39:3 Az-Zumar (The Groups)

{ أَلَا لِلَّهِ الدِّينُ الْخَالِصُ } هذا تقرير للأمر بالإخلاص، وبيان أنه تعالى كما أنه له الكمال كله، وله التفضل على عباده من جميع الوجوه، فكذلك له الدين الخالص الصافي من جميع الشوائب، فهو الدين الذي ارتضاه لنفسه، وارتضاه لصفوة خلقه وأمرهم به، لأنه متضمن للتأله للّه في حبه وخوفه ورجائه، وللإنابة إليه في عبوديته، والإنابة إليه في تحصيل مطالب عباده.وذلك الذي يصلح القلوب ويزكيها ويطهرها، دون الشرك به في شيء من العبادة. فإن اللّه بريء منه، وليس للّه فيه شيء، فهو أغنى الشركاء عن الشرك، وهو مفسد للقلوب والأرواح والدنيا والآخرة، مُشْقٍ للنفوس غاية الشقاء، فلذلك لما أمر بالتوحيد والإخلاص، نهى عن الشرك به، وأخبر بذم من أشرك به فقال: { وَالَّذِينَ اتَّخَذُوا مِنْ دُونِهِ أَوْلِيَاءَ } أي: يتولونهم بعبادتهم ودعائهم، [معتذرين] عن أنفسهم وقائلين: { مَا نَعْبُدُهُمْ إِلَّا لِيُقَرِّبُونَا إِلَى اللَّهِ زُلْفَى } أي: لترفع حوائجنا للّه، وتشفع لنا عنده، وإلا، فنحن نعلم أنها، لا تخلق، ولا ترزق، ولا تملك من الأمر شيئا.أي: فهؤلاء، قد تركوا ما أمر اللّه به من الإخلاص، وتجرأوا على أعظم المحرمات، وهو الشرك، وقاسوا الذي ليس كمثله شيء، الملك العظيم، بالملوك، وزعموا بعقولهم الفاسدة ورأيهم السقيم، أن الملوك كما أنه لا يوصل إليهم إلا بوجهاء، وشفعاء، ووزراء يرفعون إليهم حوائج رعاياهم، ويستعطفونهم عليهم، ويمهدون لهم الأمر في ذلك، أن اللّه تعالى كذلك.وهذا القياس من أفسد الأقيسة، وهو يتضمن التسوية بين الخالق والمخلوق، مع ثبوت الفرق العظيم، عقلا ونقلا وفطرة، فإن الملوك، إنما احتاجوا للوساطة بينهم وبين رعاياهم، لأنهم لا يعلمون أحوالهم. فيحتاج من يعلمهم بأحوالهم، وربما لا يكون في قلوبهم رحمة لصاحب الحاجة، فيحتاج من يعطفهم عليه [ويسترحمه لهم] ويحتاجون إلى الشفعاء والوزراء، ويخافون منهم، فيقضون حوائج من توسطوا لهم، مراعاة لهم، ومداراة لخواطرهم، وهم أيضا فقراء، قد يمنعون لما يخشون من الفقر.وأما الرب تعالى، فهو الذي أحاط علمه بظواهر الأمور وبواطنها، الذي لا يحتاج من يخبره بأحوال رعيته وعباده، وهو تعالى أرحم الراحمين، وأجود الأجودين، لا يحتاج إلى أحد من خلقه يجعله راحما لعباده، بل هو أرحم بهم من أنفسهم ووالديهم، وهو الذي يحثهم ويدعوهم إلى الأسباب التي ينالون بها رحمته، وهو يريد من مصالحهم ما لا يريدونه لأنفسهم، وهو الغني، الذي له الغنى التام المطلق، الذي لو اجتمع الخلق من أولهم وآخرهم في صعيد واحد فسألوه، فأعطى كلا منهم ما سأل وتمنى، لم ينقصوا من غناه شيئا، ولم ينقصوا مما عنده، إلا كما ينقص البحر إذا غمس فيه المخيط.وجميع الشفعاء يخافونه، فلا يشفع منهم أحد إلا بإذنه، وله الشفاعة كلها.فبهذه الفروق يعلم جهل المشركين به، وسفههم العظيم، وشدة جراءتهم عليه.ويعلم أيضا الحكمة في كون الشرك لا يغفره اللّه تعالى، لأنه يتضمن القدح في اللّه تعالى، ولهذا قال حاكما بين الفريقين، المخلصين والمشركين، وفي ضمنه التهديد للمشركين-: { إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَحْكُمُ بَيْنَهُمْ فِيمَا هُمْ فِيهِ يَخْتَلِفُونَ } وقد علم أن حكمه أن المؤمنين المخلصين في جنات النعيم، ومن يشرك باللّه فقد حرم اللّه عليه الجنة، ومأواه النار. { إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يَهْدِي } أي: لا يوفق للهداية إلى الصراط المستقيم { مَنْ هُوَ كَاذِبٌ كَفَّارٌ } أي: وصفه الكذب أو الكفر، بحيث تأتيه المواعظ والآيات، ولا يزول عنه ما اتصف به، ويريه اللّه الآيات، فيجحدها ويكفر بها ويكذب، فهذا أنَّى له الهدى وقد سد على نفسه الباب، وعوقب بأن طبع اللّه على قلبه، فهو لا يؤمن؟\"

