بِآبَائِنَا إِنْ كُنتُمْ صَادِقِينَ
[44:37] ‘So bring back our fathers, if you speak the truth.’
 أَهُمْ خَيْرٌ أَمْ قَوْمُ تُبَّعٍ وَالَّذِينَ مِنْ قَبْلِهِمْ أَهْلَكْنَاهُمْ إِنَّهُمْ كَانُوا مُجْرِمِينَ
[44:38] Are they better or the people of Tubba‘[2700] and those before them? We destroyed them because they were sinful.
 وَمَا خَلَقْنَا السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالأَرْضَ وَمَا بَيْنَهُمَا لاَعِبِينَ
[44:39] And We created not the heavens and the earth, and all that is between them, in sport[2701].
 مَا خَلَقْنَاهُمَا إِلاَّ بِالْحَقِّ وَلَكِنَّ أَكْثَرَهُمْ لاَ يَعْلَمُونَ
[44:40] We created them not but with the requirements of truth and justice, but most of them understand not.
 إِنَّ يَوْمَ الْفَصْلِ مِيقَاتُهُمْ أَجْمَعِينَ
[44:41] Verily, the Day of Decision[2702] is the appointed time for all of them,
 يَوْمَ لاَ يُغْنِي مَوْلًى عَنْ مَوْلًى شَيْئًا وَلاَ هُمْ يُنصَرُونَ
[44:42] The Day when a friend shall not avail a friend at all, nor shall they be helped,
 إِلاَّ مَنْ رَحِمَ اللَّهُ إِنَّهُ هُوَ الْعَزِيزُ الرَّحِيمُ
[44:43] Save those to whom Allah shows mercy. Surely, He is the Mighty, the Merciful.
 إِنَّ شَجَرَةَ الزَّقُّومِ
[44:44] Verily, the tree of Zaqqum
 طَعَامُ الأَثِيمِ
[44:45] Will be the food of the sinful,
 كَالْمُهْلِ يَغْلِي فِي الْبُطُونِ
[44:46] Like molten copper, it will boil in their bellies,
 كَغَلْيِ الْحَمِيمِ
[44:47] Like the boiling of scalding water.
 خُذُوهُ فَاعْتِلُوهُ إِلَى سَوَاءِ الْجَحِيمِ
[44:48] ‘Seize him and drag him into the midst of the blazing Fire;
 ثُمَّ صُبُّوا فَوْقَ رَأْسِهِ مِنْ عَذَابِ الْحَمِيمِ
[44:49] ‘Then pour upon his head the torment of boiling water.’
 ذُقْ إِنَّكَ أَنْتَ الْعَزِيزُ الْكَرِيمُ
[44:50] ‘Taste it! Thou didst consider thyself the mighty, the honourable.[2703]
 إِنَّ هَذَا مَا كُنتُمْ بِهِ تَمْتَرُونَ
[44:51] ‘This indeed is what you did doubt.’
 إِنَّ الْمُتَّقِينَ فِي مَقَامٍ أَمِينٍ
[44:52] Verily, the righteous will be in a place of security,
 فِي جَنَّاتٍ وَعُيُونٍ
[44:53] And gardens and springs,
 يَلْبَسُونَ مِنْ سُندُسٍ وَإِسْتَبْرَقٍ مُتَقَابِلِينَ
[44:54] Attired in fine silk and heavy brocade, facing one another.
 كَذَلِكَ وَزَوَّجْنَاهُمْ بِحُورٍ عِينٍ
[44:55] Thus will it be. And We shall consort them with fair maidens, having wide, beautiful eyes.
 يَدْعُونَ فِيهَا بِكُلِّ فَاكِهَةٍ آمِنِينَ
[44:56] They will call therein for every kind of fruit, in peace and security.
 لاَ يَذُوقُونَ فِيهَا الْمَوْتَ إِلاَّ الْمَوْتَةَ الأُولَى وَوَقَاهُمْ عَذَابَ الْجَحِيمِ
[44:57] They will not taste death[2704] therein, other than the first death. And He will save them from the punishment of the blazing Fire,
 فَضْلاً مِنْ رَبِّكَ ذَلِكَ هُوَ الْفَوْزُ الْعَظِيمُ
[44:58] As an act of grace[2705] from thy Lord. That is the supreme triumph.
 فَإِنَّمَا يَسَّرْنَاهُ بِلِسَانِكَ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَتَذَكَّرُونَ
[44:59] And We have made it (the Qur’an) easy in thy tongue that they may give heed.
