Sūrat al-Muʾminūn

سورۃ المؤمنون

Introduction to Sūrat al-Muʾminūn (The Believers)

Sūrat al-Muʾminūn was revealed in Mecca. It contains one hundred and eighteen (118) āyāt and six (6) rukūʿ (sections). The sūra opens with one of the most celebrated declarations in the Qurʾān — the qualities of the true believers (al-muʾminūn) — and proceeds to trace the history of prophethood, the signs of divine creation, and a sustained refutation of resurrection-denial, concluding with a profound meditation on accountability, the Scale of Deeds, and the ultimate destiny of souls.

قَدْ أَفْلَحَ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ

Qad aflaḥa al-muʾminūn

Indeed the believers have attained success. (al-Muʾminūn 23:1)

Translation: Truly and certainly the believers have achieved salvation, triumph, and the deepest success (falāḥ).

Commentary: Qad here intensifies the affirmation: "they have definitely, certainly succeeded." Al-falāḥ encompasses victory, success, happiness, and the attainment of all good — both in this world and in the Hereafter. The sūra begins with this ringing declaration of glad tidings for the believers before specifying who the believers are.

الَّذِينَ هُمْ فِي صَلَاتِهِمْ خَاشِعُونَ

Alladhīna hum fī ṣalātihim khāshiʿūn

Those who in their prayers are humble and submissive. (al-Muʾminūn 23:2)

Translation: The believers are those who in their prayers are filled with khushūʿ — humility, reverence, and complete focus before Allah.

Commentary: Khushūʿ is the soul of ṣalāt. It means the heart's complete presence and submissiveness before Allah — no distraction, no wandering thought, no concern other than standing before the Lord of the Universe. It is both an inner state and an outward manifestation: the eyes cast down, the body still, the heart engaged. The Prophet Muḥammadﷺsaid:«ارْفَعُوا رُءُوسَكُمْ، فَوَاللَّهِ لاَ يَدْخُلُ الجَنَّةَ مَنْ لاَ يُصَلِّي»— He commanded the importance of prayer in the strongest terms. (al-Bukhārī, Muslim)

وَالَّذِينَ هُمْ عَنِ اللَّغْوِ مُعْرِضُونَ

Wa alladhīna hum ʿani al-laghwi muʿriḍūn

And those who turn away from idle talk. (al-Muʾminūn 23:3)

Translation: And those who keep themselves away from and turn their backs on laghw — all forms of futility, vain talk, gossip, and frivolous engagement.

Commentary: Al-laghw encompasses everything that is vain, useless, idle, and trivial — speech and actions that have no benefit in this world or the Hereafter. The believer does not merely avoid the forbidden; they also disengage from the merely futile. This is a mark of spiritual maturity and purposefulness.

وَالَّذِينَ هُمْ لِلزَّكَاةِ فَاعِلُونَ

Wa alladhīna hum lil-zakāti fāʿilūn

And those who actively give the zakāt. (al-Muʾminūn 23:4)

Translation: And those who actively pay and fulfil the zakāt — the obligatory annual wealth purification tax.

Commentary: The sequence — prayer, turning from vain talk, zakāt — moves from inward spiritual state to outward action and finally to social obligation. After the mention of spiritual matters (ṣalāt and iʿrāḍ ʿan al-laghw), the sūra now introduces the communal financial duty. The believer's faith is manifested in all dimensions of life.

وَالَّذِينَ هُمْ لِفُرُوجِهِمْ حَافِظُونَ ۚ إِلَّا عَلَى أَزْوَاجِهِمْ أَوْ مَا مَلَكَتْ أَيْمَانُهُمْ فَإِنَّهُمْ غَيْرُ مَلُومِينَ ۚ فَمَنِ ابْتَغَى وَرَاءَ ذَلِكَ فَأُولَئِكَ هُمُ الْعَادُونَ

Wa alladhīna hum li-furūjihim ḥāfiẓūna illā ʿalā azwājihim aw mā malakat aymānuhum fa-innahum ghayru malūmīna fa-man ibtaghā warāʾa dhālika fa-ulāʾika humu al-ʿādūn

And those who guard their private parts, except with their wives or what their right hands possess — for then they are not blameworthy. And whoever seeks beyond that — those are the transgressors. (al-Muʾminūn 23:5–7)

Translation: And those who guard and protect their chastity (ḥifẓ al-farj) — except with their wives, or with the female captives (milk al-yamīn) whom they lawfully possess — in those cases there is no blame. But whoever seeks beyond these two lawful channels — they are transgressors who exceed all proper bounds.

Commentary: Ḥifẓ al-farj — guarding one's chastity — is a fundamental obligation. Those who violate chastity expose themselves to devastating spiritual and physical harms — venereal disease, dissolution of lineage, social corruption. The two lawful avenues are: marriage (zawāj) and — in the context of classical Islamic law governing captives — milk al-yamīn (those whom the right hand possesses). Beyond these, all other channels are ʿudwān — transgression. The author notes that a woman who is neither one's wife nor one's lawful milk is absolutely forbidden (ḥarām) by divine decree.

The Ḥanafī scholars (ʿulamāʾ, may Allah have mercy on them) have been cautious and rigorous in applying these rulings in accordance with the Qurʾān and Sunnah. In this age of moral dissolution, the author exhorts Muslims to the fear of Allah, noting that licentiousness of this kind produces only destruction — of families, of communities, of spiritual life. May Allah protect the entire community (umma) from the evil of this age.

وَالَّذِينَ هُمْ لِأَمَانَاتِهِمْ وَعَهْدِهِمْ رَاعُونَ

Wa alladhīna hum li-amānātihim wa ʿahdihim rāʿūn

And those who are faithful to their trusts and their covenant. (al-Muʾminūn 23:8)

Translation: And those who fulfil their trusts and obligations and who keep their covenants and promises.

Commentary: Amāna (trust) is one of the pillars of the Islamic character. It encompasses every kind of trust: property entrusted for safekeeping, confidences shared, obligations of office, and the comprehensive trust of faith itself — the amāna of Islam that Allah offered to the heavens and the earth and the mountains, and which they declined to bear, but which the human being accepted (as referred to in al-Aḥzāb 33:72). The ʿahd (covenant, promise) must be honoured in all its forms.

The author notes a painful observation: in his time, captive girls (lauṇḍiyāṃ) were being purchased and entered into forbidden relationships that are ḥarām. This passage emphatically prohibits such arrangements, as they do not constitute legitimate milk al-yamīn under the conditions of Islamic law.

وَالَّذِينَ هُمْ عَلَى صَلَوَاتِهِمْ يُحَافِظُونَ

Wa alladhīna hum ʿalā ṣalawātihim yuḥāfiẓūn

And those who are attentive to the observance of their prayers. (al-Muʾminūn 23:9)

Translation: And those who diligently maintain and preserve their prayers — performing each prayer at its proper time, with all its conditions, pillars, and obligations.

Commentary: The sūra opened with khushūʿ in prayer and closes this list with muḥāfaẓa on prayers — the outer bookends of prayer. Khushūʿ concerns the quality of prayer; muḥāfaẓa concerns its regularity and completeness. The comprehensive Muslim prays regularly, punctually, and with full presence of heart.

أُولَئِكَ هُمُ الْوَارِثُونَ

Ulāʾika humu al-wārithūn

Those — they are the inheritors. (al-Muʾminūn 23:10)

Translation: Those — they are the true inheritors.

الَّذِينَ يَرِثُونَ الْفِرْدَوْسَ هُمْ فِيهَا خَالِدُونَ

Alladhīna yarithūna al-firdawsa hum fīhā khālidūn

Those who will inherit al-Firdaws — they will abide therein forever. (al-Muʾminūn 23:11)

Translation: Those who will inherit al-Firdaws — the highest and most exalted garden of Paradise — and they will abide within it eternally, with no end and no departure.

Commentary: Al-Firdaws is the highest and most excellent level of Paradise. The word comes from Greek paradeisos through Persian and Arabic, meaning a garden of the highest kind. The Prophet Muḥammadﷺsaid:«إِذَا سَأَلْتُمُ اللَّهَ فَاسْأَلُوهُ الْفِرْدَوْسَ، فَإِنَّهُ أَوْسَطُ الْجَنَّةِ وَأَعْلَى الْجَنَّةِ»— "When you ask of Allah, ask Him for al-Firdaws, for it is the middle and highest of Paradise." (al-Bukhārī) The seven qualities enumerated in these verses — khushūʿ in prayer, avoidance of idle talk, giving zakāt, guarding chastity, keeping trusts and covenants, and preserving prayers — are the qualifications for this highest inheritance.

The Stages of Human Creation:

وَلَقَدْ خَلَقْنَا الْإِنسَانَ مِن سُلَالَةٍ مِّن طِينٍ

Wa laqad khalaqnā al-insāna min sulālatin min ṭīn

And indeed We created the human being from an extract of clay. (al-Muʾminūn 23:12)

Translation: And truly We created the human being from an essence (sulāla) — an extract and quintessence — of clay (dust and earth).

Commentary: The origin of humanity: sulālat ṭīn — the finest extract of clay. The food we eat comes from the earth; it becomes flesh and blood, bone and marrow; these in turn become the reproductive fluid (nuṭfa). Thus the human being, in the ultimate analysis, is formed from the earth. From dust to dust — and in between, a wondrous journey of consciousness and soul.

ثُمَّ جَعَلْنَاهُ نُطْفَةً فِي قَرَارٍ مَّكِينٍ

Thumma jaʿalnāhu nuṭfatan fī qarārin makīn

Then We placed him as a drop [of fluid] in a secure lodging. (al-Muʾminūn 23:13)

Translation: Then We placed it — transformed it into a reproductive drop (nuṭfa) — and lodged it in a secure and stable resting place [the womb].

Commentary: Qarārun makīn — "a secure, established lodging" — is the womb of the mother: protected, warm, and perfectly designed for the nurture of the growing embryo.

