Sūrat al-ʿAnkabūt
سورۃ العنکبوت
أَمْ حَسِبَ الَّذِينَ يَعْمَلُونَ السَّيِّئَاتِ أَن يَسْبِقُونَا ۚ سَاءَ مَا يَحْكُمُونَ
Am ḥasiba alladhīna yaʿmalūna al-sayyiʾāti an yasbiqūnāۚsāʾa mā yaḥkumūn
Or do those who commit evil deeds suppose that they can escape Us? How ill they judge! (al-ʿAnkabūt 29:4)
Translation: Or do those who perpetrate evil deeds reckon that they can outstrip Us and escape Our grasp? How wretched is the judgement they form!
Commentary: This verse reproves those who persist in sin whilst harbouring the illusion that they can flee from the reckoning of Allah Most High. The phrasing yasbiqūnā ("outstrip Us") employs a metaphor of a race, conveying that no creature can ever gain a lead over the All-Powerful. The commentary of the author (may Allah have mercy on him) underscores that such false confidence is itself a gravely misguided spiritual state: evil deeds do not go unrecorded, and the sinner's assumption that he will escape accountability is born of heedlessness (ghafla). How wretched, the author notes, is the judgement of one who supposes that the Lord of all worlds can be eluded.
مَن كَانَ يَرْجُو لِقَاءَ اللَّهِ فَإِنَّ أَجَلَ اللَّهِ لَآتٍ ۚ وَهُوَ السَّمِيعُ الْعَلِيمُ
Man kāna yarjū liqāʾa Allāhi fa-inna ajala Allāhi la-ātīۚwa-huwa al-Samīʿu al-ʿAlīm
Whoever hopes to meet Allah — indeed, the appointed term of Allah is coming. He is the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing. (al-ʿAnkabūt 29:5)
Translation: Whoever earnestly longs for the meeting with Allah, then let him know that the appointed time of Allah shall most assuredly arrive. He is the All-Hearing — He hears your supplications — and the All-Knowing — He is fully aware of your condition. Who other than Allah hears, and who other than Allah truly knows?
Commentary: The author draws the believer's attention to the positive counterpart of the previous verse. Where verse 4 rebuked the heedless transgressor, this verse encourages the sincere yearner. The Ḥanafī-Maturīdī tradition understands rajāʾ (hope) as a praiseworthy station: it is not mere wishful thinking but a hope grounded in sincere effort and trust in divine mercy (raḥma). The attribute al-Samīʿ al-ʿAlīm is particularly apt here: Allah hears every prayer of the believer who longs for His encounter, and knows the innermost state of every heart. None but He possesses this encompassing knowledge.
وَمَن جَاهَدَ فَإِنَّمَا يُجَاهِدُ لِنَفْسِهِ ۚ إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَغَنِيٌّ عَنِ الْعَالَمِينَ
Wa-man jāhada fa-innamā yujāhidu li-nafsihiۚinna Allāha la-ghaniyyun ʿani al-ʿālamīn
Whoever strives, strives only for himself. Indeed, Allah is entirely independent of all the worlds. (al-ʿAnkabūt 29:6)
Translation: And whoever strives in the way of Allah — he strives for the benefit of his own soul. Verily, Allah is utterly free of need from all creation.
Commentary: The word jihād here encompasses its broadest Qurʾānic sense: striving against the lower self (nafs), against spiritual heedlessness, and in the path of righteousness. The author emphasises the profound Sufi-ethical point embedded in this verse: all spiritual effort redounds to the benefit of the striving soul itself, not to any increase or advantage for Allah, who is al-Ghanī — absolutely self-sufficient and entirely independent of His creation. This is a foundational principle of Ḥanafī-Maturīdī ʿaqīda (ʿaqīda, creed): the worship of Allah benefits the worshipper, not the Worshipped. Divine independence (ghinā) is absolute.
وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ لَنُكَفِّرَنَّ عَنْهُمْ سَيِّئَاتِهِمْ وَلَنَجْزِيَنَّهُمْ أَحْسَنَ الَّذِي كَانُوا يَعْمَلُونَ
Wa-alladhīna āmanū wa-ʿamilū al-ṣāliḥāti la-nukaffiranna ʿanhum sayyiʾātihim wa-la-najziyannahum aḥsana alladhī kānū yaʿmalūn
And those who believe and do righteous deeds — We shall surely expiate their evil deeds and shall surely reward them with the best of what they used to do. (al-ʿAnkabūt 29:7)
Translation: And those who have believed and performed righteous deeds — We shall assuredly wipe away their misdeeds and shall most certainly recompense them with the finest reward for their actions; indeed their recompense shall be better than what their deeds alone would merit.
Commentary: This verse brings glad tidings (bushrā) to the sincere believers. The author notes the double emphasis conveyed by the two lām al-tawkīd (emphatic lām) particles: la-nukaffiranna and la-najziyannahum — "We shall surely expiate" and "We shall surely reward" — which leave no room for doubt. The divine generosity (karam) is further manifest in the phrase aḥsana alladhī kānū yaʿmalūn: the recompense will be of a quality superior even to the deeds themselves, by the sheer grace of Allah. This is a recurring theme in the Ḥanafī tradition: Allah multiplies good deeds manifold whilst erasing sins from those who sincerely repent and persevere in righteousness.
وَوَصَّيْنَا الْإِنسَانَ بِوَالِدَيْهِ حُسْنًا ۖ وَإِن جَاهَدَاكَ لِتُشْرِكَ بِي مَا لَيْسَ لَكَ بِهِ عِلْمٌ فَلَا تُطِعْهُمَا ۚ إِلَيَّ مَرْجِعُكُمْ فَأُنَبِّئُكُم بِمَا كُنتُمْ تَعْمَلُونَ
Wa-waṣṣaynā al-insāna bi-wālidayhi ḥusnanۖwa-in jāhadākā li-tushrika bī mā laysa laka bihī ʿilmun fa-lā tuṭiʿhumāۚilayya marjiʿukum fa-unabbi'ukum bi-mā kuntum taʿmalūn
And We have enjoined upon the human being excellence towards his parents. But if they both strive against you to make you associate with Me that of which you have no knowledge, then do not obey them. To Me is your return, and I shall inform you of what you used to do. (al-ʿAnkabūt 29:8)
Translation: And We have commanded the human being to treat his parents with the utmost goodness and kindness. Yet if they both strive to compel you to ascribe partners to Me — of which you have no sound knowledge — then do not yield to them in this. To Me alone is your return; I shall then acquaint you fully with all that you used to do.
Commentary: The author (may Allah have mercy on him) explains that this verse establishes the cardinal Qurʾānic hierarchy: the duty of filial piety (birr al-wālidayn) is second only to the obligation of tawḥīd (the Oneness of Allah). Allah enjoins ḥusn — beautiful, excellent conduct — towards both parents in all matters of worldly life. However, the one domain where parental authority has no claim is shirk (ascribing partners to Allah); in this alone the child may and must refuse. The Ḥanafī jurists are unanimous that obedience to parents in acts of disobedience to Allah is impermissible. The concluding words — "To Me is your return; I shall inform you" — serve simultaneously as a reminder and a gentle warning to all parties: both the parents who pressure towards shirk and the child who must choose rightly.
وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ لَنُدْخِلَنَّهُمْ فِي الصَّالِحِينَ
Wa-alladhīna āmanū wa-ʿamilū al-ṣāliḥāti la-nudkhilannahum fī al-ṣāliḥīn
And those who believe and do righteous deeds — We shall surely admit them among the righteous. (al-ʿAnkabūt 29:9)
Translation: And those who believe and perform righteous deeds — We shall most certainly include them in the ranks of the righteous.
