In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
Conclusion from Al-Tabari’s interpretation
It was summarized by Dr. Aqeel bin Salem Al-Shammar
Surat Ghafir
In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
Say, “I have been forbidden to worship those whom you call upon besides God when clear proofs have come to me.”
When clear evidence came to me from my Lord and I was commanded to submit to the Lord of the Worlds
Say, O Muhammad, to the polytheists of your people from the Quraish
O people, I have been forbidden to worship those gods and idols that you call upon other than God
When the clear signs came to me from my Lord
My Lord commanded me to submit to the Lord of all things
And every creation is subject to submission
It is He who created you from dust, then from a sperm, then from a clot, then He produces you as a child
Then that you may attain your maturity, then that you may become old men, and among you are some who die before
That you may reach a specified term, and that you may understand
It is God who created your father, Adam, from dust, then He created you from a sperm, then from a clot, then He brings you out of your mothers’ wombs as children.
Then you will reach your maturity, so that your strength will be perfect and your youth will fade away, and some of you will die before reaching old age
To reach a temporary time for your life and a limited deadline that you will not exceed
And in order for you to understand the arguments of God, you will know by them that there is no god other than Him
It is He who gives life and causes death, and when He decides a matter, He only says to it, “Be,” and it is
It is He who gives life to whomever He wills after his death, and causes death to whomever He wills after his life
And if He decrees that a matter be one of the things that He wants to create, then He only says to it, “Be,” and that which He wanted to create will exist without suffering or the cost of suffering.
Have you not seen those who dispute about the signs of God being turned away?
Have you not seen, O Muhammad, these polytheists from your people who dispute with you regarding the arguments and verses of God in any way? They turn away from the truth and deviate from the right path.
Those who denied the Book and what We sent Our messengers with, they will know
When the shackles are on their shoulders and the chains are being pulled
They will be burned in the boiling water and then in the fire
Have you not seen those who dispute about the verses of God, those who deny the Book of God?
They also denied the sincerity of worship to God with which we sent our messengers
Those who dispute the verses of God will know the truth of what you are telling them, O Muhammad
When you put shackles and chains around their necks in Hell
The thief of torment will drag them down on the Day of Resurrection
In the intimate one whose heat has ended and he has reached his goal
Then they will be burned in the fire of hell
Then it was said to them: Wherever you associate
Without God
They said, “They have gone astray from us.” Indeed, we had never called for anything before
Thus God misleads the unbelievers
Then they were told
Where are those whom you used to associate with your worship of them instead of God?
Until they help you and save you
This is said to them as a rebuke for their disbelief in God
Then the poor people responded and said:
They turned away from us and took a different path than ours
They left us in this affliction
Rather, they did not stray from us
But we were not worshiping anything
Just as those who were led astray into Hell were those whom they worshiped in this world other than God
God also misleads the people of disbelief from His mercy and worship
He will not have mercy on them and save them from the Fire
He does not help them and ease their affliction
That is because you used to rejoice in the earth unjustly and because you used to rejoice
This is what we did to you today, O people
With your joy that you used to rejoice in this world
Without what He has given you permission to do of falsehood and sin
And have fun with it
Fun is the most evil and reckless
Enter the gates of Hell to abide therein
What a miserable abode for the arrogant
Enter the seven gates of Hell
How miserable is the position of those who are arrogant in this world when they unite with God
So be patient, for God’s promise is true
Either We show you some of what We promised them, or We cause you to die, and to Us they will return
So be patient, O Muhammad, with what these polytheists argue with you regarding the verses of God that We have revealed to you
For God will accomplish for you what He promised you of victory over them
Either we show you, O Muhammad, in your life some of what we consider these polytheists to be
It is torment and curse that befalls them
Or we will kill you before that happens to them
Here is your fate and their fate
Then we will judge between you and them with justice
By immortalizing them in hell
And your honor is next to us in the gardens of bliss
We have sent messengers before you, some of whom we told stories to you, and some of whom we did not tell stories to you
It was not for a Messenger to bring a sign except with God’s permission
If God’s command comes, it will be decided with the truth, and the invalid will lose there
O Muhammad, We sent messengers before you to its nations
Of those from our stories, you must tell them
And among them are those whose news we have not told you
We did not appoint for a messenger whom We sent before you to bring to his people a sign that would separate him from them
Except with God’s permission for him to do so
Therefore, it is not permitted for you to bring to your people the signs they ask of you without our permission to do so
If God’s command comes, it will be judged with justice
It is to save His messengers and those who believe with them
And there perished those who made false statements false
Their slander against God and their claim to Him as a partner
It is God who made for you the livestock that you may ride on them and from them you may eat
God, for whom divinity is only suitable
It is He who made for you livestock of camels, cows, sheep, and horses
And other animals
That you may ride some of it and eat some of it
And you will have benefits in it, and you will fulfill a need in your chests, and on it and on the ships you will be borne
And He shows you His signs, so which signs of God do you deny?
And you have benefits in it by making homes for you from its skins, and from its wool, fur, and hair, into furniture.
And that you may carry the load on some of them to a need in your chests, and on them and on the ships We will carry you on this on land and on this on sea.
He shows you proofs, which are the proofs of God whose authenticity you deny, so you lie for the sake of their corruption in the monotheism of God
Did they not travel through the land and see what was the end of those before them?
They were more powerful than them and had more influence on earth, but they were of no use
What they were earning did not avail them
O Muhammad, did not these people who disputed the verses of God go about the country?
They look at the countries they entered into, and our events, with what we inflicted on the nations before them
How difficult was it to deny them?
Those before them were more numerous, more brutal, and left traces on the earth
Because they were descending from the mountains into houses and making factories
When Our power and power came to them, what they were doing from the houses in the mountains did not avail them
This did not pay them anything
They accused their messengers with clear proofs, and they rejoiced in the knowledge they had
They were happy with the knowledge they had, and what they mocked befell them
When these nations brought their messengers with clear proofs
They rejoiced in their ignorance of the knowledge they had
They said we will not be resurrected and God will not punish us
And the punishment of God befell them because of what they used to hasten their messengers with in mockery and ridicule
When they saw our might, they said, “We believe in God alone, and we disbelieve in that in which we were polytheists.”
When these nations saw God’s punishment, they said, “We acknowledge the monotheism of God and believe that there is no god other than Him.”
We denied the gods that we used to share in our worship of God before our time
Their faith did not benefit them when they saw Our punishment
The Sunnah of God, which has passed among His servants, and the disbelievers have lost it
Their belief in God's monotheism when witnessing His punishment was of no benefit to them in this world
God forbade dismissing them and accepting their repentance after seeing them in distress
His year that has passed in His creation
When God's punishment comes, the disbelievers in their Lord will perish
Those who take gods other than Him and worship them instead of their Creator