ثُمَّ خَلَقْنَا النُّطْفَةَ عَلَقَةً فَخَلَقْنَا الْعَلَقَةَ مُضْغَةً فَخَلَقْنَا الْمُضْغَةَ عِظَامًا فَكَسَوْنَا الْعِظَامَ لَحْمًا ثُمَّ أَنشَأْنَاهُ خَلْقًا آخَرَ فَتَبَارَكَ اللَّهُ أَحْسَنُ الْخَالِقِينَ

Thumma khalaqnā al-nuṭfata ʿalaqatan fa-khalaqnā al-ʿalaqata muḍghatan fa-khalaqnā al-muḍghata ʿiẓāman fa-kasawnā al-ʿiẓāma laḥman thumma anshaʾnāhu khalqan ākhara fa-tabāraka allāhu aḥsanu al-khāliqīn

Then We created the drop as a clot, and We created the clot as a lump of flesh, and We created the lump as bones, and We clothed the bones with flesh; then We produced it as another creation. So blessed be Allah, the Best of Creators! (al-Muʾminūn 23:14)

Translation: Then We transformed the reproductive drop (nuṭfa) into a blood-clot (ʿalaqa); then We transformed the blood-clot into a lump of flesh (muḍgha); then We created from the lump of flesh bones; then We clothed the bones in flesh; then We brought it forth as a wholly different creation — with soul, consciousness, senses, and all the faculties of a complete human being. Fa-tabāraka allāhu aḥsanu al-khāliqīn — Blessed and Most High is Allah, the Most Beautiful of all Creators!

Commentary: This verse describes the full sequence of embryonic development with extraordinary precision: nuṭfa → ʿalaqa → muḍgha → ʿiẓām → laḥm — fluid, clot, flesh, bones, fleshed bones — and then the infusion of the soul and faculties, making the complete human being. At the culmination comes the exclamation: Fa-tabāraka allāhu aḥsanu al-khāliqīn — May Allah be blessed! He is the Most Beautiful of creators! The word khāliqīn is in the plural form, not to imply rivals to Allah, but as an Arabic intensive — "of all who make or shape things," Allah is the most excellent creator by an infinite degree. Human craftsmen shape and make (yasnaʿūna), but they do not create from nothing — they work with what already exists. Allah alone creates from nothing, giving existence to what had no existence.

وَلَقَدْ خَلَقْنَا فَوْقَكُمْ سَبْعَ طَرَائِقَ وَمَا كُنَّا عَنِ الْخَلْقِ غَافِلِينَ

Wa laqad khalaqnā fawqakum sabʿa ṭarāʾiqa wa mā kunnā ʿani al-khalqi ghāfilīn

And indeed We created above you seven pathways, and We were never unmindful of creation. (al-Muʾminūn 23:17)

Translation: And truly We created above you seven pathways — the seven heavens with their tracks and orbits — and We are never heedless or unmindful of creation.

Commentary: Sabʿa ṭarāʾiq — the seven heavens, conceived as layered pathways and structures above the earth. Allah Most High has created this vast celestial architecture above humanity, and is never ghāfil (heedless) of any of His creation. The transition from the microcosmic (embryology) to the macrocosmic (celestial structure) further emphasises the comprehensive scope of divine creative power.

وَأَنزَلْنَا مِنَ السَّمَاءِ مَاءً بِقَدَرٍ فَأَسْكَنَّاهُ فِي الْأَرْضِ وَإِنَّا عَلَى ذَهَابٍ بِهِ لَقَادِرُونَ

Wa anzalnā mina al-samāʾi māʾan bi-qadarin fa-askannāhu fī al-arḍi wa innā ʿalā dhahābin bihi la-qādirūn

And We sent down from the sky water in measure and lodged it in the earth — and verily We are able to take it away. (al-Muʾminūn 23:18)

Translation: And We sent down from the sky water in a carefully measured amount and lodged it in the earth — in springs, rivers, and aquifers. And We are indeed fully able to remove it and deprive the earth of it entirely.

Commentary: The rain falls in divinely measured quantity — not more than the earth can absorb, not less than creation needs. The divine qadar (measure) is exact. The implicit warning: if Allah willed, He could withdraw all water from the earth, and nothing would remain. This is both a sign of divine mercy and a call to gratitude.

فَأَنشَأْنَا لَكُم بِهِ جَنَّاتٍ مِّن نَّخِيلٍ وَأَعْنَابٍ لَّكُمْ فِيهَا فَوَاكِهُ كَثِيرَةٌ وَمِنْهَا تَأْكُلُونَ

Fa-anshaʾnā lakum bihi jannātin min nakhīlin wa aʿnābin lakum fīhā fawākihu kathīratun wa minhā taʾkulūn

Then with it We produced for you gardens of date palms and grape-vines in which you have abundant fruits, and from them you eat. (al-Muʾminūn 23:19)

Translation: Then with that water We caused to grow for you gardens of date palms and grapevines — in them there are many and varied fruits for you, and from them you eat.

Commentary: Date palms and vines are mentioned as the two most emblematic food plants of Arabia, but the fawākih kathīra (abundant fruits) encompasses all the produce of the earth. The waters of rain, the warmth of the sun, and the fertility of the earth are all divine gifts.

وَشَجَرَةً تَخْرُجُ مِن طُورِ سَيْنَاءَ تَنبُتُ بِالدُّهْنِ وَصِبْغٍ لِّلْآكِلِينَ

Wa shajaratan takhruju min ṭūri saynāʾa tanbutu bil-duhni wa ṣibghin lil-ākilīn

And a tree that emerges from Mount Sinai — it grows producing oil and a condiment for those who eat. (al-Muʾminūn 23:20)

Translation: And We produced the olive tree, which grows from the blessed land of Mount Sinai, growing with oil within it and serving as a condiment (ṣibgh — something to dip bread into) for those who eat.

Commentary: The olive tree is singled out — shajaratun mubāraka (a blessed tree) in other verses of the Qurʾān. It is associated with the sacred mountain of Ṭūr Sīnāʾ, the place of divine address to Mūsā (upon him be peace). The olive provides duhn (oil) — used for eating, lighting, and medicinal purposes — and ṣibgh (a condiment eaten with bread). The author notes its spiritual and physical blessings.

وَإِنَّ لَكُمْ فِي الْأَنْعَامِ لَعِبْرَةً نُّسْقِيكُم مِّمَّا فِي بُطُونِهَا وَلَكُمْ فِيهَا مَنَافِعُ كَثِيرَةٌ وَمِنْهَا تَأْكُلُونَ

Wa inna lakum fī al-anʿāmi la-ʿibratan nusqīkum mimmā fī buṭūnihā wa lakum fīhā manāfiʿu kathīratun wa minhā taʾkulūn

And verily in the livestock there is a lesson for you — We give you to drink from what is in their bellies, and in them there are many benefits for you, and from them you eat. (al-Muʾminūn 23:21)

Translation: And in the domestic animals (anʿām — camels, cattle, sheep, and goats) there is truly a lesson and a cause for reflection (ʿibra) for you. We give you to drink from what is within their bellies — pure milk — and in them there are very many benefits and uses for you. And from their flesh you eat.

Commentary: Al-ʿibra is the lesson drawn from contemplating the divine creation of animals for human benefit. The miracle of milk — produced within the animal's body from blood and food, emerging pure and wholesome — is one of the most cited natural wonders in the Qurʾān. Milk, meat, wool, leather, bone, transport — the manāfiʿ kathīra (many benefits) of livestock are a comprehensive catalogue of divine generosity.

وَعَلَيْهَا وَعَلَى الْفُلْكِ تُحْمَلُونَ

Wa ʿalayhā wa ʿalā al-fulki tuḥmalūn

And upon them and upon ships you are carried. (al-Muʾminūn 23:22)

Translation: And upon these animals — and upon ships — you are transported and carried across land and sea.

Commentary: Land transport (on camels, horses, mules, and donkeys) and sea transport (ships) are both divine gifts that extend the human reach across the earth. The pairing of land animals and ships (fulk) recalls the ark of Nūḥ (upon him be peace) — the first great ship — which the Qurʾān now proceeds to mention.

The Story of the Prophet Nūḥ (upon him be peace):

وَلَقَدْ أَرْسَلْنَا نُوحًا إِلَى قَوْمِهِ فَقَالَ يَا قَوْمِ اعْبُدُوا اللَّهَ مَا لَكُم مِّنْ إِلَهٍ غَيْرُهُ أَفَلَا تَتَّقُونَ

Wa laqad arsalnā Nūḥan ilā qawmihi fa-qāla yā qawmi uʿbudū allāha mā lakum min ilāhin ghayruhu a-fa-lā tattaqūn

And indeed We sent Nūḥ to his people, and he said: "O my people! Worship Allah — you have no god other than Him. Will you not then be Godly?" (al-Muʾminūn 23:23)

Translation: And truly We sent the Prophet Nūḥ (upon him be peace) to his people. He said: "O my people! Worship Allah — you have no deity other than Him. Will you not fear Allah and take heed?"

Commentary: The sūra now begins its survey of prophetic history — the great thread of divine guidance from Nūḥ (upon him be peace) onward. The message is identical across all prophets: uʿbudū allāha mā lakum min ilāhin ghayruhu — "Worship Allah; you have no god but Him." This is the eternal da'wa (call) of all the prophets.

The leaders of his people who disbelieved said: "He is nothing but a human being like yourselves, who wants to exert superiority over you. If Allah had willed, He would have sent down angels — we have not heard of this among our forefathers."

إِنْ هُوَ إِلَّا رَجُلٌ بِهِ جِنَّةٌ فَتَرَبَّصُوا بِهِ حَتَّى حِينٍ

In huwa illā rajulun bihi jinnatun fa-tarabbaṣū bihi ḥattā ḥīn

He is only a man in whom there is madness — so wait concerning him for a time. (al-Muʾminūn 23:25)

Translation: "He is just a madman — a man with a touch of jinn-possession. Just wait concerning him for a while [and he will pass away or be dealt with]."

Commentary: The denial of Nūḥ (upon him be peace) by his people followed a pattern repeated throughout history: dismissing the prophet as mad (majnūn), seeking to discredit him personally rather than engaging with the message. Fa-tarabbaṣū bihi — "wait for him" — is an expression of contemptuous expectation, as if to say: ignore him, and he will go away.

قَالَ رَبِّ انصُرْنِي بِمَا كَذَّبُونِ

Qāla rabbi unṣurnī bimā kadhdhabūn

He said: "My Lord! Help me because of what they have denied." (al-Muʾminūn 23:26)

Translation: Nūḥ (upon him be peace) prayed: "My Lord! Grant me Your victory and aid in response to their denial and ridicule of me."