Commentary: The author notes that the phrase fī al-ṣāliḥīn ("among the righteous") signifies entry into the company of the prophets, the truthful, the martyrs, and all those blessed by Allah — a rank of supreme honour. This verse closes the moral triad begun in verse 7: divine expiation, generous recompense, and the ultimate spiritual elevation into the community of the righteous. The Sufi dimension is also present: genuine faith accompanied by righteous action elevates the soul to the station of true ṣalāḥ (righteousness), in whose company the believer will dwell in the Hereafter.
وَمِنَ النَّاسِ مَن يَقُولُ آمَنَّا بِاللَّهِ فَإِذَا أُوذِيَ فِي اللَّهِ جَعَلَ فِتْنَةَ النَّاسِ كَعَذَابِ اللَّهِ ۖ وَلَئِن جَاءَ نَصْرٌ مِّن رَّبِّكَ لَيَقُولُنَّ إِنَّا كُنَّا مَعَكُمْ ۚ أَوَلَيْسَ اللَّهُ بِأَعْلَمَ بِمَا فِي صُدُورِ الْعَالَمِينَ
Wa-mina al-nāsi man yaqūlu āmannā bi-Allāhi fa-idhā ūdhiya fī Allāhi jaʿala fitnata al-nāsi ka-ʿadhābi Allāhiۖwa-la-in jāʾa naṣrun min rabbika la-yaqūlunna innā kunnā maʿakumۚa-wa-laysa Allāhu bi-aʿlama bi-mā fī ṣudūri al-ʿālamīn
And among the people are those who say, "We believe in Allah," but when they are harmed for Allah's sake, they treat the trial of the people as the punishment of Allah. Yet if victory comes from your Lord, they will say, "Indeed, we were with you!" Is Allah not most knowing of what is in the breasts of all creation? (al-ʿAnkabūt 29:10)
Translation: And among the people there are those who profess, "We believe in Allah." But when they suffer harm on account of their faith, they treat the persecution of men as though it were the actual punishment of Allah — fleeing from it as if it were the divine wrath itself. Then if victory arrives from your Lord, they rush to proclaim: "We were indeed with you all along!" Is Allah not fully cognisant of what lies within the breasts of all the worlds?
Commentary: The author explains that this verse exposes a form of hypocrisy (nifāq) or weak faith: those who declare belief in comfort but recoil at the first trial. The word fitna (trial, tribulation) at the hands of the persecutors should not be equated with the punishment of Allah, yet the spiritually faint-hearted make exactly this conflation, abandoning the community of believers under duress. The concluding rhetorical question — "Is Allah not most knowing of what is in the breasts?" — is a solemn reminder that divine knowledge (ʿilm) encompasses all inner states: the sincere believer and the dissembler alike are fully known to Allah. The author urges the believer to seek steadfastness and to guard against this subtle spiritual weakness.
وَقَالَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا لِلَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اتَّبِعُوا سَبِيلَنَا وَلْنَحْمِلْ خَطَايَاكُمْ ۖ وَمَا هُم بِحَامِلِينَ مِنْ خَطَايَاهُم مِّن شَيْءٍ ۖ إِنَّهُمْ لَكَاذِبُونَ
Wa-qāla alladhīna kafarū lil-ladhīna āmanū ittabiʿū sabīlanā wa-l-naḥmil khaṭāyākumۖwa-mā hum bi-ḥāmilīna min khaṭāyāhum min shayʾinۖinnahum la-kādhibūn
And those who disbelieve say to those who believe: "Follow our way, and we shall carry your sins." But they shall not carry any of their sins at all. Indeed, they are liars. (al-ʿAnkabūt 29:12)
Translation: And the disbelievers say to the believers: "Follow our path, and we shall bear your sins on your behalf." But they shall carry nothing of their sins whatsoever. They are most certainly liars.
Commentary: The author (may Allah have mercy on him) cites by way of illustration the Christian doctrine of vicarious atonement attributed to Jesus (upon him be peace) — that Yaḥyā (upon him be peace) and ʿĪsā (upon him be peace) bore the sins of all Christians. The Qurʾān categorically rejects this doctrine as an outright falsehood (kadhib). No soul in Islamic theology can bear the burden of another's sins: wa-lā taziru wāziratun wizra ukhrā — "no bearer of burdens shall bear the burden of another." The disbelievers' offer to carry the believers' sins is doubly false: it is both a theological impossibility and a rhetorical manipulation designed to lure the faithful away from the straight path. The Maturīdī tradition is emphatic that individual moral accountability is absolute and non-transferable.
وَلَيَحْمِلُنَّ أَثْقَالَهُمْ وَأَثْقَالًا مَّعَ أَثْقَالِهِمْ ۖ وَلَيُسْأَلُنَّ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ عَمَّا كَانُوا يَفْتَرُونَ
Wa-la-yaḥmilunna athqālahum wa-athqālan maʿa athqālihimۖwa-la-yusʾalunna yawma al-qiyāmati ʿammā kānū yaftarūn
But they shall certainly carry their own burdens, and other burdens along with their own. And they shall certainly be questioned on the Day of Resurrection about what they used to fabricate. (al-ʿAnkabūt 29:13)
Translation: Rather, they shall most assuredly bear their own sins, and additional burdens alongside their own. And they shall certainly be called to account on the Day of Resurrection for the falsehoods they were fabricating.
Commentary: This verse delivers the divine counter-declaration. Those who led others astray by their deceitful promises shall not only bear the full weight of their own transgressions — they shall additionally carry the burden of every soul they misled, without that person's own burden being diminished thereby. The author stresses this principle of compound accountability: misleading others in the name of religion is among the gravest of sins, since its consequences multiply through every soul corrupted. On the Day of Resurrection (yawm al-qiyāma), they shall be interrogated specifically regarding their fabrications and false promises.
وَلَقَدْ أَرْسَلْنَا نُوحًا إِلَىٰ قَوْمِهِ فَلَبِثَ فِيهِمْ أَلْفَ سَنَةٍ إِلَّا خَمْسِينَ عَامًا فَأَخَذَهُمُ الطُّوفَانُ وَهُمْ ظَالِمُونَ
Wa-la-qad arsalnā Nūḥan ilā qawmihi fa-labitha fīhim alfa sanatin illā khamsīna ʿāman fa-akhadhahumu al-ṭūfānu wa-hum ẓālimūn
And We certainly sent Noah (upon him be peace) to his people, and he remained among them a thousand years less fifty. Then the flood seized them while they were wrongdoers. (al-ʿAnkabūt 29:14)
Translation: And We indeed sent Nūḥ (upon him be peace) to his people. He remained among them for nine hundred and fifty years. Then the flood overwhelmed them while they were steeped in wrongdoing.
Commentary: The mention of the long prophetic mission of Nūḥ (upon him be peace) — nine hundred and fifty years of patient preaching (daʿwa) — serves multiple purposes in the author's commentary. First, it provides a historical precedent for the persecution and trials faced by the believers in Mecca: if the noble Prophet Nūḥ (upon him be peace) persevered through ten centuries of rejection, the community of Muḥammadﷺcan surely endure far shorter trials with patience. Second, the ultimate fate of the rejectors — overwhelmed by the Flood (ṭūfān) while remaining in their state of oppression (ẓulm) — demonstrates that divine punishment, though delayed, is inescapable. The juxtaposition of the Prophet's extraordinary patience with the people's persistent wrongdoing is itself a lesson in the sunnat Allah (the established pattern of Allah's dealings with humanity).