وقال قتادة في قوله تبارك وتعالى "ألا لله الدين الخالص" شهادة أن لا إله إلا الله ثم أخبر عز وجل عن عباد الأصنام من المشركين أنهم يقولون "ما نعبدهم إلا ليقربونا إلى الله زلفى" أي إنما يحملهم على عبادتهم لهم أنهم عمدوا إلى أصنام اتخذوها على صور الملائكة المقربين في زعمهم فعبدوا تلك الصور تنزيلا لذلك منزلة عبادتهم الملائكة ليشفعوا لهم عند الله تعالى فينصرهم ورزقهم وما ينوبهم من أمور الدنيا فأما المعاد فكانوا جاحدين له كافرين به. قال قتادة والسدي ومالك عن زيد بن أسلم وابن زيد "إلا ليقربونا إلى الله زلفى" أي ليشفعوا لنا ويقربونا عنده منزلة ولهذا كانوا يقولون في تلبيتهم إذا حجوا في جاهليتهم لبيك لا شريك لك إلا شريكا هو لك تملكه وما ملك وهذه الشبهة هي التي اعتمدها المشركون في قديم الدهر وحديته وجاءتهم الرسل صلوات الله وسلامه عليهم أجمعين بردها والنهي عنها والدعوة إلى إفراد العبادة لله وحده لا شريك له وأن هذا شيء اخترعه المشركون من عند أنفسهم لم يأذن الله فيه ولا رضي به بل أبغضه ونهى عنه "ولقد بعثنا في كل أمة رسولا أن أعبدوا الله واجتنبوا الطاغوت" "وما أرسلنا من قبلك من رسول إلا نوحي إليه أنه لا إله إلا أنا فاعبدون" وأخبر أن الملائكة التي في السموات من الملائكة المقربين وغيرهم كلهم عبيد خاضعون لله لا يشفعون عنده إلا بإذنه لمن ارتضى وليسوا عنده كالأمراء عند ملوكهم يشفعون عندهم بغير إذنهم فيما أحبه الملوك وأبوه "فلا تضربوا لله الأمثال" تعالى الله عن ذلك علوا كبيرا وقوله عز وجل "إن الله يحكم بينهم" أي يوم القيامة "فيما هم فيه يختلفون" أي سيفصل بين الخلاف يوم معادهم ويجزي كل عامل بعمله" ويوم يحشرهم جميعا ثم يقول للملائكة أهؤلاء إياكم كانوا يعبدون قالوا سبحانك أنت ولينا من دونهم بل كانوا يعبدون الجن أكثرهم بهم مؤمنون" وقوله عز وجل "إن الله لا يهدي من هو كاذب كفار" أي لا يرشد إلى الهداية من قصده الكذب والافتراء على الله تعالى وقلبه كافر بآياته وحججه وبراهينه ثم بين تعالى أنه لا ولد له كما يزعمه جهلة المشركين في الملائكة والمعاندون من اليهود والنصارى في العزير وعيسى.

Which was revealed in Makkah

The Virtues of Surat Az-Zumar

An-Nasa'i recorded that `A'ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, said, "The Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to fast until we would say, `He does not want to break fast,' and he would not fast until we would say, `He does not want to fast.' And he used to recite Bani Isra'il Al-Isra' and Az-Zumar every night."