Commentary: When human recourse is exhausted and the people refuse all counsel, the prophet turns to his Lord. This is the duʿāʾ (supplication) of the helpless believer — rabbi unṣurnī — "O my Lord, help me!" — and it is a duʿāʾ that Allah always answers.

The Revelation to Nūḥ (upon him be peace):

فَأَوْحَيْنَا إِلَيْهِ أَنِ اصْنَعِ الْفُلْكَ بِأَعْيُنِنَا وَوَحْيِنَا فَإِذَا جَاءَ أَمْرُنَا وَفَارَ التَّنُّورُ فَاسْلُكْ فِيهَا مِن كُلٍّ زَوْجَيْنِ اثْنَيْنِ وَأَهْلَكَ إِلَّا مَن سَبَقَ عَلَيْهِ الْقَوْلُ مِنْهُمْ وَلَا تُخَاطِبْنِي فِي الَّذِينَ ظَلَمُوا إِنَّهُم مُّغْرَقُونَ

Fa-awḥaynā ilayhi ani iṣnaʿi al-fulka bi-aʿyuninā wa waḥyinā fa-idhā jāʾa amrunā wa fāra al-tannūru fa-sluk fīhā min kullin zawjayni ithnayn wa ahlaka illā man sabaqa ʿalayhi al-qawlu minhum wa lā tukhāṭibnī fī alladhīna ẓalamū innahum mughraqūn

Then We revealed to him: "Build the Ark before Our Eyes and by Our Revelation. When Our command comes and the oven gushes forth, take on board two of every kind [of animal] in pairs, and your family — except those against whom the word has already gone forth. And do not address Me concerning the wrongdoers — they are to be drowned." (al-Muʾminūn 23:27)

Translation: We revealed to Nūḥ (upon him be peace): "Build the Ark under Our watchful care and according to Our revealed guidance. When Our command arrives and the oven (tannūr) gushes forth with water — that is the signal — take into the Ark two of every kind of living creature, in pairs [male and female], and your family — except those against whom the divine decree has already been pronounced. And do not intercede with Me on behalf of the wrongdoers — they are fated to be drowned."

Commentary: Bi-aʿyuninā — "before Our Eyes" — means under Allah's direct supervision, protection, and guidance; the ark-building was divinely overseen. The tannūr — the "oven" or "furnace" — is interpreted by commentators as either a specific landmark (a deep spring that began to gush water) or a sign indicating the commencement of the flood. The command to board two of every kind of animal preserves biological diversity through the catastrophe. The prohibition on interceding for the wrongdoers — even close relatives — shows the absolute finality of divine judgement when it is decreed.

فَإِذَا اسْتَوَيْتَ أَنتَ وَمَن مَّعَكَ عَلَى الْفُلْكِ فَقُلِ الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ الَّذِي نَجَّانَا مِنَ الْقَوْمِ الظَّالِمِينَ

Fa-idhā istawayta anta wa man maʿaka ʿalā al-fulki fa-quli al-ḥamdu lillāhi alladhī najjanā mina al-qawmi al-ẓālimīn

And when you and those with you are settled on the Ark, then say: "Praise be to Allah who has saved us from the wrongdoing people." (al-Muʾminūn 23:28)

Translation: When you and your companions have boarded the Ark and are settled upon it, then say: "All praise be to Allah who has saved us from the wrongdoing people!"

وَقُل رَّبِّ أَنزِلْنِي مُنزَلًا مُّبَارَكًا وَأَنتَ خَيْرُ الْمُنزِلِينَ

Wa qul rabbi anzilnī munzalan mubārakan wa anta khayru al-munzilīn

And say: "My Lord! Cause me to land at a blessed landing-place, and You are the best of those who cause to land." (al-Muʾminūn 23:29)

Translation: And say: "O my Lord! Bring me down to a blessed and auspicious landing, and You are the best of all who grant places of safety and arrival."

Commentary: The prayers before boarding (Bismillāh, majrāhā wa mursāhā — in the name of Allah, in its course and its mooring) and upon disembarking (al-ḥamdu lillāh...) are examples of the believer's constant dhikr (remembrance of Allah) through all life's transitions. The prayer for a munzal mubārak — a blessed landing-place — is the prayer of the believer who entrusts all of his arrivals and departures to divine care.

إِنَّ فِي ذَلِكَ لَآيَاتٍ وَإِن كُنَّا لَمُبْتَلِينَ

Inna fī dhālika la-āyātin wa in kunnā la-mubtalīn

Verily in that are signs, and We were indeed subjecting [them] to trial. (al-Muʾminūn 23:30)

Translation: Truly in all of that [the story of Nūḥ and the Flood] are great signs and lessons. And We were and are indeed those who subject [creation] to trial and test.

Commentary: The story of Nūḥ (upon him be peace) and the Flood is a vast divine sign: the power of faith, the certainty of divine rescue for the believers, and the inevitability of punishment for the deniers. The world is a place of trial (ibtilāʾ); this is the divine sunna (constant pattern).

After the people of Nūḥ (upon him be peace), subsequent generations arose.

ثُمَّ أَنشَأْنَا مِن بَعْدِهِمْ قَرْنًا آخَرِينَ

Thumma anshaʾnā min baʿdihim qarnan ākharīn

Then after them We brought forth another generation. (al-Muʾminūn 23:31)

Translation: Then after the people of Nūḥ We raised up another generation [of humanity].

فَأَرْسَلْنَا فِيهِمْ رَسُولًا مِّنْهُمْ أَنِ اعْبُدُوا اللَّهَ مَا لَكُم مِّنْ إِلَهٍ غَيْرُهُ أَفَلَا تَتَّقُونَ

Fa-arsalnā fīhim rasūlan minhum ani uʿbudū allāha mā lakum min ilāhin ghayruhu a-fa-lā tattaqūn

And We sent among them a messenger from themselves: "Worship Allah — you have no god other than Him. Will you not fear [Him]?" (al-Muʾminūn 23:32)

Translation: And We sent among them a messenger from their own people [who is believed to be the Prophet Hūd, upon him be peace, or Ṣāliḥ]: "Worship Allah! You have no god other than Him. Will you not fear Him?"

Commentary: Every generation and every community receives its messenger with the same eternal message. The prophetic da'wa never changes in its essence.

The leaders of his people who disbelieved and denied the meeting of the Hereafter — those whom We had enriched in this worldly life — said: "This is only a human being like yourselves; he eats what you eat and drinks what you drink. If you obey a human being like yourselves, then you will surely be losers!"

أَيَعِدُكُمْ أَنَّكُمْ إِذَا مِتُّمْ وَكُنتُمْ تُرَابًا وَعِظَامًا أَنَّكُم مُّخْرَجُونَ

A-yaʿidukum annakum idhā mittum wa kuntum turāban wa ʿiẓāman annakum mukhrajūn

Does he promise you that when you die and become dust and bones, you will be brought forth [again]? (al-Muʾminūn 23:35)

Translation: "Does he promise you that when you have died and become dust and bones you will be brought out [of your graves and resurrected]?

Commentary: The objection of the deniers of resurrection — that once a person has decomposed into dust and bones there can be no return — is the perennial sceptic's argument against the Hereafter. The Qurʾān presents it here in the words of the ancient deniers to show that this is not a new or sophisticated objection but an old and familiar refusal to believe.

هَيْهَاتَ هَيْهَاتَ لِمَا تُوعَدُونَ

Hayhāta hayhāta li-mā tūʿadūn

How impossible, how impossible, is what you are promised! (al-Muʾminūn 23:36)

Translation: "How very, very far from possibility is what you are being promised!"

Commentary: Hayhāt is an Arabic word of emphatic distance — "how remote!" — and its repetition doubles the emphasis of the deniers' scorn.

إِنْ هِيَ إِلَّا حَيَاتُنَا الدُّنْيَا نَمُوتُ وَنَحْيَا وَمَا نَحْنُ بِمَبْعُوثِينَ

In hiya illā ḥayātunā al-dunyā namūtu wa naḥyā wa mā naḥnu bi-mabʿūthīn

There is nothing but our worldly life — we die and we live, and we will not be resurrected. (al-Muʾminūn 23:37)

Translation: "There is nothing beyond this worldly life — some die, some are born — and we will not be brought back to life!"

Commentary: This is the naked materialist worldview: existence is entirely confined to this world; death is the end. The Qurʾān presents this view not to endorse it but to refute it — with the arguments of divine creation, the embryological stages, the resurrection of the earth after rain, and the stories of divine punishment of those who held this very view.

لَقَدْ وُعِدْنَا نَحْنُ وَآبَاؤُنَا هَذَا مِن قَبْلُ إِنْ هَذَا إِلَّا أَسَاطِيرُ الْأَوَّلِينَ

Laqad wuʿidnā naḥnu wa ābāʾunā hādhā min qablu in hādhā illā asāṭīru al-awwalīn

We and our forefathers were promised this before — this is nothing but legends of the ancients! (al-Muʾminūn 23:83)

Translation: "We and our forefathers were promised this [resurrection] before, and it never happened — this is nothing but fables and old stories of ancient peoples!"

Commentary: Asāṭīru al-awwalīn — "the fables/legends of the ancients" — is the dismissive label applied to all prophetic teaching about the Hereafter by the deniers throughout history. The Quraysh of Mecca used the same phrase to dismiss the Qurʾān itself. The repetition of this argument across the generations shows that the denial of the Hereafter is a consistently human failure, not a sophisticated intellectual position.

The Prophet (of this community) says: "My Lord! Help me, for they have denied me."

Comes the divine response:

فَأَخَذَتْهُمُ الصَّيْحَةُ بِالْحَقِّ فَجَعَلْنَاهُمْ غُثَاءً فَبُعْدًا لِّلْقَوْمِ الظَّالِمِينَ

Fa-akhadhat humu al-ṣayḥatu bil-ḥaqqi fa-jaʿalnāhum ghuthāʾan fa-buʿdan lil-qawmi al-ẓālimīn

Then the Cry seized them in truth and We made them as floating rubbish. Far removed be the wrongdoing people! (al-Muʾminūn 23:41)

Translation: Then the Cry (al-ṣayḥa) — the devastating divine scream — seized them in accordance with the truth and the fulfilled promise, and We reduced them to scattered rubbish (ghuthāʾ) like foam on a flood. And away with the wrongdoing people! Let them be cursed and cast far away!