فَأَنجَيْنَاهُ وَأَصْحَابَ السَّفِينَةِ وَجَعَلْنَاهَا آيَةً لِّلْعَالَمِينَ
Fa-anjaynāhu wa-aṣḥāba al-safīnati wa-jaʿalnāhā āyatan lil-ʿālamīn
Then We saved him and the companions of the Ark, and made it a sign for all the worlds. (al-ʿAnkabūt 29:15)
Translation: Then We delivered Nūḥ (upon him be peace) and those who were with him in the Ark, and We made that event an enduring sign and lesson for all the peoples of the world.
Commentary: The divine rescue of the Prophet Nūḥ (upon him be peace) and his companions follows as the inexorable counterpart to the destruction of the unjust. The author notes that the Ark itself — and the entire narrative — was preserved by Allah as an āya (sign, portent, lesson) for all subsequent generations. The word āya carries a rich polysemy in Qurʾānic usage: it is simultaneously a miracle, a proof of divine power, and a moral example (ʿibra) for those who reflect. The event of the Flood thus stands in human memory as a testimony both to the reality of prophethood and to the certainty of divine justice.
وَإِبْرَاهِيمَ إِذْ قَالَ لِقَوْمِهِ اعْبُدُوا اللَّهَ وَاتَّقُوهُ ۖ ذَٰلِكُمْ خَيْرٌ لَّكُمْ إِن كُنتُمْ تَعْلَمُونَ
Wa-Ibrāhīma idh qāla li-qawmihi uʿbudū Allāha wa-ittaqūhuۖdhālikum khayrun lakum in kuntum taʿlamūn
And ˹mention˺ Ibrāhīm, when he said to his people: "Worship Allah and fear Him. That is better for you, if only you knew." (al-ʿAnkabūt 29:16)
Translation: And recall Ibrāhīm (upon him be peace) when he said to his people: "Worship Allah alone and hold Him in awe. This is better for you — if only you truly understood."
Commentary: The Qurʾān now turns to the narrative of Ibrāhīm (upon him be peace), which dominates this section of the sūra. The author observes that the call of Ibrāhīm (upon him be peace) is framed with exquisite succinctness: two commands — uʿbudū (worship) and ittaqū (fear/revere) — capture the totality of the human obligation to Allah. The conditional in kuntum taʿlamūn ("if you truly know/understand") is a gentle rhetorical challenge: those who genuinely possess understanding will recognise that monotheism and taqwā (piety, God-consciousness) are the only rational and salvific choices. The Sunnī Ḥanafī tradition regards the milla of Ibrāhīm (upon him be peace) as the primordial religion to which Islām is the final and complete expression.
إِنَّمَا تَعْبُدُونَ مِن دُونِ اللَّهِ أَوْثَانًا وَتَخْلُقُونَ إِفْكًا ۚ إِنَّ الَّذِينَ تَعْبُدُونَ مِن دُونِ اللَّهِ لَا يَمْلِكُونَ لَكُمْ رِزْقًا فَابْتَغُوا عِندَ اللَّهِ الرِّزْقَ وَاعْبُدُوهُ وَاشْكُرُوا لَهُ ۖ إِلَيْهِ تُرْجَعُونَ
Innamā taʿbudūna min dūni Allāhi awthānan wa-takhluqūna ifkanۚinna alladhīna taʿbudūna min dūni Allāhi lā yamlikūna lakum rizqan fa-ibtaghū ʿinda Allāhi al-rizqa wa-uʿbudūhu wa-ushkurū lahuۖilayhi turjaʿūn
You worship, instead of Allah, only idols and you create a falsehood. Indeed, those you worship instead of Allah have no power to provide for you. So seek provision from Allah, worship Him, and be grateful to Him. To Him you shall be returned. (al-ʿAnkabūt 29:17)
Translation: What you worship besides Allah are mere idols, and you are fabricating nothing but falsehood. Those whom you worship besides Allah possess no power to provide sustenance for you. So seek your provision from Allah, worship Him, and give thanks to Him — for to Him alone you shall return.
Commentary: The author notes that Ibrāhīm (upon him be peace) delivers here a comprehensive theological dismantling of idolatry. The critique is threefold: first, the objects of polytheistic worship are mere awthān (idols, manufactured objects) devoid of real existence as gods; second, the entire theological framework of polytheism is a fabricated falsehood (ifk); and third — most practically — these false deities are utterly powerless to provide rizq (sustenance, livelihood). This last point strikes at the heart of practical religiosity: people turn to false gods hoping for material benefit, yet those entities possess no capacity to grant any benefit whatsoever. The true and sole source of all provision is Allah Most High. The exhortation concludes with the three great obligations of the creature: seek sustenance from Allah, worship Him, and thank Him — for the return is to Him alone.
وَإِن تُكَذِّبُوا فَقَدْ كَذَّبَ أُمَمٌ مِّن قَبْلِكُمْ ۖ وَمَا عَلَى الرَّسُولِ إِلَّا الْبَلَاغُ الْمُبِينُ
Wa-in tukadhdhibū fa-qad kadhdhaba umumun min qablikumۖwa-mā ʿalā al-rasūli illā al-balāghu al-mubīn
And if you deny, then nations before you have also denied. The messenger's duty is only clear communication. (al-ʿAnkabūt 29:18)
Translation: And if you deny and reject — then know that nations before you also denied. The duty of the Messenger is nothing beyond clear and plain communication of the message.
Commentary: Ibrāhīm (upon him be peace) — and by implication, the Prophet Muḥammadﷺ— is here consoled and relieved of any burden of compulsion: the prophetic mission (risāla) is one of conveyance (balāgh), not coercion. This principle, the author explains, is fundamental to the Sunnī understanding of prophethood: the Prophetﷺis a conveyor of the divine message with utmost clarity (mubīn), and thereafter each individual soul bears responsibility for its own acceptance or rejection. The precedent of earlier nations who denied their prophets is invoked not to counsel despair, but to contextualise rejection as a recurring human pattern that does not diminish the truth of the message.
أَوَلَمْ يَرَوْا كَيْفَ يُبْدِئُ اللَّهُ الْخَلْقَ ثُمَّ يُعِيدُهُ ۚ إِنَّ ذَٰلِكَ عَلَى اللَّهِ يَسِيرٌ
A-wa-lam yaraw kayfa yubdiʾu Allāhu al-khalqa thumma yuʿīduhuۚinna dhālika ʿalā Allāhi yasīr
Do they not see how Allah begins creation and then repeats it? Indeed, that is easy for Allah. (al-ʿAnkabūt 29:19)
Translation: Have they not observed how Allah originates creation and then reproduces it? Indeed, that is easy for Allah.
Commentary: The argument from creation (dalīl al-khalq) is deployed against those who deny the resurrection. The author explains: if Allah is capable of the first creation — which all people acknowledge — then the recreation (iʿāda) of that which has perished is manifestly easier, not harder. This is an argument from rational inference (qiyās), which the Maturīdī tradition employs extensively. The divine attribute yasīr ("easy") does not imply that resurrection requires effort of any kind — rather, it addresses the human objection that resurrection is "impossible," countering it by showing that the One who created the first time encounters no greater difficulty in the second creation.
