In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
A summary of the Tafsir of al-Tabari.
Abridged by Dr. Aqil Ibn Salim al-Shammari.
Surah al-Zumar.
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
“Say: O My slaves who have been prodigal to their own hurt! Despair not of the mercy of Allah, Who forgiveth all sins. Lo! He is the Forgiving, the Merciful.” (39:53)
“Say: O My slaves who have been prodigal to their own hurt! Despair not of the mercy of Allah, Who forgiveth all sins. Lo! He is the Forgiving, the Merciful.” (39:53)
"O My servants who have transgressed against themselves," whether they be among the people of faith or those of polytheism.
He did not single out one type of transgressor over another.
"Do not despair of the mercy of Allah."
Indeed, Allah covers all sins with His pardon for those who repent from them.
He is the Forgiving, the Merciful to them, in that He does not punish them for their sins after they have repented.
“Turn unto your Lord repentant, and surrender unto Him, before there come unto you the doom, when ye cannot be helped.” (39:54)
“And follow the better (guidance) of that which is revealed unto you from your Lord, before the doom cometh on you suddenly when ye know not,” (39:55)
Turn, O people, to your Lord in repentance and submit to Him in obedience.
Before the punishment comes to you from Him due to your disbelief in Him, at which point no helper will be able to aid you or save you from His torment.
Follow, O people, what your Lord has commanded you in His revelation.
And avoid what He has forbidden you therein.
That is the best of what has been sent down to us from our Lord.
Before the punishment of Allah comes upon you suddenly, while you are unaware, until it overwhelms you.
Lest a soul should say, "Oh, my regret over what I neglected regarding the right of Allah, and indeed I was among the mockers."
And turn in repentance to your Lord, lest a soul should say,
"Oh, my sorrow for what I wasted of deeds that Allah commanded me to perform."
"And indeed, I was among those who mocked the command of Allah, His Book, His Messenger, and those who believed in Him."
“Or should say: If Allah had but guided me I should have been among the dutiful!” (39:57)
“Or should say, when it seeth the doom: Oh, that I had but a second chance that I might be among the righteous!” (39:58)
And lest another soul should say, "If only Allah had guided me to the truth and granted me success in righteousness, I would have been among those who feared Him."
Or lest another should say, when it sees the punishment of Allah and witnesses it,
"If only I had a return to the world, so that I might be among the righteous who did good in the obedience of their Lord."
“(But now the answer will be): Nay, for My revelations came unto thee, but thou didst deny them and wast scornful and wast among the disbelievers.” (39:59)
The matter is not as you claim.
Rather, My proofs have already come to you through a Messenger I sent to you and a Book I revealed that is recited to you.
Yet you denied My signs, grew arrogant toward accepting them, and refused to follow them.
And you were among those who performed the deeds of the disbelievers and followed their path.
“And on the Day of Resurrection thou (Muhammad) seest those who lied concerning Allah with their faces blackened. Is not the home of the scorners in hell?” (39:60)
On the Day of Resurrection, you will see, O Muhammad, those who lied about Allah—claiming He has a child or a partner—with their faces blackened.
Is there not in Hell a dwelling for those who were arrogant toward Allah?
“And Allah delivereth those who ward off (evil) because of their deserts. Evil toucheth them not, nor do they grieve.” (39:61)
And Allah will save those who feared Him from Hell and its torment by performing His obligatory duties and avoiding His prohibitions, granting them success; no harm from Hell shall touch the righteous, nor shall they grieve over what they missed of the worldly life.
“His are the keys of the heavens and the earth, and they who disbelieve the revelations of Allah - such are they who are the losers.” (39:63)
Allah, to whom belongs divinity, is the Creator of all things, and He is the Guardian over all things, preserving and protecting them.
To Him belong the keys of the heavens and the earth; He opens them for whom He wills and withholds them from whom He loves among His creation, and those who disbelieved in the proofs of Allah, denied them, and rejected them—they are the losers.
“Say (O Muhammad, to the disbelievers): Do ye bid me serve other than Allah? O ye fools!” (39:64)
Say, O Muhammad, to the polytheists of your people, "Do you command me, O you who are ignorant of Allah, to worship other than Allah, when worship is not fitting for anything but Him?"
"And it has been revealed to you and to those before you that if you should associate partners with Allah, your deeds would surely become worthless, and you would surely be among the losers."
Your Lord has revealed to you, O Muhammad, and to the messengers before you, that if you were to associate partners with Him, your deeds would be nullified and you would be among those destroyed by associating partners with Allah, if you were to associate anything with Him.
Do not worship what these polytheists from your people command you to worship, O Muhammad, but worship Allah and be among those grateful to Allah for His favor.