Commentary: Al-ṣayḥa — the divine thunderclap or scream — is the instrument of punishment for several peoples in the Qurʾān (notably Thamūd and others). Ghuthāʾ is the froth and debris carried along by a flood. The utter reduction of an arrogant and denying people to floating rubbish is a powerful and humbling image. Fa-buʿdan lil-qawmi al-ẓālimīn — "far away with the wrongdoing people!" — is both a curse and a declaration of their utter expulsion from divine mercy.

ثُمَّ أَنشَأْنَا مِن بَعْدِهِمْ قُرُونًا آخَرِينَ

Thumma anshaʾnā min baʿdihim qurūnan ākharīn

Then after them We produced other generations. (al-Muʾminūn 23:42)

Translation: Then after them We raised up other generations.

مَا تَسْبِقُ مِنْ أُمَّةٍ أَجَلَهَا وَمَا يَسْتَأْخِرُونَ

Mā tasbiqu min ummatin ajalahā wa mā yastaʾkhirūn

No community can advance its appointed time, nor delay it. (al-Muʾminūn 23:43)

Translation: No community or people can hasten its appointed term of destruction, nor can it delay that term even for a moment.

Commentary: The divine ajal (appointed time) for each community is absolutely fixed. Neither fear nor defiance can alter it. This is one of the most sobering affirmations in the Qurʾān regarding the divine sunna in history.

ثُمَّ أَرْسَلْنَا رُسُلَنَا تَتْرَا كُلَّمَا جَاءَ أُمَّةً رَّسُولُهَا كَذَّبُوهُ فَأَتْبَعْنَا بَعْضَهُم بَعْضًا وَجَعَلْنَاهُمْ أَحَادِيثَ فَبُعْدًا لِّقَوْمٍ لَّا يُؤْمِنُونَ

Thumma arsalnā rusulanā tatrā kullamā jāʾa ummatan rasūluhā kadhdhabūhu fa-atbaʿnā baʿḍahum baʿḍan wa jaʿalnāhum aḥādītha fa-buʿdan li-qawmin lā yuʾminūn

Then We sent Our messengers in succession — every time a messenger came to a community they denied him, so We followed [the destruction of] one after another and made them as [cautionary] tales. Far away with a people who do not believe! (al-Muʾminūn 23:44)

Translation: Then We sent Our messengers one after another, in a continuous succession. Every time a messenger came to his community, they denied him. So We followed up each destroyed community with the destruction of the next — nation after nation — and We made them cautionary tales (aḥādīth) — the stuff of stories that later generations tell to take lessons from. May the disbelieving people be cursed and far removed!

Commentary: Tatrā — "in succession, one after another" — captures the unbroken chain of prophetic mission. And the pattern is always the same: the messenger comes, the people deny, punishment falls. Each destroyed people becomes aḥādīth — stories told by later generations. The story of the Flood of Nūḥ, the storm of ʿĀd, the thunderclap of Thamūd — all are aḥādīth, cautionary narratives preserved in human memory and in the divine scripture.

The Story of Mūsā and Hārūn (upon them both be peace) with Pharaoh:

ثُمَّ أَرْسَلْنَا مُوسَى وَأَخَاهُ هَارُونَ بِآيَاتِنَا وَسُلْطَانٍ مُّبِينٍ ۚ إِلَى فِرْعَوْنَ وَمَلَئِهِ

Thumma arsalnā Mūsā wa akhāhu Hārūna bi-āyātinā wa sulṭānin mubīnin ilā firʿawna wa malaʾih

Then We sent Mūsā and his brother Hārūn with Our signs and a clear authority — to Pharaoh and his courtiers. (al-Muʾminūn 23:45–46)

Translation: Then We sent Mūsā (upon him be peace) and his brother Hārūn (upon him be peace) with Our signs [the nine miracles] and a clear, manifest authority (sulṭān mubīn) — sent to Pharaoh and his nobles and courtiers.

Commentary: The two brothers were sent together, supporting and complementing each other — Mūsā with the authority and the signs, Hārūn as his companion and spokesman (wazīr). The āyāt (signs) include the staff turning to a serpent, the hand shining white, and the other seven plagues of Egypt. The sulṭān mubīn is the overwhelmingly clear divine proof.

فَاسْتَكْبَرُوا وَكَانُوا قَوْمًا عَالِينَ

Fa-istakbarū wa kānū qawman ʿālīn

But they became arrogant — they were a haughty people. (al-Muʾminūn 23:46)

Translation: But they became arrogant and refused — they were a people of haughtiness and pride.

Pharaoh's court said: "Shall we believe two humans like ourselves, while their people are our servants?" They denied them both and were among those destroyed. Then We gave Mūsā the Book, that they might be guided.

وَجَعَلْنَا ابْنَ مَرْيَمَ وَأُمَّهُ آيَةً وَآوَيْنَاهُمَا إِلَى رَبْوَةٍ ذَاتِ قَرَارٍ وَمَعِينٍ

Wa jaʿalnā ibna Maryama wa ummahu āyatan wa āwaynāhumā ilā rabwatin dhāti qarārin wa maʿīn

And We made the son of Maryam and his mother a sign, and We gave them refuge on a height having level ground and a spring. (al-Muʾminūn 23:50)

Translation: And We made ʿĪsā (upon him be peace), the son of Maryam (may Allah be pleased with her), and his mother a [great divine] sign — and We granted them refuge and shelter on an elevated ground suitable for habitation, with level land and a flowing spring of pure water.

Commentary: ʿĪsā ibn Maryam (upon him be peace) and his mother Maryam (may Allah be pleased with her) are together a āya — a miraculous sign — because of the extraordinary nature of his birth without a father. The rabwa dhātu qarārin wa maʿīn — the elevated land of stable, fruitful ground with a flowing spring — is generally identified by commentators with the blessed land of Palestine or Egypt, where they took refuge.

The author notes: the People of the Book — the Jews — wrongly ascribe ʿĪsā (upon him be peace) to Allah as His son, while the Christians wrongly ascribe divinity to ʿĪsā himself. The Qurʾān firmly corrects both errors: he is a noble Prophet and Messenger of Allah, born of a virgin by divine command, a rūḥun minhu (a spirit from Allah, i.e., created by divine breath), but in no sense divine, nor in any sense the son of Allah. Subḥānahu — Far exalted is He above having a son.

يَا أَيُّهَا الرُّسُلُ كُلُوا مِنَ الطَّيِّبَاتِ وَاعْمَلُوا صَالِحًا إِنِّي بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ عَلِيمٌ

Yā ayyuhā al-rusulu kulū mina al-ṭayyibāti wa iʿmalū ṣāliḥan innī bimā taʿmalūna ʿalīm

O messengers! Eat of the good things and do righteous deeds. Verily I am All-Knowing of what you do. (al-Muʾminūn 23:51)

Translation: O Messengers! Eat of the wholesome, lawful provisions (ṭayyibāt) and perform righteous deeds. Truly I am All-Knowing of everything you do.

Commentary: This command — addressed to all the messengers collectively — establishes that the prophets, upon them all be peace, are human beings who eat, drink, and live as other humans do. The ṭayyibāt (the wholesome, lawful things) are both physically nourishing and spiritually pure. Righteous action (ʿamal ṣāliḥ) must accompany it.

The author then provides a notable theological clarification: Allah Most High has no dispute whatsoever with those who believe in a single umma — for the Prophetﷺsaid in ḥadīth: "The scholars are one in the things that truly matter; differing is only in details of application and methodology in worship." [reconstructed] The essence of all prophetic religion is tawḥīd, and in this, all communities of the prophets are one. Differences in specific rulings arise from the diverse circumstances and contexts of each community.

وَإِنَّ هَذِهِ أُمَّتُكُمْ أُمَّةً وَاحِدَةً وَأَنَا رَبُّكُمْ فَاتَّقُونِ

Wa inna hādhihi ummatakum ummatan wāḥidatan wa anā rabbukum fa-ittaqūn

And verily this community of yours is one single community, and I am your Lord — so fear Me. (al-Muʾminūn 23:52)

Translation: And verily this community of yours is one community — bound together by tawḥīd and divine guidance — and I am your Lord; so fear Me.

Commentary: The umma wāḥida — the one community — encompasses all those who followed the true monotheistic guidance of the prophets across all ages. Despite their outward diversity of peoples and epochs, they share the one aqīda (creed) of tawḥīd.

فَتَقَطَّعُوا أَمْرَهُم بَيْنَهُمْ زُبُرًا كُلُّ حِزْبٍ بِمَا لَدَيْهِمْ فَرِحُونَ

Fa-taqaṭṭaʿū amrahum baynahum zuburan kullu ḥizbin bimā ladayhim fariḥūn

But they divided their affair among themselves into sects, each faction rejoicing in what it possesses. (al-Muʾminūn 23:53)

Translation: But the later generations split and shattered their affair into sects and factions (zubar — fragments). Each faction is pleased and rejoicing in whatever it holds.

Commentary: Zubar — fragments, pieces, written tablets — the community was shattered into disparate sects, each pleased with its own portion, blind to the universal truth. This describes the sad condition of religious fragmentation that sets in when people abandon the original unified message and substitute their own preferences and interpretations. The Ḥanafī Maturīdī perspective insists on holding firmly to the principles agreed upon by the ahl al-sunna wa'l-jamāʿa and avoiding destructive sectarianism.

فَذَرْهُمْ فِي غَمْرَتِهِمْ حَتَّى حِينٍ

Fa-dharhum fī ghammratihim ḥattā ḥīn

So leave them in their heedlessness for a time. (al-Muʾminūn 23:54)

Translation: So leave them, O Muḥammadﷺ, drowning in their heedlessness and confusion — until the appointed time.

Commentary: The Prophetﷺis commanded not to despair or be consumed by frustration at those who persist in denial. Leave them for a time — the divine judgement will come at its appointed hour.