قُلْ سِيرُوا فِي الْأَرْضِ فَانظُرُوا كَيْفَ بَدَأَ الْخَلْقَ ۚ ثُمَّ اللَّهُ يُنشِئُ النَّشْأَةَ الْآخِرَةَ ۚ إِنَّ اللَّهَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ
Qul sīrū fī al-arḍi fa-nẓurū kayfa badaʾa al-khalqaۚthumma Allāhu yunshiʾu al-nashʾata al-ākhirataۚinna Allāha ʿalā kulli shayʾin qadīr
Say: "Travel through the earth and observe how He began creation. Then Allah will produce the final creation. Indeed, Allah is over all things competent." (al-ʿAnkabūt 29:20)
Translation: Say: "Travel through the earth and observe how Allah originated the first creation." Then Allah shall bring about the second existence — the life of the Hereafter. Indeed, Allah has power over all things.
Commentary: The directive to travel (sīrū) is both literal and intellectual: observation of the natural world constitutes a form of rational proof for divine power and the certainty of resurrection. The author emphasises that the āthār (traces) of ancient civilisations, geological formations, and the manifold forms of life all testify to the creative power of Allah. The phrase al-nashʾa al-ākhira (the final genesis, the second bringing-forth) refers to the bodily resurrection. The sūra's theodicy is comprehensive: the argument proceeds from observation of the world, to rational inference about divine power, to affirmation of eschatological realities.
يُعَذِّبُ مَن يَشَاءُ وَيَرْحَمُ مَن يَشَاءُ ۖ وَإِلَيْهِ تُقْلَبُونَ
Yuʿadhdhibu man yashāʾu wa-yarḥamu man yashāʾuۖwa-ilayhi tuqlabūn
He punishes whom He wills and has mercy on whom He wills. And to Him you will be returned. (al-ʿAnkabūt 29:21)
Translation: He punishes whom He wills and shows mercy to whom He wills. And to Him you shall all be turned and returned.
Commentary: The author notes that this verse establishes the absolute sovereignty of divine will (mashīʾa) in matters of punishment and mercy, a cornerstone of Maturīdī ʿaqīda. The two actions — taʿdhīb (punishment) and raḥma (mercy) — are both expressions of divine justice and grace respectively. The Maturīdī position, unlike Muʿtazilī theology, holds that Allah is not obliged by rational necessity to punish or to forgive; rather, both punishment of the wrongdoer and mercy towards the repentant believer are acts of divine will and wisdom. The concluding phrase — "to Him you shall be returned" (tuqlabūn, literally "turned back") — uses the image of reversal, signifying that all journeys in this world ultimately arc back to their divine source.
وَمَا أَنتُم بِمُعْجِزِينَ فِي الْأَرْضِ وَلَا فِي السَّمَاءِ ۖ وَمَا لَكُم مِّن دُونِ اللَّهِ مِن وَلِيٍّ وَلَا نَصِيرٍ
Wa-mā antum bi-muʿjizīna fī al-arḍi wa-lā fī al-samāʾiۖwa-mā lakum min dūni Allāhi min waliyyin wa-lā naṣīr
And you will not escape in the earth or in the heavens, and you have neither a protector nor a helper besides Allah. (al-ʿAnkabūt 29:22)
Translation: And you are not able to render Allah powerless — neither on the earth nor in the heavens. And you have no protector and no helper other than Allah.
Commentary: The word muʿjizīna (those who make [Allah] incapable, those who thwart) signifies the impossibility of escape from divine power. The author explains that neither horizontal flight across the earth nor imagined vertical escape through the heavens can avail the one who defies Allah. The entire cosmos — earth and heaven alike — is within the dominion of Allah, so there is no spatial refuge from His decree. The verse closes with a statement of utter dependence: walī (guardian, patron) and naṣīr (helper, supporter) — both forms of aid and protection — are impossible to obtain from any source other than Allah. This serves simultaneously as a warning to the heedless and as a source of spiritual assurance for the believer: the one who clings to Allah has the most powerful of all protectors.
وَالَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا بِآيَاتِ اللَّهِ وَلِقَائِهِ أُولَٰئِكَ يَئِسُوا مِن رَّحْمَتِي وَأُولَٰئِكَ لَهُمْ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ
Wa-alladhīna kafarū bi-āyāti Allāhi wa-liqāʾihi ulāʾika yaʾisū min raḥmatī wa-ulāʾika lahum ʿadhābun alīm
And those who disbelieve in the signs of Allah and in the meeting with Him — it is they who have despaired of My mercy, and it is they who will have a painful punishment. (al-ʿAnkabūt 29:23)
Translation: And those who reject the signs of Allah and deny the encounter with Him — it is they who have forfeited all hope of My mercy. And for them awaits a most grievous and painful punishment.
Commentary: The two objects of disbelief specified — the āyāt (signs, verses, miracles) of Allah and liqāʾuhu (the meeting with Him, i.e. the encounter at resurrection and judgement) — encompass both the evidences of prophethood in this world and the eschatological realities. The author notes with gravity the Qurʾānic statement that such disbelievers "have despaired of My mercy" (yaʾisū min raḥmatī): this despair is self-inflicted, since it is they who rejected the path that leads to mercy. The Sufi dimension is poignant: the greatest of spiritual calamities is to be cut off from divine mercy, and it is the persistent rejection of divine signs that severs this connection.
فَمَا كَانَ جَوَابَ قَوْمِهِ إِلَّا أَن قَالُوا اقْتُلُوهُ أَوْ حَرِّقُوهُ فَأَنجَاهُ اللَّهُ مِنَ النَّارِ ۚ إِنَّ فِي ذَٰلِكَ لَآيَاتٍ لِّقَوْمٍ يُؤْمِنُونَ
Fa-mā kāna jawāba qawmihi illā an qālū uqtulūhu aw ḥarriqūhu fa-anjāhu Allāhu mina al-nāriۚinna fī dhālika la-āyātin li-qawmin yuʾminūn
And the answer of his people was only that they said: "Kill him or burn him!" But Allah saved him from the fire. Indeed in that are signs for a people who believe. (al-ʿAnkabūt 29:24)
Translation: And the only response of his people was that they said: "Kill him, or burn him!" But Allah delivered him from the fire. In that there are assuredly great signs for a people of faith.
Commentary: This is the story of the attempted immolation of Ibrāhīm (upon him be peace) by Nimrūd and his people. When rational and spiritual argument exhausted the tolerance of the disbelievers, they resorted to physical annihilation — the final recourse of those who can no longer engage with truth. The author notes the pattern: prophethood is met with violence when it cannot be refuted. Yet Allah Most High made the fire cool and safe for Ibrāhīm (upon him be peace) —﴿قُلْنَا يَا نَارُ كُونِي بَرْدًا وَسَلَامًا عَلَىٰ إِبْرَاهِيمَ﴾("O fire, be coolness and safety upon Ibrāhīm" — al-Anbiyāʾ 21:69). The author emphasises that this miracle contains āyāt (signs, plural) — multiple layers of meaning and proof for those with eyes of faith: proof of divine power, proof of prophethood, proof of the impossibility of thwarting Allah's will.
وَقَالَ إِنَّمَا اتَّخَذْتُم مِّن دُونِ اللَّهِ أَوْثَانًا مَّوَدَّةَ بَيْنِكُمْ فِي الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا ۖ ثُمَّ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ يَكْفُرُ بَعْضُكُم بِبَعْضٍ وَيَلْعَنُ بَعْضُكُم بَعْضًا وَمَأْوَاكُمُ النَّارُ وَمَا لَكُم مِّن نَّاصِرِينَ
Wa-qāla innamā ittakhadhtum min dūni Allāhi awthānan mawaddata baynikum fī al-ḥayāti al-dunyāۖthumma yawma al-qiyāmati yakfuru baʿḍukum bi-baʿḍin wa-yalʿanu baʿḍukum baʿḍan wa-maʾwākumu al-nāru wa-mā lakum min nāṣirīn
And ˹Ibrāhīm˺ said: "You have taken idols besides Allah only to maintain affection among yourselves in this worldly life. Then on the Day of Resurrection you will deny each other and curse each other, and your refuge will be the Fire, and you will have no helpers." (al-ʿAnkabūt 29:25)
Translation: And Ibrāhīm (upon him be peace) said: "The only reason you have taken idols besides Allah is to maintain a bond of worldly affection and solidarity among yourselves in this life. But on the Day of Resurrection, you shall disown one another, and you shall curse one another, and your abode will be the Fire — and you shall have no helpers whatsoever."