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَـنِ الرَّحِيمِ

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

The Order for Tawhid and the Refutation of Shirk

Allah tells us that the revelation of this Book, which is the magnificent Qur'an, is from Him, and is truth in which there is no doubt whatsoever. This is like the Ayat:

وَإِنَّهُ لَتَنزِيلُ رَبِّ الْعَـلَمِينَ - نَزَلَ بِهِ الرُّوحُ الاٌّمِينُ - عَلَى قَلْبِكَ لِتَكُونَ مِنَ الْمُنْذِرِينَ - بِلِسَانٍ عَرَبِىٍّ مُّبِينٍ

(And truly, this is a revelation from the Lord of the creatures, which the trustworthy Ruh (Jibril) has brought down upon your heart that you may be (one) of the warners, in the plain Arabic language.) (26:192-195)

إِنَّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ بِالذِّكْرِ لَمَّا جَآءَهُمْ وَإِنَّهُ لَكِتَـبٌ عَزِيزٌ - لاَّ يَأْتِيهِ الْبَـطِلُ مِن بَيْنِ يَدَيْهِ وَلاَ مِنْ خَلْفِهِ تَنزِيلٌ مِّنْ حَكِيمٍ حَمِيدٍ

(And verily, it is a mighty Book. Falsehood cannot come to it from before it or behind it, (it is) sent down by the All-Wise, Worthy of all praise.) (40: 41,42) And Allah says here:

تَنزِيلُ الْكِتَـبِ مِنَ اللَّهِ الْعَزِيزِ

(The revelation of this Book is from Allah, the Almighty,) meaning, the Almighty, All-Powerful.

الْحَكِيمُ

(the All-Wise.) meaning, in all that He says, does, legislates and decrees.

إِنَّآ أَنزَلْنَآ إِلَيْكَ الْكِتَـبَ بِالْحَقِّ فَاعْبُدِ اللَّهَ مُخْلِصاً لَّهُ الدِّينِ

(Verily, We have sent down the Book to you in truth. So, worship Allah by doing religious deeds sincerely for Him only.) means, so worship Allah Alone with no partner or associate, and call mankind to that, and teach them that it is not right to worship anyone or anything except Him Alone, and He has no partner, equal or rival. Allah says:

أَلاَ لِلَّهِ الدِّينُ الْخَالِصُ

(Surely, the religion is for Allah only.) meaning, He will not accept any deed unless it is done purely and sincerely for Him Alone, with no partner or associate. Then Allah tells us that the idolators say:

مَا نَعْبُدُهُمْ إِلاَّ لِيُقَرِّبُونَآ إِلَى اللَّهِ زُلْفَى

(We worship them only that they may bring us near to Allah.) meaning what motivates them to worship them is the fact that they made their idols in the image of the angels -- or so they claim -- and when they worship those images it is like worshipping the angels, so that they will intercede with Allah for them to help and give them provision and other worldly needs. As far as the resurrection is concerned, they denied it and did not believe in it. Qatadah, As-Suddi and Malik said, narrating from Zayd bin Aslam and Ibn Zayd:

إِلاَّ لِيُقَرِّبُونَآ إِلَى اللَّهِ زُلْفَى

(only that they may bring us near to Allah. ) means, "So that they may intercede for us and bring us closer to Him." During Jahiliyyah, they used to recite the following for their Talbiyah when they performed Hajj; "At Your service, You have no partner except the partner You have; he and all that he owns belong to You." This pretentious argument which the idolators of all times, ancient and modern, used as evidence is what the Messengers, may the blessings and peace of Allah be upon them all, came to refute and forbid, and to call people to worship Allah Alone with no partner or associate. This is something that the idolators themselves invented; Allah did not give them permission for it, nor does He approve of it; indeed, He hates it and forbids it.

وَلَقَدْ بَعَثْنَا فِى كُلِّ أُمَّةٍ رَّسُولاً أَنِ اعْبُدُواْ اللَّهَ وَاجْتَنِبُواْ الْطَّـغُوتَ

(And verily, We have sent among every Ummah a Messenger (proclaiming): "Worship Allah, and avoid Taghut.") (16:36)

وَمَآ أَرْسَلْنَا مِن قَبْلِكَ مِن رَّسُولٍ إِلاَّ نُوحِى إِلَيْهِ أَنَّهُ لا إِلَـهَ إِلاَّ أَنَاْ فَاعْبُدُونِ

(And We did not send any Messenger before you but We revealed to him (saying): "None has the right to be worshipped but I (Allah), so worship Me.") (21:25) And Allah tells us that the angels in the heavens, those who are close to Him and others, are all servants who submit humbly to Allah. They do not intercede with Him except by His leave for the one with whom He is pleased. They are not like the princes and ministers of their (the idolators') kings who intercede with them without their permission for both those whom the kings like and those whom they hate.