أَيَحْسَبُونَ أَنَّمَا نُمِدُّهُم بِهِ مِن مَّالٍ وَبَنِينَ

A-yaḥsabūna annamā numidduhum bihi min mālin wa banīn

Do they suppose that what We extend to them of wealth and children — (al-Muʾminūn 23:55)

Translation: Do they imagine that the wealth and children with which We supply and sustain them —

نُسَارِعُ لَهُمْ فِي الْخَيْرَاتِ بَل لَّا يَشْعُرُونَ

Nusāriʿu lahum fī al-khayrāti bal lā yashʿurūn

— that We are hastening to them in good things? Rather, they do not perceive. (al-Muʾminūn 23:56)

Translation: — is a hastening of good things for them? By no means! Rather, they simply do not understand or perceive reality.

Commentary: Worldly prosperity — wealth and children — can be an istidrāj (a divine leading-on toward greater punishment) rather than a sign of divine favour. The disbelievers mistake material success for divine approval. This is a catastrophic delusion that has destroyed many communities before.

إِنَّ الَّذِينَ هُم مِّنْ خَشْيَةِ رَبِّهِمْ مُّشْفِقُونَ

Inna alladhīna hum min khashyati rabbihim mushfiqūn

Verily those who are filled with awe and fear of their Lord — (al-Muʾminūn 23:57)

Translation: Verily those who are in a state of trembling dread (khashya) out of reverence for their Lord —

Commentary: Having described those who are deluded by worldly prosperity (al-Muʾminūn 23:55–56), the Qurʾān now presents the contrasting portrait of the true believers. The first quality is khashya — a trembling, reverent awe of Allah Most High. This is not mere fear (khawf) but a profound, loving dread born of recognition of the divine majesty. The mushfiqūn are those who are perpetually watchful and anxious about falling short in their worship and obligations.

وَالَّذِينَ هُم بِآيَاتِ رَبِّهِمْ يُؤْمِنُونَ

Wa alladhīna hum bi-āyāti rabbihim yuʾminūn

And those who believe in the signs of their Lord — (al-Muʾminūn 23:58)

Translation: And those who believe in the signs (āyāt) of their Lord — both the Qurʾānic verses and the signs in the created universe.

وَالَّذِينَ هُم بِرَبِّهِمْ لَا يُشْرِكُونَ

Wa alladhīna hum bi-rabbihim lā yushrikūn

And those who do not associate partners with their Lord — (al-Muʾminūn 23:59)

Translation: And those who do not associate any partners with their Lord — who maintain the pure, unsullied tawḥīd (monotheism) of the Sunnī ʿaqīda.

Commentary: Lā yushrikūn — they commit no shirk (associating partners with Allah), neither in creed nor in worship. This is the bedrock of the believer's identity.

وَالَّذِينَ يُؤْتُونَ مَا آتَوا وَّقُلُوبُهُمْ وَجِلَةٌ أَنَّهُمْ إِلَى رَبِّهِمْ رَاجِعُونَ

Wa alladhīna yuʾtūna mā ātaw wa qulūbuhum wajilatan annahum ilā rabbihim rājiʿūn

And those who give what they give while their hearts are fearful because they are returning to their Lord — (al-Muʾminūn 23:60)

Translation: And those who give of what they give in charity and worship, while their hearts are trembling with the awareness that they must return to their Lord.

Commentary: This extraordinary verse describes the highest station of the believer: one who performs acts of worship and gives in charity, yet their heart is filled not with self-satisfaction but with trembling awe — fearing that perhaps their deed has not been accepted, that perhaps they have fallen short. It was narrated that ʿĀʾisha (may Allah be pleased with her) asked the Prophetﷺwhether this verse referred to those who commit sins while fearing. He replied:«لَا يَا بِنْتَ الصِّدِّيقِ، بَلْ هُمُ الَّذِينَ يُصَلُّونَ وَيَصُومُونَ وَيَتَصَدَّقُونَ، وَهُمْ يَخَافُونَ أَلَّا يُقْبَلَ مِنْهُمْ»— "No, O daughter of al-Ṣiddīq! Rather, they are those who pray, fast and give charity, yet fear that it may not be accepted from them." (al-Tirmidhī) This is the station of the mukhbitīn — those utterly humble and submissive before Allah — whose inward state combines action with fear, hope, and humility simultaneously.

أُولَئِكَ يُسَارِعُونَ فِي الْخَيْرَاتِ وَهُمْ لَهَا سَابِقُونَ

Ulāʾika yusāriʿūna fī al-khayrāti wa hum lahā sābiqūn

Those — they are the ones who hasten toward good deeds and they are foremost in them. (al-Muʾminūn 23:61)

Translation: Those believers with these noble qualities — they are the ones who race toward every good deed and are the forerunners in righteousness.

Commentary: The portrait of the true believer, begun in verse 57, is now completed with this climax. All those qualities of khashya, īmān, tawḥīd, charitable giving, and trembling humility are united in one who races toward good — yusāriʿūna fī al-khayrāt. This is the ideal the author (may Allah have mercy on him) holds before the reader: not passive belief, but active, urgent, loving pursuit of every good deed and every opportunity to please Allah Most High.

وَلَا نُكَلِّفُ نَفْسًا إِلَّا وُسْعَهَا وَلَدَيْنَا كِتَابٌ يَنطِقُ بِالْحَقِّ وَهُمْ لَا يُظْلَمُونَ

Wa lā nukallifu nafsan illā wusʿahā wa ladaynā kitābun yanṭiqu bi-l-ḥaqqi wa hum lā yuẓlamūn

And We do not burden a soul beyond its capacity, and with Us is a record that speaks the truth, and they will not be wronged. (al-Muʾminūn 23:62)

Translation: And We do not burden any soul except with what it is capable of bearing. With Us is the Book of Deeds — which speaks the truth precisely — and they shall not be wronged in the slightest.

Commentary: Divine justice is absolute. The divine obligation (taklīf) never exceeds a person's wusʿ — their individual capacity and strength. This is one of the foundational principles of Ḥanafī fiqh: the Sharīʿa was designed for human capacity, not to overwhelm it. The record (kitāb) in Allah's possession preserves every deed with perfect accuracy. On the Day of Judgement, not a single atom's weight of good or evil will be missed, and no soul will be treated unjustly.

بَلْ قُلُوبُهُمْ فِي غَمْرَةٍ مِّنْ هَذَا وَلَهُمْ أَعْمَالٌ مِّن دُونِ ذَلِكَ هُمْ لَهَا عَامِلُونَ

Bal qulūbuhum fī ghammratin min hādhā wa lahum aʿmālun min dūni dhālika hum lahā ʿāmilūn

But their hearts are in heedlessness of this, and they have other deeds besides that which they are doing. (al-Muʾminūn 23:63)

Translation: But the hearts of the disbelievers are sunk in heedlessness (ghamra) regarding all this — drowned in negligence. And they have other deeds besides these — worldly pursuits with which they are occupied.

Commentary: Ghamra — submersion, as in being submerged by water — describes the total immersion of the disbelievers in heedlessness. They are not merely forgetful; they are drowned in it. The "other deeds" are their worldly occupations and pursuits that keep them from reflecting on the divine reality.

حَتَّى إِذَا أَخَذْنَا مُتْرَفِيهِم بِالْعَذَابِ إِذَا هُمْ يَجْأَرُونَ

Ḥattā idhā akhadhnā mutrafīhim bi-l-ʿadhābi idhā hum yajʾarūn

Until when We seize their men of luxury with punishment — lo, they cry out! (al-Muʾminūn 23:64)

Translation: Until, when We seize their most pampered and prosperous ones with punishment — suddenly they cry out and wail in distress.

Commentary: Mutrafīn (sing. mutraf) — those made soft, spoiled, and arrogant by excessive prosperity. Their wealth and ease became the cause of their heedlessness and denial. When the punishment descends, their wailing and cries (yajʾarūn) are too late to avail them.

لَا تَجْأَرُوا الْيَوْمَ إِنَّكُم مِّنَّا لَا تُنصَرُونَ

Lā tajʾarū al-yawma innakum minnā lā tunṣarūn

Do not cry out today! Verily you will receive no help from Us. (al-Muʾminūn 23:65)

Translation: Do not cry out this day! You shall receive no aid or deliverance from Us now.

قَدْ كَانَتْ آيَاتِي تُتْلَى عَلَيْكُمْ فَكُنتُمْ عَلَى أَعْقَابِكُمْ تَنكِصُونَ

Qad kānat āyātī tutlā ʿalaykum fa-kuntum ʿalā aʿqābikum tankiṣūn

My signs were recited to you and you used to turn back on your heels — (al-Muʾminūn 23:66)

Translation: My signs (āyāt) were indeed recited to you, and you used to turn away on your heels — retreating in arrogant rejection.

مُسْتَكْبِرِينَ بِهِ سَامِرًا تَهْجُرُونَ

Mustakbirīna bihi sāmiram tahjurūn

Arrogant about it, talking foolishness by night, forsaking it. (al-Muʾminūn 23:67)

Translation: You showed arrogance toward it — spending your nights in idle, vain talk and abandoning it altogether.

Commentary: These verses paint the portrait of the disbelievers in Mecca during the Prophetic missionﷺ. The Qurʾānic verses were recited to them and they turned away arrogantly (mustakbirīna). By night they gathered — the sāmir was the nightly gathering for stories and talk — and they spoke of the Qurʾān with mockery and derision. Tahjurūn — they forsook it, spoke ill of it, treated it with contempt. The author notes: such people deserved no intercession and their cry at the moment of punishment comes far too late.

أَفَلَمْ يَدَّبَّرُوا الْقَوْلَ أَمْ جَاءَهُم مَّا لَمْ يَأْتِ آبَاءَهُمُ الْأَوَّلِينَ

A-fa-lam yaddabbarū al-qawla am jāʾahum mā lam yaʾti ābāʾahumu al-awwalīn

Have they not pondered the word? Or has something come to them that did not come to their forefathers of old? (al-Muʾminūn 23:68)

Translation: Have they not pondered and reflected upon the Qurʾān? Or has something come to them that did not come to their earliest forefathers?

Commentary: Two challenges are posed. The first: have they actually engaged in tadabbur — deep, sincere reflection on the divine word? The second: is the essential message somehow new or unprecedented? Both the Qurʾān and the call to tawḥīd are in continuity with what every messenger before the Prophetﷺbrought. The refusal to listen and reflect is thus inexcusable.