Commentary: The author expounds this psycho-social analysis of idolatry with remarkable insight: much of polytheism is sustained not by genuine theological conviction but by social cohesion — shared cultural practices, group identity, and mutual affection built around communal worship. Ibrāhīm (upon him be peace) predicts with prophetic precision that this worldly solidarity will shatter catastrophically on the Day of Resurrection. The relationship between the idol-worshipper and those who led him to idolatry will transform into mutual repudiation (takāfur) and mutual cursing (talaʿun) — a devastating inversion of the worldly bond. The final verdict — fire, without any helper — seals the absolute futility of idolatrous attachments.
فَآمَنَ لَهُ لُوطٌ ۘ وَقَالَ إِنِّي مُهَاجِرٌ إِلَىٰ رَبِّي ۖ إِنَّهُ هُوَ الْعَزِيزُ الْحَكِيمُ
Fa-āmana lahu Lūṭunۘwa-qāla innī muhājirun ilā rabbīۖinnahu huwa al-ʿAzīzu al-Ḥakīm
So Lūṭ believed him, and ˹Ibrāhīm˺ said: "Indeed, I am emigrating towards my Lord. He is indeed the Almighty, the All-Wise." (al-ʿAnkabūt 29:26)
Translation: Then Lūṭ (upon him be peace) believed in him and attested to his prophethood. And Ibrāhīm (upon him be peace) said: "I am emigrating to my Lord — towards the destination He has appointed for me. He is truly the Almighty, the All-Wise."
Commentary: The author identifies this moment as the first great hijra (emigration) in prophetic history — the departure of Ibrāhīm (upon him be peace) from his homeland in the cause of Allah. His companion in faith and emigration was his nephew Lūṭ (upon him be peace). The declaration innī muhājirun ilā rabbī ("I am emigrating to my Lord") became a watchword for all subsequent believers who leave their homes and lands for the sake of faith. The divine names invoked — al-ʿAzīz al-Ḥakīm (the All-Mighty, the All-Wise) — reassure: the One to whose command this emigration is a response possesses both the power to protect and the wisdom to guide. For the Sufis, hijra carries the additional inner meaning of the soul's emigration from the world of heedlessness towards the presence of Allah.
وَوَهَبْنَا لَهُ إِسْحَاقَ وَيَعْقُوبَ وَجَعَلْنَا فِي ذُرِّيَّتِهِ النُّبُوَّةَ وَالْكِتَابَ وَآتَيْنَاهُ أَجْرَهُ فِي الدُّنْيَا ۖ وَإِنَّهُ فِي الْآخِرَةِ لَمِنَ الصَّالِحِينَ
Wa-wahabnā lahu Isḥāqa wa-Yaʿqūba wa-jaʿalnā fī dhurriyyatihi al-nubuwwata wa-l-kitāba wa-ātaynāhu ajrahu fī al-dunyāۖwa-innahu fī al-ākhirati la-mina al-ṣāliḥīn
And We granted him Isḥāq and Yaʿqūb and placed prophethood and scripture among his descendants, and gave him his reward in this world. And indeed, in the Hereafter he will certainly be among the righteous. (al-ʿAnkabūt 29:27)
Translation: And We bestowed upon him Isḥāq (upon him be peace) and Yaʿqūb (upon him be peace), and We placed prophethood and revealed scripture within his progeny, and We gave him his due reward in this world. And in the Hereafter he shall assuredly be among the righteous.
Commentary: The divine reward for the hijra of Ibrāhīm (upon him be peace) was immense: his son Isḥāq (upon him be peace) and his grandson Yaʿqūb (upon him be peace), and through his lineage the entire chain of prophethood and revealed books — from the Torah to the Psalms to the Gospels to the final Qurʾān — was continued. The author marvels at the providential wisdom (ḥikma) of Allah: abandonment of homeland and tribe for Allah's sake was compensated with the greatest of all worldly honours — that one's progeny should be the bearers of divine guidance to humanity. His worldly reward (ajr fī al-dunyā) encompassed righteous children, widespread renown, and the love of all communities of faith. His otherworldly station — among the ṣāliḥīn — is the ultimate spiritual felicity.
وَلُوطًا إِذْ قَالَ لِقَوْمِهِ إِنَّكُمْ لَتَأْتُونَ الْفَاحِشَةَ مَا سَبَقَكُم بِهَا مِنْ أَحَدٍ مِّنَ الْعَالَمِينَ
Wa-Lūṭan idh qāla li-qawmihi innakum la-taʾtūna al-fāḥishata mā sabaqakum bihā min aḥadin mina al-ʿālamīn
And ˹mention˺ Lūṭ, when he said to his people: "Indeed, you commit such immorality as no one has preceded you in among all the worlds." (al-ʿAnkabūt 29:28)
Translation: And recall Lūṭ (upon him be peace) when he said to his people: "You commit an obscenity so grave that none among all the peoples of the world has ever preceded you in it."
Commentary: The narrative transitions to the mission of Lūṭ (upon him be peace) — sent to the people of Sodom. The act described, the author explains, is sexual intercourse between men (liwāṭ), a transgression so novel in the history of human corruption that no prior community had committed it. The author emphasises the gravity with which the Qurʾān treats this sin: it is characterised as fāḥisha (an obscenity, an enormity) without precedent. This is not merely a cultural prohibition in Ḥanafī jurisprudence: it is among the gravest sins (kabāʾir), categorically prohibited in both fiqh (jurisprudence) and ʿaqīda, with severe legal consequences in Islamic law.
أَئِنَّكُمْ لَتَأْتُونَ الرِّجَالَ وَتَقْطَعُونَ السَّبِيلَ وَتَأْتُونَ فِي نَادِيكُمُ الْمُنكَرَ ۖ فَمَا كَانَ جَوَابَ قَوْمِهِ إِلَّا أَن قَالُوا ائْتِنَا بِعَذَابِ اللَّهِ إِن كُنتَ مِنَ الصَّادِقِينَ
A-innakum la-taʾtūna al-rijāla wa-taqṭaʿūna al-sabīla wa-taʾtūna fī nādīkumu al-munkaraۖfa-mā kāna jawābu qawmihi illā an qālū iʾtinā bi-ʿadhābi Allāhi in kunta mina al-ṣādiqīn
"Do you indeed approach men, cut off the road, and commit evil deeds in your gatherings?" The answer of his people was only that they said: "Bring upon us the punishment of Allah, if you are of the truthful." (al-ʿAnkabūt 29:29)
Translation: "Do you approach men with lust, waylay travellers on the road, and commit abominations in your public gatherings?" The only response of his people was to say: "Bring upon us the punishment of Allah, if you are indeed telling the truth."
Commentary: Three distinct moral crimes are enumerated: first, the particular sexual transgression already mentioned; second, highway robbery (qaṭʿ al-sabīl) — preying upon travellers and caravans; and third, the commission of shameless public acts of indecency (al-munkar fī al-nādī). The author notes that the people of Lūṭ (upon him be peace) had reached such depths of moral corruption that they openly defied the prophetic warning, arrogantly demanding that the divine punishment be brought upon them — treating the Prophet's threat as an empty boast. This brazen response is itself a mark of the total collapse of their moral discernment.
