Tafheem-ul-Quran - Abul Ala Maududi

Ayah by Ayah

Tags

Download Links

Tafheem-ul-Quran - Abul Ala Maududi translation for Surah As-Sajdah — Ayah 3

32:3
أَمۡ يَقُولُونَ ٱفۡتَرَىٰهُۚ بَلۡ هُوَ ٱلۡحَقُّ مِن رَّبِّكَ لِتُنذِرَ قَوۡمٗا مَّآ أَتَىٰهُم مِّن نَّذِيرٖ مِّن قَبۡلِكَ لَعَلَّهُمۡ يَهۡتَدُونَ ٣
Or do1 they say: “He has fabricated it?”2 Nay, it is the Truth from your Lord so that you may warn a people to whom no warner came before you;3 perhaps they will be guided to the Right Way.4
Footnotes
  • [1] Qira’at: Shuʻba, Hamza, Al-Kesa’i, Yaʻqub and Khalaf read it as: “. . . the night to tightly overwhelm the day . . .”
  • [2] This is not merely a question but also an expression of great surprise and astonishment. It means to imply this: In spite of all those things on account of which this Book is, without any doubt, a revelation from Allah, do those people yet say stubbornly that Muhammad (peace be upon him) has himself forged it and is falsely attributing it to Allah? Don’t they feel any shame in uttering such a senseless and baseless accusation? Don’t they at all realize what opinion will those people form who are aware of Muhammad (peace be upon him) and his work and his discourses and also understand the Book, when they hear their absurd accusation?
  • [3] That is; “Just, as its being the truth and a revelation from Allah is absolutely certain, so is its being based on wisdom and Allah’s mercy for you also evident. You yourselves know that for the past many centuries no prophet has been raised among you, and you also know that your entire nation has been involved in ignorance and moral degeneration and sheer backwardness. In a state like this if a Prophet (peace be upon him) has been raised among you to awaken you and show you the right way, you should not be surprised. This was a great need which Allah has fulfilled for the sake of your own welfare and wellbeing.”
  • [4] Qira’at: All except for Ibn ʻAmer, ʻAsem and Yaʻqub read it as: “Then We save whomever We will . . .”
  • [5] Qira’at: All except for Ibn Kathir, Abu ʻAmr, Hafs and Yaʻqub read it as: “. . . neighboring plots and gardens of vines and (of) vegetation and (of) date-palms . . .”
  • [6] Qira’at: Hamza, Al-Kesa’i and Khalaf read it as: “. . . yet He makes the produce . . .”
  • [7] After the above introductory sentence, the first objection of the polytheists of Makkah, which they raised concerning the Prophethood of the Prophet (peace be upon him), is being dealt with.
  • [8] Just as in the first verse it was considered sufficient to say, “It is without any doubt the Book of God,” and no further argument was needed to be advanced to prove the Quran to be divine word, so in this verse also the only thing being said to refine the disbelievers’ charge that the Quran was being forged is: “It is the truth from your Lord.” The reason for it is the same as we have given in( E.N. 1) above. The listeners were well aware of the person who was presenting the Quran, of the environment in which he was presenting it and the confidence and grace with which he was presenting it; they also knew the Book, its diction and literary excellence and its themes; they were also feeling the influence and impact it was having on contemporary society of Makkah. Under those conditions the Book’s being the truth sent down by the Lord of the Worlds, was such an evident factual reality that the mere mention of it in clear and definite terms was enough to refute the accusation of the disbelievers. Any attempt to strengthen this assertion by resort to reasoning would have caused it to be weakened instead. The case would be like this. Supposing it is day and the sun is shining bright, and a stubborn person calls it a dark night. To refute him it would be enough to say: “Do you call it a night when the bright day is clearly visible all around.” If after this, one tried to bring logical arguments to prove the day to be day. it would not in any way strengthen the reply but would rather weaken it instead.