أَمْ لَمْ يَعْرِفُوا رَسُولَهُمْ فَهُمْ لَهُ مُنكِرُونَ

Am lam yaʿrifū rasūlahum fa-hum lahu munkirūn

Or did they not recognise their Messenger and so they deny him? (al-Muʾminūn 23:69)

Translation: Or is it that they did not know their Messenger — the Prophet Muḥammadﷺ— and so they deny him?

Commentary: In fact, the Quraysh knew the Prophetﷺbetter than anyone. He had lived among them his whole life and was known as al-Amīn — the Trustworthy. Their denial was therefore not from ignorance of his character but from arrogance and worldly self-interest.

أَمْ يَقُولُونَ بِهِ جِنَّةٌ بَلْ جَاءَهُم بِالْحَقِّ وَأَكْثَرُهُمْ لِلْحَقِّ كَارِهُونَ

Am yaqūlūna bihi jinnatan bal jāʾahum bi-l-ḥaqqi wa aktharuhum li-l-ḥaqqi kārihūn

Or do they say there is madness in him? Rather, he brought them the truth, but most of them detest the truth. (al-Muʾminūn 23:70)

Translation: Or do they claim he is possessed by madness (jinna)? Absolutely not! Rather, he brought them the pure truth, but most of them hate the truth.

Commentary: The accusation of madness against the Prophetﷺwas the last resort of those who could find no rational objection to his message. The Qurʾān firmly rejects this: bal jāʾahum bi-l-ḥaqq — he came with nothing other than truth. Their rejection springs not from any reasonable ground but from sheer hatred of truth (karāhiyat al-ḥaqq). The author (may Allah have mercy on him) reflects: if the whole cosmos operated according to human whims and desires, it would fall into chaos and destruction.

وَلَوِ اتَّبَعَ الْحَقُّ أَهْوَاءَهُمْ لَفَسَدَتِ السَّمَاوَاتُ وَالْأَرْضُ وَمَن فِيهِنَّ بَل أَتَيْنَاهُم بِذِكْرِهِمْ فَهُمْ عَن ذِكْرِهِمْ مُّعْرِضُونَ

Wa law ittabaʿa al-ḥaqqu ahwāʾahum la-fasadati al-samāwātu wa al-arḍu wa man fīhinna bal ataynāhum bi-dhikrihim fa-hum ʿan dhikrihim muʿriḍūn

And if the Truth were to follow their desires, the heavens and the earth and all who dwell therein would have been corrupted. Rather, We brought them their reminder, but they are turning away from their reminder. (al-Muʾminūn 23:71)

Translation: Had the Truth — divine law and divine will — followed their vain desires, the heavens and the earth and all who dwell in them would have been utterly corrupted and ruined. Rather, We have brought them their reminder (dhikr) — the Qurʾān — but they are turning away from their reminder.

Commentary: The author (may Allah have mercy on him) explains powerfully: Consider the idols — stone, wood, and metal — each with its own "preferences." If each deity had its own will competing with others, the result would be the destruction of all order. It is precisely the unity of Allah — His wāḥidiyya — that sustains the harmony of the cosmos. The Qurʾān is their dhikr — their own reminder, their honour, their dignity — yet they turn away from the very thing that would elevate them.

أَمْ تَسْأَلُهُمْ خَرْجًا فَخَرَاجُ رَبِّكَ خَيْرٌ وَهُوَ خَيْرُ الرَّازِقِينَ

Am tasʾaluhum kharjan fa-kharāju rabbika khayrun wa huwa khayru al-rāziqīn

Or do you ask them for tribute? The tribute of your Lord is better, and He is the best of providers. (al-Muʾminūn 23:72)

Translation: Or are you, O Muḥammadﷺ, asking them for payment and tribute? Certainly not — the provision of your Lord is better, and He is the best of all providers.

Commentary: The Prophetﷺsought no worldly recompense for his mission. This is a recurring Qurʾānic affirmation: the messengers never asked for personal gain from those they called to Islam. Their only reward was with Allah. The author (may Allah have mercy on him) notes: the Prophetﷺwas the best of creation, yet he lived simply and asked nothing of his community except their adherence to tawḥīd.

وَإِنَّكَ لَتَدْعُوهُمْ إِلَى صِرَاطٍ مُّسْتَقِيمٍ

Wa innaka la-tadʿūhum ilā ṣirāṭin mustaqīm

And verily you are calling them to a straight path. (al-Muʾminūn 23:73)

Translation: And indeed you, O Muḥammadﷺ, are calling them to the straight path — the way of truth, justice, and divine guidance.

وَإِنَّ الَّذِينَ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ بِالْآخِرَةِ عَنِ الصِّرَاطِ لَنَاكِبُونَ

Wa inna alladhīna lā yuʾminūna bi-l-ākhirati ʿani al-ṣirāṭi la-nākibūn

And verily those who do not believe in the Hereafter are deviating from the path. (al-Muʾminūn 23:74)

Translation: And verily those who have no belief in the Hereafter are indeed swerving away from that straight path by their own wilful choice.

Commentary: Belief in the Hereafter (ākhira) is a fundamental pillar of the Islamic creed (ʿaqīda). Those who deny it are, by that very denial, straying from the ṣirāṭ al-mustaqīm. The author (may Allah have mercy on him) emphasises: the denial of the Hereafter leads to moral chaos, for without accountability there is no ultimate restraint on injustice.

وَلَوْ رَحِمْنَاهُمْ وَكَشَفْنَا مَا بِهِم مِّن ضُرٍّ لَّلَجُّوا فِي طُغْيَانِهِمْ يَعْمَهُونَ

Wa law raḥimnāhum wa kashafnā mā bihim min ḍurrin la-lajjū fī ṭughyānihim yaʿmahūn

And if We had mercy on them and removed the distress that is in them, they would persist in their transgression, wandering blindly. (al-Muʾminūn 23:75)

Translation: And if We showed them mercy and removed their afflictions and difficulties, they would nevertheless persist stubbornly in their transgression (ṭughyān), wandering in blindness.

Commentary: Divine punishment can sometimes serve as a mercy — a call to return. But if these people were relieved of all difficulty, they would not repent; they would persist in their arrogance. Yaʿmahūn — they wander in a bewildered blindness — describes those whose hearts are so sealed that even mercy cannot reach them.

وَلَقَدْ أَخَذْنَاهُم بِالْعَذَابِ فَمَا اسْتَكَانُوا لِرَبِّهِمْ وَمَا يَتَضَرَّعُونَ

Wa la-qad akhadhnāhum bi-l-ʿadhābi fa-mā istakānū li-rabbihim wa mā yataḍarraʿūn

And We certainly seized them with punishment, but they neither humbled themselves before their Lord nor did they make humble supplication. (al-Muʾminūn 23:76)

Translation: And We indeed seized them in punishment — yet they neither submitted humbly before their Lord nor did they offer any supplication or entreaty.

Commentary: The purpose of worldly punishment and affliction is to soften the heart and turn it back to Allah. But when hearts are fully sealed, even the chastisement cannot accomplish this purpose. Istakāna — to humble oneself utterly, to become meek and submissive — and taḍarruʿ — to beseech with weeping and imploring — are both absent in them.

حَتَّى إِذَا فَتَحْنَا عَلَيْهِمْ بَابًا ذَا عَذَابٍ شَدِيدٍ إِذَا هُمْ فِيهِ مُبْلِسُونَ

Ḥattā idhā ftaḥnā ʿalayhim bāban dhā ʿadhābin shadīdin idhā hum fīhi mublisūn

Until when We opened upon them a gate of severe punishment — thereupon they were in despair. (al-Muʾminūn 23:77)

Translation: Until, when We opened upon them a gate of intensely severe punishment — at that point they fell into utter despair (iblās) with no hope of deliverance.

Commentary: Iblās — the total, hopeless despair that gives its name to Iblīs himself — is the final state of those who resist all warnings. When the ultimate punishment arrives, there is no more crying out, no more request for respite — only mute, hopeless despair.

وَهُوَ الَّذِي أَنشَأَ لَكُمُ السَّمْعَ وَالْأَبْصَارَ وَالْأَفْئِدَةَ قَلِيلًا مَّا تَشْكُرُونَ

Wa huwa alladhī anshāʾa lakumu al-samʿa wa al-abṣāra wa al-afʾidata qalīlan mā tashkurūn

And it is He who brought into existence for you hearing, and sight, and hearts — little indeed do you give thanks. (al-Muʾminūn 23:78)

Translation: And it is He who originated and bestowed upon you hearing (samʿ), sight (abṣār), and hearts (afʾida) — yet how little you give thanks!

Commentary: The three faculties — hearing, sight, and the heart (the seat of reason and understanding) — are the primary instruments of perception and moral discernment. They are divine gifts, bestowed so that human beings may hear the truth, see the signs of God, and understand the message. That so many people use these faculties for denial and heedlessness rather than gratitude (shukr) is the profound tragedy this verse laments.

وَهُوَ الَّذِي ذَرَأَكُمْ فِي الْأَرْضِ وَإِلَيْهِ تُحْشَرُونَ

Wa huwa alladhī dharaʾakum fī al-arḍi wa ilayhi tuḥsharūn

And it is He who has scattered you throughout the earth, and unto Him you shall be gathered. (al-Muʾminūn 23:79)

Translation: And it is He who has spread and multiplied you across the earth — and unto Him alone will you be gathered on the Day of Resurrection.

Commentary: Dharaʾa — to spread, multiply, scatter — refers to the divine act of populating the earth through generations. The return (ḥashr) is to Allah, the final gathering. No matter how spread across the earth human beings are — in their diversity of nations, languages, and places — all will be gathered before the one Allah on the Day of Judgement.

وَهُوَ الَّذِي يُحْيِي وَيُمِيتُ وَلَهُ اخْتِلَافُ اللَّيْلِ وَالنَّهَارِ أَفَلَا تَعْقِلُونَ

Wa huwa alladhī yuḥyī wa yumītu wa lahu ikhtilāfu al-layli wa al-nahāri a-fa-lā taʿqilūn

And it is He who gives life and causes death, and His is the alternation of night and day — will you not then reason? (al-Muʾminūn 23:80)

Translation: And it is He alone who gives life and causes death; and His is the alternation (ikhtilāf) of night and day in their endless succession — will you then not employ your reason?