قَالَ رَبِّ انصُرْنِي عَلَى الْقَوْمِ الْمُفْسِدِينَ
Qāla rabbi inṣurnī ʿalā al-qawmi al-mufsidīn
He said: "My Lord, support me against the corrupting people." (al-ʿAnkabūt 29:30)
Translation: Lūṭ (upon him be peace) supplicated: "My Lord, grant me victory against this people of corruption."
Commentary: Having exhausted every avenue of counsel and warning, Lūṭ (upon him be peace) turns to the ultimate refuge: duʿāʾ (supplication) to Allah. The author notes that this prayer is among the most powerful and precise in Qurʾānic narrative: it does not merely ask for personal deliverance but for divine support (naṣr) against a people who are mufsidūn — those who spread corruption and disorder (fasād) on earth. The mufsid who corrupts not only himself but the social fabric is a category that receives consistent condemnation throughout the Qurʾān, and the prayer of Lūṭ (upon him be peace) is a model of the believer's recourse when faced with entrenched and defiant corruption.
وَلَمَّا جَاءَتْ رُسُلُنَا إِبْرَاهِيمَ بِالْبُشْرَىٰ قَالُوا إِنَّا مُهْلِكُوا أَهْلِ هَٰذِهِ الْقَرْيَةِ ۖ إِنَّ أَهْلَهَا كَانُوا ظَالِمِينَ
Wa-lammā jāʾat rusulunā Ibrāhīma bi-al-bushrā qālū innā muhlikū ahli hādhihi al-qaryatiۖinna ahlahā kānū ẓālimīn
And when Our messengers came to Ibrāhīm with the good news, they said: "Indeed, We are going to destroy the people of this city. Indeed, its people have been wrongdoers." (al-ʿAnkabūt 29:31)
Translation: And when Our messenger-angels came to Ibrāhīm (upon him be peace) bearing the glad tidings ˹of a son˺, they also announced: "We are about to destroy the people of this township — for its people have indeed been wrongdoers."
Commentary: The angels arrive at Ibrāhīm (upon him be peace) bearing a dual message: the bushrā (glad tidings) of a son — Isḥāq (upon him be peace) — and the notification of imminent destruction for the people of Lūṭ (upon him be peace). The author notes the beautiful intertwining of divine mercy and divine justice in this single visitation: the same divine messengers who bring the joyous news of progeny also carry the decree of punishment for the unjust. The designation of the people as ẓālimūn (wrongdoers, oppressors) confirms the moral justification for the punishment: it is not arbitrary divine wrath but a measured response to sustained oppression and corruption.
قَالَ إِنَّ فِيهَا لُوطًا ۚ قَالُوا نَحْنُ أَعْلَمُ بِمَن فِيهَا ۖ لَنُنَجِّيَنَّهُ وَأَهْلَهُ إِلَّا امْرَأَتَهُ كَانَتْ مِنَ الْغَابِرِينَ
Qāla inna fīhā Lūṭanۚqālū naḥnu aʿlamu bi-man fīhāۖla-nunajjiyannahū wa-ahlahu illā imraʾatahu kānat mina al-ghābirīn
He said: "But Lūṭ is there." They said: "We know better who is there. We will surely save him and his family, except his wife — she is to be among those who remain behind." (al-ʿAnkabūt 29:32)
Translation: Ibrāhīm (upon him be peace) said: "But Lūṭ is there in that city!" The angels replied: "We know full well who is in it. We shall assuredly deliver him and his family — except his wife, who shall remain behind with the destroyed."
Commentary: The intercession of Ibrāhīm (upon him be peace) on behalf of the believers in Sodom — specifically Lūṭ (upon him be peace) — is a profound expression of prophetic compassion (shafaqa). The divine response through the angels is both reassuring and precise: they affirm complete knowledge (naḥnu aʿlamu) of all who dwell there, and they confirm the salvation of Lūṭ (upon him be peace) and his righteous family. The sole exception is the wife of Lūṭ (upon him be peace), who was aligned with the wrongdoers. The word ghābirīn ("those who remain behind") signifies those left behind to perish — an expression of the divine principle that individual moral choice determines one's fate, regardless of one's marital or familial proximity to a prophet.
وَلَمَّا أَن جَاءَتْ رُسُلُنَا لُوطًا سِيءَ بِهِمْ وَضَاقَ بِهِمْ ذَرْعًا وَقَالُوا لَا تَخَفْ وَلَا تَحْزَنْ ۖ إِنَّا مُنَجُّوكَ وَأَهْلَكَ إِلَّا امْرَأَتَكَ كَانَتْ مِنَ الْغَابِرِينَ
Wa-lammā an jāʾat rusulunā Lūṭan sīʾa bihim wa-ḍāqa bihim dharʿan wa-qālū lā takhaf wa-lā taḥzanۖinnā munajjūka wa-ahlaka illā imraʾataka kānat mina al-ghābirīn
And when Our messengers came to Lūṭ, he was distressed on their account and felt for them great anxiety. They said: "Fear not and do not grieve. Indeed, We will save you and your family, except your wife — she is to be of those who remain behind." (al-ʿAnkabūt 29:33)
Translation: And when Our messenger-angels came to Lūṭ (upon him be peace), their arrival caused him distress and filled his heart with anguish, for he feared harm would befall them from his people. The angels said: "Have no fear, and do not grieve. We shall save you and your family — except your wife, who shall remain behind with those who perish."
Commentary: The angels, appearing as handsome young men, caused Lūṭ (upon him be peace) acute distress precisely because he anticipated the criminal desire his people would feel toward them. The phrase ḍāqa bihim dharʿan ("his arm was constricted by them," idiomatically: "he was at a loss, overwhelmed, unable to cope") conveys the Prophet's profound helplessness and grief in that moment. The divine consolation — lā takhaf wa-lā taḥzan ("fear not and do not grieve") — addresses both the immediate danger (fear, khawf) and the deeper emotional distress (grief, ḥuzn). The author notes the delicate distinction between these two states: khawf relates to anticipated future harm, while ḥuzn relates to present sorrow. Divine mercy addresses both.
إِنَّا مُنزِلُونَ عَلَىٰ أَهْلِ هَٰذِهِ الْقَرْيَةِ رِجْزًا مِّنَ السَّمَاءِ بِمَا كَانُوا يَفْسُقُونَ
Innā munzilūna ʿalā ahli hādhihi al-qaryati rijzan mina al-samāʾi bi-mā kānū yafsuqūn
Indeed, We are about to bring down upon the people of this city a punishment from the sky because they have been defiantly disobedient. (al-ʿAnkabūt 29:34)
Translation: Indeed, We are about to send down upon the people of this city a torment from the sky, because of their persistent transgression and defiantly sinful conduct.
Commentary: The word rijz (torment, affliction) from the sky encompasses the various modes of divine punishment described in the Qurʾān for the people of Lūṭ (upon him be peace) — the hurling of stones of baked clay (ḥijāra min sijjīl) and the overturning of their city. The causal phrase bi-mā kānū yafsuqūn ("because of their defiantly sinful conduct") affirms the juridical character of the divine punishment: it is not arbitrary destruction but the proportionate divine response to a community's systematic and unrepentant transgression of the moral and natural order.