 فَارْتَقِبْ إِنَّهُمْ مُرْتَقِبُونَ
[44:60] So wait thou; they too are waiting.
2691A. See 2592 and 2643.
2692. Elsewhere in the Qur'an, it is called the "Night of Destiny" (97:2). According to authentic traditions of the Holy Prophet, the "Night of Destiny" generally falls in the last ten nights of Ramadan, the month in which the Qur'an began to be revealed (2: 186), to be exact, on its 24th night (Musnad & Jarir). The blessed night, or the "Night of Destiny," is the Quranic metaphor for a period of time when spiritual darkness enshrouds the entire face of the earth and a Divine Reformer is raised to reclaim and regenerate corrupt humanity. The night which gave to humanity its greatest Teacher and the last and most perfect Divine Law was, indeed the "Night of Destiny" for it. This night may also be taken as covering the whole period in which the Qur'an continued to be revealed.
2693. The "Night of Destiny" or the time of the advent of a great Reformer heralds a new era, a new order of things, when, in fact, the future of humanity is decreed and decided. The time when the Qur'an was revealed was humanity's greatest "Night of Destiny." for it was then that the foundations were laid of man's destiny for all time to come.
2694. The reference may be to the severe famine that overtook Mecca and lasted for several years till Abu Sufyan, then a great leader of disbelief, came to the Holy Prophet and begged him to pray for deliverance from that terrible scourge. The famine is said to have been so severe that the Meccans ate hides, bones and even dead bodies (Bukhari; Kitab al-Istisqa'). The famine has been described by the word Dukhan (smoke), because, as the tradition goes, the hunger was so severe that people felt a sort of smoke hanging before their eyes. Or, the word may have been used because there was no rain for a long time in Mecca, and the whole atmosphere had become dusty, for, Dukhan also means dust (Lane). The verse may also be taken as referring to the last two World Wars in which towns and cities were burnt down to rubble and the smoke that rose from their ruins filled the whole atmosphere with smoke and dust.
2695. According to reliable tradition the Holy Prophet prayed and the famine was removed. But the Quraish did not benefit by it and continued to oppose the Holy Prophet.
2696. The 'great seizure' may refer to the defeat of the Quraish at the Battle of Badr, or to the Fall of Mecca.
2697. Rahw is derived from Raha. They say, Raha Baina Rijlaihi, i.e., he parted his legs and made an opening between them; Raha al-Bahru means, the sea became still and calm. Rahw means calm; motionless; depressed place where water collects; an elevated and plain tract of ground (Lane). When Moses and the Israelites arrived at the northern extremity of the Red Sea; the ebb of the tide had begun. As the water receded, it left behind dunes, the tops of which were gradually uncovered, leaving the intervening depressions full of water. The Israelites crossed over at that moment. See also 20 : 78.
2698. They went to their doom in disgrace and ignominy unwept, unhonored and unsung. The ill-fated monarch who, in his conceit and arrogance, called himself god, went to the depths of the sea (10: 91), with the memorable words, 'I believe that there is no god but He in Whom the Children of Israel believe,' on his lips.
2699. God chose the Israelites for His favors because in the Divine scheme of things they were found to be most suited to carry on the Divine mission at that time. The expression, 'Ala 'Ilmin, may also signify, in view of their special circumstances.
2700. Tubba' is said to be the royal title of the Kings of Himyar in Yemen. The Kings of Yemen were known by this title when they also held sway over Himyar, Hadaramaut and Saba'. From ancient inscriptions it appears that the Tubba's ruled over these territories from 270 A.D. to 525 A.D. Historical records speak of their glory and despotism. They seemed to have extended their rule over all Arabia, even to East Africa (Enc. of Islam). The particular Tubba' referred to in the verse under comment is mentioned in some traditions as a Prophet of God. The Qur'an seems to support this view (50:15).
2701. Human life has a grim purpose and a great mission. The great faculties and inborn powers of man are a sure indication that life is real and earnest. It is to this great principle that the creation of the heavens and the earth emphatically draws our attention.
2702. Besides the final Day of Decision when all secrets of the unknown will be laid bare and human actions weighed in the balance and finally judged, there is a day of decision in the time of every Prophet in this very life when truth triumphs and falsehood is defeated.
2703. The words have been spoken in irony.
2704. The verse unmistakably shows that life in the next world would be eternal and continuously progressive, and not a life of inaction.
2705. Salvation depends on the grace and mercy of God.
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