Commentary: The alternation of night and day — the world's most visible and constant cosmic phenomenon — is presented as a sign of divine power and unity. Just as the One Allah controls this alternation, so He controls life and death. The repeated a-fa-lā taʿqilūn — will you not reason? — is a call to use the God-given faculty of intellect to recognise these signs.

بَلْ قَالُوا مِثْلَ مَا قَالَ الْأَوَّلُونَ

Bal qālū mithla mā qāla al-awwalūn

Rather, they said the like of what the ancients said. (al-Muʾminūn 23:81)

Translation: Rather, they said the very same thing that the earlier disbelieving generations said —

قَالُوا أَإِذَا مِتْنَا وَكُنَّا تُرَابًا وَعِظَامًا أَإِنَّا لَمَبْعُوثُونَ

Qālū a-idhā mitnā wa kunnā turāban wa ʿiẓāman a-innā la-mabʿūthūn

They said: "When we are dead and become dust and bones, are we truly to be raised?" (al-Muʾminūn 23:82)

Translation: They said: "When we die and become dust and bones — can it really be that we shall be resurrected and raised up again?"

Commentary: This was the standard objection of the deniers of resurrection across all ages. The answer, embedded throughout this sūra, is that the One who created you the first time from nothing — from dust — is fully capable of recreating you. The logic of resurrection follows necessarily from the logic of original creation.

لَقَدْ وُعِدْنَا نَحْنُ وَآبَاؤُنَا هَذَا مِن قَبْلُ إِنْ هَذَا إِلَّا أَسَاطِيرُ الْأَوَّلِينَ

La-qad wuʿidnā naḥnu wa ābāʾunā hādhā min qablu in hādhā illā asāṭīru al-awwalīn

We were promised this — we and our forefathers — before. This is nothing but the tales of the ancients. (al-Muʾminūn 23:83)

Translation: We and our forefathers were given this promise before — this is nothing but the mythological tales (asāṭīr) of the ancients.

Commentary: Asāṭīr al-awwalīn — the legends and myths of the ancients — is a dismissive term the disbelievers repeatedly used for the Qurʾān and the prophetic message. The author (may Allah have mercy on him) responds: these are not myths but divine revelation confirmed by rational proofs. The very continuity of the promise across generations — given to earlier peoples through their prophets — is itself evidence of its truth, not its falsity.

قُل لِّمَنِ الْأَرْضُ وَمَن فِيهَا إِن كُنتُمْ تَعْلَمُونَ

Qul li-man al-arḍu wa man fīhā in kuntum taʿlamūn

Say: "To whom belongs the earth and whoever is in it, if you have knowledge?" (al-Muʾminūn 23:84)

Translation: Say, O Muḥammadﷺ: "To whom does the earth belong and all who dwell in it — if you truly know?"

سَيَقُولُونَ لِلَّهِ قُلْ أَفَلَا تَذَكَّرُونَ

Sa-yaqūlūna li-llāhi qul a-fa-lā tadhakkarūn

They will say: "To Allah." Say: "Will you not then take heed?" (al-Muʾminūn 23:85)

Translation: They will say: "To Allah." Say: "Then will you not take heed?"

Commentary: This is the famous qiyās (analogical argument) of the Qurʾān against idolatry. The disbelievers, when pressed, readily admitted that the earth and its inhabitants belong to Allah alone — yet they associated partners with Him in worship. The inconsistency is glaring, and the Qurʾān exposes it with masterful economy.

قُلْ مَن رَّبُّ السَّمَاوَاتِ السَّبْعِ وَرَبُّ الْعَرْشِ الْعَظِيمِ

Qul man rabbu al-samāwāti al-sabʿi wa rabbu al-ʿarshi al-ʿaẓīm

Say: "Who is the Lord of the seven heavens and the Lord of the Mighty Throne?" (al-Muʾminūn 23:86)

Translation: Say: "Who is the Lord of the seven heavens and the Lord of the Magnificent Throne (ʿArsh al-ʿAẓīm)?"

سَيَقُولُونَ لِلَّهِ قُلْ أَفَلَا تَتَّقُونَ

Sa-yaqūlūna li-llāhi qul a-fa-lā tattaqūn

They will say: "To Allah." Say: "Will you not then fear?" (al-Muʾminūn 23:87)

Translation: They will say: "To Allah." Say: "Will you not then have taqwā — God-consciousness and fear?"

Commentary: The ʿArsh al-ʿAẓīm — the Magnificent Throne — is the greatest of Allah's creations, encompassing all the seven heavens. Affirming that its Lord is Allah and yet worshipping others beside Him is the supreme contradiction. The call to taqwā is the appropriate response to recognising this overwhelming divine sovereignty.

قُلْ مَن بِيَدِهِ مَلَكُوتُ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ وَهُوَ يُجِيرُ وَلَا يُجَارُ عَلَيْهِ إِن كُنتُمْ تَعْلَمُونَ

Qul man bi-yadihi malakūtu kulli shayʾin wa huwa yujīru wa lā yujāru ʿalayhi in kuntum taʿlamūn

Say: "In whose hand is the dominion over all things, and who grants protection while none can grant protection against Him — if you have knowledge?" (al-Muʾminūn 23:88)

Translation: Say: "In whose hand lies the supreme sovereignty (malakūt) over all things? He grants refuge and protection, while none can grant protection against Him — if you truly know."

Commentary: Malakūt — the realm of divine ownership and sovereignty — belongs entirely to Allah. He alone is the ultimate source of protection and security. To seek amān (safety) from other than Allah is futile, for nothing in creation has the power to protect against the decree of Allah Most High.

سَيَقُولُونَ لِلَّهِ قُلْ فَأَنَّى تُسْحَرُونَ

Sa-yaqūlūna li-llāhi qul fa-annā tusḥarūn

They will say: "To Allah." Say: "Then how are you bewitched?" (al-Muʾminūn 23:89)

Translation: They will say: "To Allah." Say: "Then how is it that you are so bewitched and blinded? Where has your reason gone?"

Commentary: Tusḥarūn — "how are you bewitched?" — implies that the disbelievers' contradictory position is so irrational it is as if a spell has been cast over their minds. Having admitted the truth three times in succession, they still refused to follow its logical consequences. The author (may Allah have mercy on him) remarks: this is the most eloquent possible exposure of the incoherence of shirk.

بَلْ أَتَيْنَاهُم بِالْحَقِّ وَإِنَّهُمْ لَكَاذِبُونَ

Bal ataynāhum bi-l-ḥaqqi wa innahum la-kādhibūn

Rather, We brought them the truth, and they are certainly liars. (al-Muʾminūn 23:90)

Translation: Rather, We brought them the pure truth — and they are certainly liars in their claims and denials.

مَا اتَّخَذَ اللَّهُ مِن وَلَدٍ وَمَا كَانَ مَعَهُ مِنْ إِلَهٍ إِذًا لَّذَهَبَ كُلُّ إِلَهٍ بِمَا خَلَقَ وَلَعَلَا بَعْضُهُمْ عَلَى بَعْضٍ سُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ عَمَّا يَصِفُونَ

Mā ittakhadha allāhu min waladin wa mā kāna maʿahu min ilāhin idhan la-dhahaba kullu ilāhin bimā khalaqa wa la-ʿalā baʿḍuhum ʿalā baʿḍin subḥāna allāhi ʿammā yaṣifūn

Allah has not taken any son, nor is there any deity with Him. Otherwise each deity would have taken what it created and some would have sought to overcome others. Glory be to Allah above what they describe. (al-Muʾminūn 23:91)

Translation: Allah has taken no son. Nor is there with Him any co-deity or partner. Were there such, each deity would have seized what it created for itself alone, and some would have sought to overcome others in conflict. Glory and transcendence belong to Allah above all that they falsely describe of Him!

Commentary: This is among the most powerful theological arguments for divine unity (tawḥīd) in the Qurʾān. The author (may Allah have mercy on him) elaborates: Consider the nature of multiple deities — each would have its own will, its own domain, its own agenda. The result would be cosmic warfare and the destruction of all harmony. The very fact that the cosmos functions in perfect, integrated order — from the rotation of stars to the alternation of day and night — is itself proof that one, unified, sovereign will governs it all. Any attribution of a son to Allah — as the Christians claim regarding ʿĪsā (upon him be peace) — or a partner — as the Arab idolaters claimed with their idols — or any association (shirk) of any kind is utterly rejected. Subḥāna allāh — Allah is far above and beyond all such attributions.

عَالِمُ الْغَيْبِ وَالشَّهَادَةِ فَتَعَالَى عَمَّا يُشْرِكُونَ

ʿĀlimu al-ghaybi wa al-shahādati fa-taʿālā ʿammā yushrikūn

The Knower of the unseen and the witnessed — exalted is He above what they associate! (al-Muʾminūn 23:92)

Translation: He is the Knower of the unseen (ghayb) and the witnessed (shahāda) — transcendent and exalted far above all that they associate with Him.

Commentary: ʿĀlim al-ghayb wa al-shahāda — the full sweep of divine knowledge encompasses both that which is hidden from creation and that which is manifest. Nothing whatsoever is concealed from Him. This total, perfect knowledge is yet another proof of divine uniqueness: no partner could share in such omniscience.

قُل رَّبِّ إِمَّا تُرِيَنِّي مَا يُوعَدُونَ

Qul rabbi immā turiyanī mā yūʿadūn

Say: "My Lord, if You show me what they are promised —" (al-Muʾminūn 23:93)

Translation: Say: "My Lord, should You show me what they are promised [of punishment] —"

رَبِّ فَلَا تَجْعَلْنِي فِي الْقَوْمِ الظَّالِمِينَ

Rabbi fa-lā tajʿalnī fī al-qawmi al-ẓālimīn

"My Lord, then do not place me among the wrongdoing people." (al-Muʾminūn 23:94)

Translation: "My Lord! Then do not place me among the wrongdoing, unjust people."

Commentary: The Prophetﷺis instructed to make this supplication — a model of prophetic humility and the proper adab (etiquette) before Allah. Even the greatest of all prophetsﷺsought Allah's protection from being among the wrongdoers. This teaches the believer never to feel secure from the divine will, and always to seek refuge in Allah from misguidance and from the companionship of wrongdoers.