وَلَقَد تَّرَكْنَا مِنْهَا آيَةً بَيِّنَةً لِّقَوْمٍ يَعْقِلُونَ
Wa-la-qad taraknā minhā āyatan bayyinatan li-qawmin yaʿqilūn
And We have certainly left of it a sign that is clear for a people who use reason. (al-ʿAnkabūt 29:35)
Translation: And We have assuredly left from it a clear and manifest sign for a people who reflect with reason.
Commentary: The ruins and desolation of the destroyed cities — the lands around the Dead Sea whose blighted landscape was known to the Arabs of the Prophet's timeﷺ— stand as an enduring āya bayyina (clear, manifest sign). The condition li-qawmin yaʿqilūn ("for a people who employ reason") is the key: the physical evidence of divine punishment is available to all who travel through the region, but only those who apply their intellect (ʿaql) and draw the correct moral inference receive the lesson. The Maturīdī school's high esteem for reason as a tool of theological insight is fully consonant with this Qurʾānic insistence that the signs of Allah can and should be understood through rational reflection.
وَإِلَىٰ مَدْيَنَ أَخَاهُمْ شُعَيْبًا فَقَالَ يَا قَوْمِ اعْبُدُوا اللَّهَ وَارْجُوا الْيَوْمَ الْآخِرَ وَلَا تَعْثَوْا فِي الْأَرْضِ مُفْسِدِينَ
Wa-ilā Madyana akhāhum Shuʿayban fa-qāla yā qawmi uʿbudū Allāha wa-rjū al-yawma al-ākhira wa-lā taʿthaw fī al-arḍi mufsidīn
And to Madyan ˹We sent˺ their brother Shuʿayb, and he said: "O my people, worship Allah and hope for the Last Day, and do not commit abuse on the earth as corrupters." (al-ʿAnkabūt 29:36)
Translation: And to the people of Madyan We sent their kinsman Shuʿayb (upon him be peace), who said: "O my people! Worship Allah and hold firm hope in the Last Day, and do not wander through the earth spreading corruption."
Commentary: The mission of Shuʿayb (upon him be peace) to the people of Madyan follows the same pattern as those before it. The three pillars of his call are: tawḥīd (worship of Allah alone), eschatological awareness (hope in the Last Day, which entails accountability and therefore ethical behaviour), and the prohibition of fasād fī al-arḍ (spreading corruption and disorder on earth). The author notes that rajāʾ al-yawm al-ākhir ("hope in the Last Day") is not passive optimism but an active moral posture: one who truly hopes for the Last Day lives accordingly, scrupulously avoiding injustice and corruption. The people of Madyan were known for fraudulent commercial practices and dishonesty in weights and measures — hence the specific prohibition against corruption.
فَكَذَّبُوهُ فَأَخَذَتْهُمُ الرَّجْفَةُ فَأَصْبَحُوا فِي دَارِهِمْ جَاثِمِينَ
Fa-kadhdhabūhu fa-akhadhat-humu al-rajfatu fa-aṣbaḥū fī dārihim jāthimīn
But they denied him, so the earthquake seized them, and they became motionless in their homes. (al-ʿAnkabūt 29:37)
Translation: But they denied him and rejected his message. Then the earthquake (al-rajfa) seized them, and they were left lying motionless and prostrate in their dwellings.
Commentary: The divine punishment for the people of Madyan was the devastating earthquake (rajfa). The word jāthimīn (lying prostrate, huddled lifeless) evokes an image of sudden and total annihilation: an entire community frozen in death in the very spaces they inhabited, left as a mute testimony to divine judgement. The author connects this with the broader Qurʾānic pattern of communal punishment: each disbelieving people is afflicted through a punishment suited to their circumstances and their transgression.
وَعَادًا وَثَمُودَا وَقَد تَّبَيَّنَ لَكُم مِّن مَّسَاكِنِهِمْ ۖ وَزَيَّنَ لَهُمُ الشَّيْطَانُ أَعْمَالَهُمْ فَصَدَّهُمْ عَنِ السَّبِيلِ وَكَانُوا مُسْتَبْصِرِينَ
Wa-ʿĀdan wa-Thamūda wa-qad tabayyana lakum min masākinihimۖwa-zayyana lahumu al-shayṭānu aʿmālahum fa-ṣaddahum ʿani al-sabīli wa-kānū mustabṣirīn
And ˹We destroyed˺ ʿĀd and Thamūd, and it has become clear to you from their ˹ruined˺ dwellings. And Satan beautified their deeds for them and averted them from the path, though they could see. (al-ʿAnkabūt 29:38)
Translation: And ˹recall˺ ʿĀd and Thamūd — their fate has been made manifest to you through the ruins of their dwellings. Shayṭān had embellished their deeds before their eyes and diverted them from the straight path, whilst they possessed the capacity of perception and understanding.
Commentary: The ruins of ʿĀd and Thamūd were familiar to the Arabs of Mecca who travelled the caravan routes of Yemen and the Ḥijāz; the reference was thus a vivid and immediate one. The author draws particular attention to the crucial phrase wa-kānū mustabṣirīn — "and they were possessed of sight/discernment." This is a profound theological point: it was not ignorance that destroyed them, but the embellishment (tazwīn) of their sins by Shayṭān. They possessed the faculty of moral perception (baṣīra) but allowed it to be corrupted by the beautification of transgression. This is the essence of Shayṭān's strategy: not to force humans into sin, but to make sin seem attractive, natural, and even noble. The Sufi tradition emphasises that the antidote is the constant purification of the heart's inner sight (baṣīra al-qalb) through remembrance (dhikr) and sincere turning to Allah.
وَقَارُونَ وَفِرْعَوْنَ وَهَامَانَ ۖ وَلَقَدْ جَاءَهُم مُّوسَىٰ بِالْبَيِّنَاتِ فَاسْتَكْبَرُوا فِي الْأَرْضِ وَمَا كَانُوا سَابِقِينَ
Wa-Qārūna wa-Firʿawna wa-Hāmānaۖwa-la-qad jāʾahum Mūsā bi-al-bayyināti fa-stakbarū fī al-arḍi wa-mā kānū sābiqīn
And ˹We destroyed˺ Qārūn and Firʿawn and Hāmān. And Mūsā came to them with clear evidences, but they were arrogant in the land, and they were not preceding ˹Us˺. (al-ʿAnkabūt 29:39)
Translation: And ˹recall the destruction of˺ Qārūn (Korah), Firʿawn (Pharaoh), and Hāmān. Mūsā (upon him be peace) came to them with manifest proofs, but they waxed arrogant in the land — and they did not escape.
Commentary: Three archetypes of human transgression are named together: Qārūn represents the arrogance of wealth (takabbur bil-māl); Firʿawn represents the arrogance of political power and claimed divinity (takabbur bil-sulṭān); and Hāmān represents the arrogance of courtly sycophancy and collaboration with tyranny. All three rejected the clear proofs (bayyināt) brought by Mūsā (upon him be peace). The phrase wa-mā kānū sābiqīn ("they were not able to outstrip Us") echoes verse 4 of this very sūra: the theme of divine inescapability forms a structural arch across the chapter. No earthly power — financial, political, or military — can outrun the divine decree.