فَلاَ تَضْرِبُواْ لِلَّهِ الاٌّمْثَالَ

(So put not forward similitudes for Allah) (16:74). Exalted be Allah far above that.

إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَحْكُمُ بَيْنَهُمْ

(Verily, Allah will judge between them) means, on the Day of Resurrection,

فِى مَا هُمْ فِيهِ يَخْتَلِفُونَ

(concerning that wherein they differ.) means, He will judge between His creation on the Day of Resurrection and will reward or punish each person according to his deeds.

وَيَوْمَ يَحْشُرُهُمْ جَمِيعاً ثُمَّ يَقُولُ لِلْمَلَـئِكَةِ أَهَـؤُلاَءِ إِيَّاكُمْ كَانُواْ يَعْبُدُونَ - قَالُواْ سُبْحَـنَكَ أَنتَ وَلِيُّنَا مِن دُونِهِمْ بَلْ كَانُواْ يَعْبُدُونَ الْجِنَّ أَكْـثَرُهُم بِهِم مُّؤْمِنُونَ

(And (remember) the Day when He will gather them all together, then He will say to the angels: "Was it you that these people used to worship" They (the angels) will say: "Glorified be You! You are our Wali (Lord) instead of them. Nay, but they used to worship the Jinn; most of them were believers in them.") (34:40-41)

إِنَّ اللَّهَ لاَ يَهْدِى مَنْ هُوَ كَـذِبٌ كَـفَّارٌ

(Truly, Allah guides not him who is a liar, and a disbeliever.) means, He will not show true guidance to one who deliberately tells lies about Allah and whose heart rejects the signs and proof of Allah. Then Allah states that He does not have any offspring, as the ignorant idolators claim the angels to be, and as the stubborn Jews and Christians claim `Uzayr and `Isa to be. Allah, may He be blessed and exalted, says:

لَّوْ أَرَادَ اللَّهُ أَن يَتَّخِذَ وَلَداً لاَّصْطَفَى مِمَّا يَخْلُقُ مَا يَشَآءُ

(Had Allah willed to take a son (or offspring), He could have chosen whom He willed out of those whom He created.) meaning, the matter would not have been as they claim. This is a conditional sentence which does not imply that this happened or that it is permitted; indeed, it is impossible. The aim is only to point out the ignorance of their claims. It is like the Ayat:

لَوْ أَرَدْنَآ أَن نَّتَّخِذَ لَهْواً لاَّتَّخَذْنَـهُ مِن لَّدُنَّآ إِن كُنَّا فَـعِلِينَ

(Had We intended to take a pastime, We could surely have taken it from Us, if We were going to do (that).) (21:17)

قُلْ إِن كَانَ لِلرَّحْمَـنِ وَلَدٌ فَأَنَاْ أَوَّلُ الْعَـبِدِينَ

(Say: "If the Most Gracious had a son, then I am the first of worshippers.") (43:81) All of these Ayat are conditional, and it is permissible to form a conditional sentence referring to something that is impossible if it serves the purposes of the speaker.

سُبْحَـنَهُ هُوَ اللَّهُ الْوَحِدُ الْقَهَّارُ

(But glory be to Him! He is Allah, the One, the Irresistible.) means, exalted and sanctified be He above the idea that He could have any offspring, for He is the One, the Only, the Unique, the Self-Sufficient Master to Whom everything is enslaved and is in need of. He is the One Who is independent of all else, Who has subjugated all things and they submit humbly to Him. Blessed and exalted be He far above what the wrongdoers and deniers say.

Surely to God belongs pure religion none other than Him being deserving of it. And those who take besides Him the idols as patrons and they are the disbelievers of Mecca — they say ‘We only worship them so that they may bring us near to God’ zulfā a verbal noun with the sense of taqrīban ‘for the sake of nearness’. God will indeed judge between them and the Muslims concerning that about which they differ of religion and so admit the believers into Paradise and the disbelievers into the Fire. Truly God does not guide one who is a liar attributing a child to Him a disbeliever worshipping other than God.