“And they esteem not Allah as He hath the right to be esteemed, when the whole earth is His handful on the Day of Resurrection, and the heavens are rolled in His right hand. Glorified is He and High Exalted from all that they ascribe as partner (unto Him).” (39:67)
“And the trumpet is blown, and all who are in the heavens and all who are in the earth swoon away, save him whom Allah willeth. Then it is blown a second time, and behold them standing waiting!” (39:68)
Except for those whom Allah wills; the exception in the case of the "terror" refers to the martyrs, and in the case of the "swoon" it refers to Jibril, the Angel of Death, and the bearers of the Throne. Then the Trumpet will be blown another time—and it is mentioned that there is a forty-year interval between them—and they will be standing from their graves and their places on earth, alive in the same state they were in before their death, awaiting the command of Allah regarding them.
“And the earth shineth with the light of her Lord, and the Book is set up, and the prophets and the witnesses are brought, and it is judged between them with truth, and they are not wronged.” (39:69)
The earth will shine with the light of its Lord; this is when the Most Merciful manifests to judge between His creation, the record of their deeds is placed for their reckoning and recompense, the prophets are brought so their Lord may ask them about how their nations responded to them, and the witnesses are brought, who are the Ummah of Muhammad (peace be upon him).
Judgment will be passed between the prophets and their nations with truth, such that no one shall bear the sin of another, and no soul shall be punished except for what it has earned.
“And each soul is paid in full for what it did. And He is Best Aware of what they do.” (39:70)
Allah will then pay every soul in full for its deeds, whether good or evil; He is most knowing of what they did in the world, whether of obedience or disobedience, and He will recompense them for it on the Day of Resurrection.
“And those who disbelieve are driven unto hell in troops till, when they reach it and the gates thereof are opened, and the warders thereof say unto them: Came there not unto you messengers of your own, reciting unto you the revelations of your Lord and warning you of the meeting of this your Day? they say: Yea, verily. But the word of doom of disbelievers is fulfilled.” (39:71)
Those who disbelieved in Allah will be driven to His Fire, which He has prepared for them, in groups; until, when they reach it, its seven gates will be opened, and its keepers will say to them,
"Did there not come to you messengers from among yourselves, reciting to you the Book of Allah revealed to His messengers and the proofs with which He sent His messengers, and warning you of the meeting of this day of yours?"
They will say, "Yes, messengers from among us did come to us and warned us of the meeting of this day, but the word of Allah has come to pass that His punishment is for those who disbelieve in Him."
“It is said (unto them): Enter ye the gates of hell to dwell therein. Thus hapless is the journey's end of the scorners.” (39:72)
The keepers of Hell will then say to those who disbelieved, "Enter the seven gates of Hell, according to your stations therein, to abide therein eternally; for evil is the dwelling of those who were arrogant toward Allah on the Day of Resurrection."
“And those who keep their duty to their Lord are driven unto the Garden in troops till, when they reach it, and the gates thereof are opened, and the warders thereof say unto them: Peace be unto you! Ye are good, so enter ye (the Garden of delight), to dwell therein;” (39:73)
Those who feared their Lord by performing His obligatory duties and avoiding His prohibitions will be driven to Paradise in groups; until, when they reach it and its gates are opened, its keepers will say to them, "Peace be upon you, from Allah, that no harm or evil shall reach you; your deeds in the world were pure, so your dwelling today is pure."
“They say: Praise be to Allah, Who hath fulfilled His promise unto us and hath made us inherit the land, sojourning in the Garden where we will! So bounteous is the wage of workers.” (39:74)
And those who were driven in groups and entered it will say, "All praise is due to Allah, who has fulfilled His promise to us, which He promised us in the world, and has made the land of Paradise—which would have been for the people of the Fire had they obeyed Allah in the world—an inheritance for us."
"We shall take for ourselves a house in Paradise and dwell therein wherever we wish and desire; for excellent is the reward of those who obeyed Allah and worked for Him in the world."
“And thou (O Muhammad) seest the angels thronging round the Throne, hymning the praises of their Lord. And they are judged aright. And it is said: Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds!” (39:75)
And you will see, O Muhammad, the angels surrounding the Throne of the Most Merciful—and by the Throne, He means the seat—glorifying Him around the Throne of Allah in gratitude to Him.
Allah will judge between the prophets who were brought, the witnesses, and their nations with justice, and the final judgment between them will conclude with praise for the One who initiated their creation, to whom belongs all divinity.
And He is the Sovereign of all that is in the heavens and the earth, of the creation—angels, jinn, humans, and other types of creation.
A summary of the Tafsir of al-Tabari.