فَكُلًّا أَخَذْنَا بِذَنبِهِ ۖ فَمِنْهُم مَّنْ أَرْسَلْنَا عَلَيْهِ حَاصِبًا وَمِنْهُم مَّنْ أَخَذَتْهُ الصَّيْحَةُ وَمِنْهُم مَّنْ خَسَفْنَا بِهِ الْأَرْضَ وَمِنْهُم مَّنْ أَغْرَقْنَا ۚ وَمَا كَانَ اللَّهُ لِيَظْلِمَهُمْ وَلَٰكِن كَانُوا أَنفُسَهُمْ يَظْلِمُونَ
Fa-kullan akhadhنā bi-dhanbihīۖfa-minhum man arsalnā ʿalayhi ḥāṣiban wa-minhum man akhadhat-hu al-ṣayḥatu wa-minhum man khasafnā bihi al-arḍa wa-minhum man aghraqnāۚwa-mā kāna Allāhu li-yaẓlimahum wa-lākin kānū anfusahum yaẓlimūn
So each one We seized for his sin. And among them were those upon whom We sent a shower of stones, and among them were those seized by the blast, and among them were those whom We caused the earth to swallow, and among them were those whom We drowned. And Allah would not have wronged them, but they were wronging themselves. (al-ʿAnkabūt 29:40)
Translation: We seized each of them for their sin. Among them were those upon whom We sent a storm of stones — ˹the people of Lūṭ˺; and among them were those seized by the thunderous blast — ˹Thamūd and Madyan˺; and among them were those whom We caused to be swallowed by the earth — ˹Qārūn˺; and among them were those whom We drowned — ˹the people of Firʿawn˺. And Allah did not wrong them in the least — but they were wronging their own souls.
Commentary: This magnificent verse is a panoramic summary of divine justice executed across the civilisations named in the sūra. The variety of punishments — stoning, the blast, swallowing by the earth, drowning — illustrates that the instruments of divine punishment are manifold and befitting the particular nature and context of each transgression. The author emphasises the theologically crucial final clause: wa-mā kāna Allāhu li-yaẓlimahum wa-lākin kānū anfusahum yaẓlimūn — "Allah did not wrong them in the slightest, but they were wronging their own souls." This is a foundational Maturīdī doctrinal position: divine punishment is never ẓulm (injustice or oppression) — it is the proportionate, just consequence of freely chosen human transgression. The oppression was entirely self-inflicted.
مَثَلُ الَّذِينَ اتَّخَذُوا مِن دُونِ اللَّهِ أَوْلِيَاءَ كَمَثَلِ الْعَنكَبُوتِ اتَّخَذَتْ بَيْتًا ۖ وَإِنَّ أَوْهَنَ الْبُيُوتِ لَبَيْتُ الْعَنكَبُوتِ ۖ لَوْ كَانُوا يَعْلَمُونَ
Mathalu alladhīna ittakhadhū min dūni Allāhi awliyāʾa ka-mathali al-ʿankabūti ittakhadhat baytanۖwa-inna awhana al-buyūti la-baytu al-ʿankabūtiۖlaw kānū yaʿlamūn
The example of those who take allies other than Allah is like that of the spider who takes a home. And indeed, the weakest of homes is the home of the spider — if only they knew. (al-ʿAnkabūt 29:41)
Translation: The parable of those who take protectors other than Allah is like the spider that takes a home. Truly the weakest of all homes is the home of the spider — if only they would realise!
Commentary: This is the celebrated āyat al-ʿankabūt — the Spider Verse — from which the entire sūra takes its name. The comparison is of extraordinary elegance and depth. Those who place their reliance, hope, and worship in false deities — idols, worldly powers, wealth, human patrons — are compared to one who takes the spider's web as a dwelling: the most fragile, the most easily destroyed structure in existence. A single touch, a passing breeze, or the stroke of a broom dismantles it entirely. The author develops the simile with Sufi insight: the human soul that clings to anything other than Allah for its ultimate support has built its spiritual home on the most ephemeral of foundations. The tragedy is captured in the closing law kānū yaʿlamūn ("if only they knew"): knowledge is the antidote, but it is precisely this saving knowledge that they lack. The contrast is implicitly with the believer, whose walāya (protective bond) with Allah is the most indestructible of all supports.
إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَعْلَمُ مَا يَدْعُونَ مِن دُونِهِ مِن شَيْءٍ ۚ وَهُوَ الْعَزِيزُ الْحَكِيمُ
Inna Allāha yaʿlamu mā yadʿūna min dūnihi min shayʾinۚwa-huwa al-ʿAzīzu al-Ḥakīm
Indeed, Allah knows whatever they invoke besides Him. And He is the Almighty, the All-Wise. (al-ʿAnkabūt 29:42)
Translation: Indeed, Allah knows full well everything they invoke besides Him. And He is the All-Mighty, the All-Wise.
Commentary: The divine knowledge (ʿilm) here encompasses both the nothingness of false deities and the full awareness of the polytheists' acts of worship directed toward them. Nothing escapes divine knowledge — neither the idol in its insignificance, nor the devotion of the idolater in his delusion. The attributes al-ʿAzīz al-Ḥakīm (the All-Mighty, the All-Wise) close the verse: the All-Mighty possesses the power to dispense with all false intercessors, and the All-Wise acts according to wisdom that surpasses human comprehension.
وَتِلْكَ الْأَمْثَالُ نَضْرِبُهَا لِلنَّاسِ ۖ وَمَا يَعْقِلُهَا إِلَّا الْعَالِمُونَ
Wa-tilka al-amthālu naḍribuhā lil-nāsiۖwa-mā yaʿqiluhā illā al-ʿālimūn
And these parables We present to the people, but none will understand them except those of knowledge. (al-ʿAnkabūt 29:43)
Translation: And these are the parables (amthāl) that We coin for the people — yet none truly comprehend them except those endowed with knowledge.
Commentary: The Qurʾān is itself aware of its parabolical character and conscious of the varying capacity of recipients to receive its wisdom. The ʿālimūn (those of knowledge) who alone fully grasp the parables are not merely the formally educated: in the Sufi-Ḥanafī reading, they are those whose hearts have been illumined by divine light (nūr al-maʿrifa), who perceive with the inner eye of certitude. The parable of the spider is not a literary decoration but a profound window onto the nature of created reality and the absolute transcendence of divine support. Only the spiritually awakened truly see it.
خَلَقَ اللَّهُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضَ بِالْحَقِّ ۚ إِنَّ فِي ذَٰلِكَ لَآيَةً لِّلْمُؤْمِنِينَ
Khalaqa Allāhu al-samāwāti wa-al-arḍa bi-al-ḥaqqiۚinna fī dhālika la-āyatan lil-muʾminīn
Allah created the heavens and the earth in truth. Indeed in that is a sign for the believers. (al-ʿAnkabūt 29:44)
Translation: Allah created the heavens and the earth in truth and with rightful purpose. In that there is assuredly a profound sign for the believers.
Commentary: The sūra reaches its theological summit with this declaration: the cosmos was not created in play or in vain (bāṭil) but bi-al-ḥaqq — in truth, with divine wisdom and rightful purpose, in conformity with what is real and what is right. The word ḥaqq carries all these meanings simultaneously. The author notes that this verse is the cosmological foundation for the entire moral architecture of the sūra: because creation is real and purposeful, human choices within it are real and consequential; because the heavens and earth were created with truth, the divine reckoning is true; and because the universe is structured by divine wisdom, the āya (sign) within it is available to every believing heart. The sūra of the Spider thus ends — as Volume 4 of Tafsīr-e-Ṣiddīqī ends — on a note of cosmic affirmation: creation witnesses to the Creator, and the cosmos itself is a sign for the people of faith.
Here ends Volume 4 of Tafsīr-e-Ṣiddīqī by ʿAllāma Muḥammad ʿAbd al-Qadīr Ṣiddīqī "Ḥasrat" (may Allah have mercy on him). The tafsīr covered Sūrat al-Kahf (conclusion) through Sūrat al-ʿAnkabūt, pages 001–388.