40:84 Ghafir (The Forgiver)

{ فَلَمَّا رَأَوْا بَأْسَنَا } أي: عذابنا، أقروا حيث لا ينفعهم الإقرار { قَالُوا آمَنَّا بِاللَّهِ وَحْدَهُ وَكَفَرْنَا بِمَا كُنَّا بِهِ مُشْرِكِينَ } من الأصنام والأوثان، وتبرأنا من كل ما خالف الرسل، من علم أو عمل.

"فلما رأوا بأسنا" أي عاينوا وقوع العذاب بهم "قالوا آمنا بالله وحده وكفرنا بما كنا به مشركين" أى وحدوا الله عز وجل وكفروا بالطاغوت ولكن حيث لا تقال العثرات ولا تنفع المعذرة وهذا كما قال فرعون حين أدركه الغرق "آمنت أنه لا إله إلا الذي آمنت به بنو إسرائيل وأنا من المسلمين" قال الله تبارك تعالى "الآن وقد عصيت قبل وكنت من المفسدين" أي فلم يقبل الله منه لأنه قد استجاب لنبيه موسى عليه الصلاة والسلام دعاءه عليه حين قال "واشدد على قلوبهم فلا يؤمنوا حتى يروا العذاب الأليم".

The Lesson to be learned from what happened to Those Who Came before

Allah tells us about the nations who rejected their Messengers in ancient times. He mentioned the severe punishment they suffered despite their great strength, He mentioned the traces which they left behind in the earth and the great wealth they amassed. None of that availed them anything and could not prevent the punishment of Allah at all. That is because when the Messengers came to them with clear signs and decisive evidence, they did not pay any attention to them. Instead, they were content with the knowledge with them, or so they claimed, and they said that they did not need what the Messengers brought them. Mujahid said, "They said, we know better than them, we will not be resurrected and we will not be punished." As-Suddi said, "In their ignorance, they rejoiced in what they had of (worldly) knowledge. So Allah sent upon them a punishment which they could not escape or resist."

وَحَاقَ بِهِم

(and surrounded them.) means, encompassed them.

مَا كَانُواْ بِهِ يَسْتَهْزِءُونَ

(that at which they used to mock,) means, that which they used to disbelieve in and said would never happen,

فَلَمَّا رَأَوْاْ بَأْسَنَا

(So when they saw Our punishment,) means, when they saw with their own eyes the punishment which came upon them, they said,

قَالُواْ ءَامَنَّا بِاللَّهِ وَحْدَهُ وَكَـفَرْنَا بِمَا كُنَّا بِهِ مُشْرِكِينَ

(We believe in Allah Alone and reject (all) that we used to associate with Him as (His) partners. ) means, they affirmed that Allah is One and denied the false gods, but this was at the time when excuses were to no avail. This is like what Fir`awn said as he was drowning:

ءَامَنتُ أَنَّهُ لا إِلِـهَ إِلاَّ الَّذِى ءَامَنَتْ بِهِ بَنواْ إِسْرَءِيلَ وَأَنَاْ مِنَ الْمُسْلِمِينَ

(I believe that none has the right to be worshipped but He in Whom the Children of Israel believe, and I am one of the Muslims.) (10:90) But Allah said:

ءَالَنَ وَقَدْ عَصَيْتَ قَبْلُ وَكُنتَ مِنَ الْمُفْسِدِينَ

(Now (you believe) while you refused to believe before and you were one of the the corrupters.) (10:91) meaning, Allah did not accept this from him, because He had answered the prayer of His Prophet Musa, when he said,

وَاشْدُدْ عَلَى قُلُوبِهِمْ فَلاَ يُؤْمِنُواْ حَتَّى يَرَوُاْ الْعَذَابَ الاٌّلِيمَ

(And harden their hearts, so that they will not believe until they see the painful torment) (10:88). Allah says here:

فَلَمْ يَكُ يَنفَعُهُمْ إِيمَـنُهُمْ لَمَّا رَأَوْاْ بَأْسَنَا سُنَّةَ اللَّهِ الَّتِى قَدْ خَلَتْ فِى عِبَادِهِ

(Then their Faith could not avail them when they saw Our punishment. (Like) this has been the way of Allah in dealing with His servants.) means, this is the ruling of Allah concerning all those who repent only when they actually see the punishment: He does not accept that from them. It says in the Hadith:

«إِنَّ اللهَ تَعَالَى يَقْبَلُ تَوْبَةَ الْعَبْدِ مَالَمْ يُغَرْغِر»

(Allah will accept the repentance of His servant so long as the death rattle is not sounding in his throat.) Once the death rattle is sounding and the soul has reached the throat, and the dying person actually sees the angel (of death), then he can no longer repent. Allah says:

وَخَسِرَ هُنَالِكَ الْكَـفِرُونَ

(And there the disbelievers lost utterly.) This is the end of the Tafsir of Surah Ghafir. Praise and thanks be to Allah.

Then when they saw Our doom that is the severity of Our chastisement they said ‘We believe in God alone and we disavow what we used to associate with Him’.

Commentary

In verse 83, it was said: فَرِ‌حُوا بِمَا عِندَهُم مِّنَ الْعِلْمِ (they exulted because of whatever of knowledge they had,) that is, when the messengers of Allah Ta’ ala came to these deniers, who were utterly oblivious to their end, with clear arguments in favor of tauhid (Oneness of Allah) and 'iman (faith), they took their knowledge to be better and truer than the knowledge brought by prophets, and started rejecting what they said. What was this knowledge with which the disbelievers were exultant to the extent that they would even reject the body of knowledge brought by prophets? It could be some sort of compounded ignorance' ا (رح) جھِل المُرَکَّب (aljahl-ul-murakkab whereby an ignorant person, despite his sheer ignorance, believes himself to be knowledgeable). This does not qualify to be 'knowledge' at all. Or, this knowledge of theirs means awareness in the fields of trade, industry and things like that. They really had expertise in these fields according to their time. The noble Qur'an alludes to this knowledge of theirs in a verse of Surah Ar-Rum in the following words: يَعْلَمُونَ ظَاهِرً‌ا مِّنَ الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا وَهُمْ عَنِ الْآخِرَ‌ةِ هُمْ غَافِلُونَ (They know something superficial of the worldly life, but of the Hereafter they are negligent.- Ar-Rum, 30:7) It means that these people do know a good deal about the material life of the world, and also know how to get most benefited by it, but are totally ignorant or heedless of the Hereafter where they have to live forever, either in bliss or in bane, and both of which are also everlasting. In this verse, even if we were to take this knowledge to be the worldly knowledge only, it would means 'since these people deny the Day of Judgment and the Hereafter and do not know, or want to know, its everlasting reward and punishment, therefore, they do not see anything beyond their knowledge of the apparent and are quite pleased with it, and as a result do not pay heed to areas of knowledge brought by the noble prophets.' (Mazhari)