The next sentence in verse 3 says: وَالَّذِينَ اتَّخَذُوا مِن دُونِهِ أَوْلِيَاءَ مَا نَعْبُدُهُمْ إِلَّا لِيُقَرِّ‌بُونَا (As for those who have taken to guardians other than Him [ saying ], "We worship them for no other reason than that they would bring us near to Allah closely." - 39:3). This is a description of the creed of the Mushriks of Arabia. Even the common people among them during that period of time more or less had the same belief that Allah Ta’ ala is the creator, owner and master in all matters. But when the Shaitan (Shaitan) instigated them, they started making idols in the image of angels, as they imagined they would be. They knew it well that these idols made by them had no consciousness, reason or power, yet they believed that by showing their reverence for these idols, those angels (in whose images these idols are designed) will be pleased with them, and the angels have nearness to Allah. They compared Allah's nearness with that of the worldly kings where a courtier who is pleased with someone could put in a good word for him with the king and have him included among his inner circle. So, they surmised that the angels too could recommend anyone they chose very much like the royal courtiers of their world. But, all these ideas they nursed were totally false, in fact, they were nothing but satanic deception. First of all, who can say whether or not these idols happen to be on the real form of the angels and, even if they were, one cannot expect angels close to Allah showing their pleasure over being worshipped by somebody on the earth. In fact, they temperamentally hate everything that Allah Ta’ ala does not like. In addition to that, angels cannot intercede on behalf of anyone before Allah on their own, unless they are allowed to make their intercession about a particular person. The verse of the Qur'an: وَكَم مِّن مَّلَكٍ فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ لَا تُغْنِي شَفَاعَتُهُمْ شَيْئًا إِلَّا مِن بَعْدِ أَن يَأْذَنَ اللَّـهُ لِمَن يَشَاءُ وَيَرْ‌ضَىٰ (And how many angels there are in the heavens whose intercession cannot benefit (anyone) at all, but after Allah allows (it) for whomsoever He wills and pleases - An-Najm, 53:26) means exactly this.

Even the polytheists of that period were better than the disbelievers of today

Modern day materialistic disbelievers already deny the very existence of Allah Ta’ ala and would not demur when making audacious remarks against Him. Kufr or disbelief is now an imported stuff. Take the kufr that is imported from Europe. It may come in different colors and shades, like capitalism and communism. Yet, there is a common denominator. God forbid, they hold, nothing like God exists. We are masters of our destiny. There is no one to question us as to what we are doing. Terrible ingratitude indeed! As a consequence, peace has disappeared from the whole world. Ever-new gadgets of comfort proliferate, but real comfort remains missing. Advancements in health care have never been at a level they are today, but there is a matching abundance of diseases hitherto unheard of. Security arrangements, police, guards, surveillance abound, but the graph of crime keeps rising. This craze for new instrumentation and gadgetry and this relentless pursuit of pleasure and comfort through state-of-the-art objects one is being pushed to live with are things, if someone cares to think about it, that have assumed the proportions of a curse for innocent human beings so fondly created by their Maker. As for the punishment of kufr in the Hereafter, it is, as due for all disbelievers, an everlasting stay in the Jahannam. But, one should not forget that this blind ingratitude could not go unaccounted for. The ungrateful person has to undergo some punishment for it within this world for the reason that the ungrateful person used the blessings of Allah even to ride the skies, yet failed to thank Him for it. How apt is the Persian quip: 'In the middle of the house, I forgot the master of the house!'

Does not the pure religion belong to God? What is worthy of God is pure worship without hypocrisy and obedience along with self-purifica- tion and without eye-service. When the pearl of self-purification is found, it is found in the oyster shell of the heart and the ocean of the breast. This is why Ḥudhayfa said, “I asked that paragon of the engendered beings what self-purification is. He said that he asked Gabriel what self-purifica- tion is. Gabriel said that he asked the Exalted Lord what self-purification is. He replied, 'One of My secrets that I deposit in the hearts of those whom I love among My servants.'” He said, “It is a pearl that I have brought out from the treasury of My secrets and deposited in the core of the hearts of My friends.” This self-purification is the result of friendship and the trace of servanthood. When someone puts on the garment of love and takes off the robe of servanthood, he does whatever he does from the midst of the heart. Friendship for the Real does not come together with scattered desires in one heart. The obliga- tory acts of the body are prayer and fasting, and the obligatory act of the heart is friendship for the Real. The mark of friendship is that when something comes from the Friend that is disliked by your nature and makeup, you place it upon your very eyes. Were the Beloved's hand to pour poison for me, poison from His hand would be sweet. * The heart that You burn thanks You, the blood that You shed boasts. * The blood that You spill thanks You, the heart that You scare praises You. * The poison I drink in remembrance of You is sweet, the mad man who sees You comes to his senses.