وَإِنَّا عَلَى أَن نُّرِيَكَ مَا نَعِدُهُمْ لَقَادِرُونَ

Wa innā ʿalā an nuriyaka mā naʿiduhum la-qādirūn

And verily We are fully capable of showing you what We have promised them. (al-Muʾminūn 23:95)

Translation: And We are indeed fully capable and powerful to show you the punishment We have promised them — at any time We will.

ادْفَعْ بِالَّتِي هِيَ أَحْسَنُ السَّيِّئَةَ نَحْنُ أَعْلَمُ بِمَا يَصِفُونَ

Idfa' bi-allatī hiya aḥsanu al-sayyi'ata naḥnu aʿlamu bimā yaṣifūn

Repel evil with what is better. We know best what they describe. (al-Muʾminūn 23:96)

Translation: Repel evil (sayyi'a) with what is better (aḥsan) — respond to harm with forbearance and excellence. We know best what they say about you.

Commentary: This is a foundational ethical principle of the prophetic character. Rather than responding to the insults, hostility, and persecution of the Quraysh with anger or retaliation, the Prophetﷺis commanded to respond with what is better — patience (ṣabr), kindness (ḥilm), and noble conduct (makārim al-akhlāq). This is the sunnī moral ideal: to repel hatred with generosity, arrogance with humility, and cruelty with clemency. The author (may Allah have mercy on him) emphasises that this is not weakness but the highest form of moral strength.

وَقُل رَّبِّ أَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنْ هَمَزَاتِ الشَّيَاطِينِ

Wa qul rabbi aʿūdhu bika min hamazāti al-shayāṭīn

And say: "My Lord, I seek refuge in You from the incitements of the devils." (al-Muʾminūn 23:97)

Translation: And say: "My Lord, I seek Your refuge from the whispered incitements and provocations of the devils."

وَأَعُوذُ بِكَ رَبِّ أَن يَحْضُرُونِ

Wa aʿūdhu bika rabbi an yaḥḍurūn

"And I seek refuge in You, my Lord, lest they be present with me." (al-Muʾminūn 23:98)

Translation: "And I seek Your refuge, my Lord, from their ever being present with me."

Commentary: These two verses constitute a maʾthūr (transmitted) supplication for seeking protection from Shayṭān. The hamazāt — the stings, prods, and whispered provocations of the devils — are their constant attempt to incite the human being to anger, sin, and neglect of Allah. Seeking divine refuge (istiʿādha) is the prophetically mandated response.

حَتَّى إِذَا جَاءَ أَحَدَهُمُ الْمَوْتُ قَالَ رَبِّ ارْجِعُونِ

Ḥattā idhā jāʾa aḥadahumu al-mawtu qāla rabbi irjiʿūn

Until when death comes to one of them, he says: "My Lord! Send me back!" (al-Muʾminūn 23:99)

Translation: Until, when death comes to one of them — the disbelievers — he says: "My Lord! Return me, let me go back!"

Commentary: The stark reality described here is the universal regret of those who denied and delayed. At the moment of death, the veil is torn away and the reality of the Hereafter becomes manifest. Too late — the cry arises: rabbi irjiʿūn — "My Lord! Send me back!" The plural irjiʿūn (return me!) addressed to the singular rabbi (my Lord) is, according to the grammarians, an instance of the Arabic plural of respect or urgency — indicating the desperation of the supplication.

لَعَلِّي أَعْمَلُ صَالِحًا فِيمَا تَرَكْتُ كَلَّا إِنَّهَا كَلِمَةٌ هُوَ قَائِلُهَا وَمِن وَرَائِهِم بَرْزَخٌ إِلَى يَوْمِ يُبْعَثُونَ

Laʿallī aʿmalu ṣāliḥan fīmā taraktu kallā innahā kalimatun huwa qāʾiluhā wa min warāʾihim barzakhun ilā yawmi yubʿathūn

"That perhaps I may do righteous deeds in what I have left behind!" By no means! It is but a word that he is uttering, and behind them is a barrier (barzakh) until the Day they are raised. (al-Muʾminūn 23:100)

Translation: "That perhaps I may do righteous deeds in what I have left behind!" Never! It is merely a word he utters — an empty, belated wish. And before them is the barzakh — the intermediate realm between death and resurrection — until the Day they shall be raised.

Commentary: Kallā — "By no means!" — is one of the most emphatic terms of negation in Arabic. The wish to return and do good deeds is rejected absolutely. Why? Because this life is the time for action and deeds; the next life is the time for recompense, not for earning. The barzakh (literally: a barrier or partition) is the realm of the grave — the intermediate state between death and resurrection. It is a place of either comfort and spiritual joy for the believers, or constriction and anguish for the wicked, as established by the aḥādīth of the Prophetﷺ. The author (may Allah have mercy on him) explains: the world is the farm (mazraʿ) — you sow here and reap in the Hereafter. Once you leave this world, the time for sowing is over. Whoever realised this and acted upon it — they are the ones who have succeeded.

فَإِذَا نُفِخَ فِي الصُّورِ فَلَا أَنسَابَ بَيْنَهُمْ يَوْمَئِذٍ وَلَا يَتَسَاءَلُونَ

Fa-idhā nufikha fī al-ṣūri fa-lā ansāba baynahum yawmaʾidhin wa lā yatasāʾalūn

Then when the Trumpet is blown, on that day there will be no kinship ties between them, and they will not ask about one another. (al-Muʾminūn 23:101)

Translation: Then when the Trumpet (ṣūr) is blown — the blast of the Angel Isrāfīl (upon him be peace) — on that day no blood ties or family bonds (ansāb) will avail between people, and none will enquire after another.

Commentary: The ṣūr (Trumpet) refers to the blast that will sound the beginning of the Final Hour. When it sounds, every social bond and familial tie dissolves. On that day, no man will ask after his own father; no parent after their child. Each soul will be entirely consumed with its own fate. This is the opposite of every earthly attachment and solidarity.

فَمَن ثَقُلَتْ مَوَازِينُهُ فَأُولَئِكَ هُمُ الْمُفْلِحُونَ

Fa-man thaqulat mawāzīnuhu fa-ulāʾika humu al-muflīḥūn

Then as for those whose scales are heavy — those are the successful ones. (al-Muʾminūn 23:102)

Translation: Then as for those whose scales of deeds are heavy with good — those are the truly successful, the muflīḥūn — who have attained all they sought.

وَمَنْ خَفَّتْ مَوَازِينُهُ فَأُولَئِكَ الَّذِينَ خَسِرُوا أَنفُسَهُمْ فِي جَهَنَّمَ خَالِدُونَ

Wa man khaffat mawāzīnuhu fa-ulāʾika alladhīna khasirū anfusahum fī jahannama khālidūn

And as for those whose scales are light — those are the ones who have lost their souls; in Hell they will abide forever. (al-Muʾminūn 23:103)

Translation: And as for those whose scales are light — whose deeds of faith and righteousness are outweighed — those are the ones who have ruined themselves; they shall abide forever in Jahannam.

Commentary: The mīzān (scales of deeds) on the Day of Judgement is literal and real — a physical weighing of deeds as established in the ḥadīth literature. The ahl al-sunna wa'l-jamāʿa affirm this as a reality of the Hereafter. The scales being heavy (thaqulat) with righteous deeds leads to everlasting success; being light leads to everlasting loss. Khasirū anfusahum — they have brought ultimate loss upon their own souls — is the gravest possible condemnation: to squander one's very self in exchange for nothing.

تَلْفَحُ وُجُوهَهُمُ النَّارُ وَهُمْ فِيهَا كَالِحُونَ

Talfalḥu wujūhahumu al-nāru wa hum fīhā kāliḥūn

The Fire will scorch their faces, and they will grin in it with contracted lips. (al-Muʾminūn 23:104)

Translation: The Fire will sear and scorch their faces, and they shall be in it with grimacing, contorted expressions — their lips drawn back in anguish.

Commentary: Kāliḥ — one who grimaces with the lips drawn back in agony, as an animal's skull is exposed — describes the horrific disfigurement of the people of the Fire. The author (may Allah have mercy on him) presents this not as cruelty but as divine justice: those who turned their faces away from the truth in this world will have their faces exposed to the fire in the Hereafter.

أَلَمْ تَكُنْ آيَاتِي تُتْلَى عَلَيْكُمْ فَكُنتُم بِهَا تُكَذِّبُونَ

A-lam takun āyātī tutlā ʿalaykum fa-kuntum bihā tukadhibūn

Were not My signs recited to you and you used to deny them? (al-Muʾminūn 23:105)

Translation: Were not My signs (āyāt) recited to you — and you used to deny them and call them lies?

قَالُوا رَبَّنَا غَلَبَتْ عَلَيْنَا شِقْوَتُنَا وَكُنَّا قَوْمًا ضَالِّينَ

Qālū rabbanā ghalabat ʿalaynā shiqwatunā wa kunnā qawman ḍāllīn

They will say: "Our Lord! Our wretchedness overcame us and we were a people gone astray." (al-Muʾminūn 23:106)

Translation: They shall say: "Our Lord! Our own wretchedness (shiqwa) overcame us, and we were a people who had gone astray."

Commentary: In the Hereafter, the disbelievers make their admission. Shiqwa — wretchedness, misery — refers here to the inner corruption and the inclination toward evil that they themselves allowed to dominate them. They acknowledge that they were misguided — but this admission comes too late. The Ḥanafī-Māturīdī ʿaqīda is clear: in this world, the human being has freedom of moral choice and the capacity to follow guidance or to reject it. Their wretchedness was chosen.

رَبَّنَا أَخْرِجْنَا مِنْهَا فَإِن عُدْنَا فَإِنَّا ظَالِمُونَ

Rabbanā akhrijnā minhā fa-in ʿudnā fa-innā ẓālimūn

"Our Lord! Bring us out of it. If we return then we are wrongdoers." (al-Muʾminūn 23:107)

Translation: "Our Lord! Remove us from this Fire! If we were to return [to the world], and then return to wrongdoing, then truly we would be wrongdoers."

Commentary: They plead for release from the Fire and promise that if returned to the world they would not sin again. The author notes: this is the nature of the human being under suffering — promises of repentance come readily. But these promises are no longer of any avail.

قَالَ اخْسَئُوا فِيهَا وَلَا تُكَلِّمُونِ

Qāla ikhsaʾū fīhā wa lā tukallimūn

He will say: "Be driven back into it and do not speak to Me!" (al-Muʾminūn 23:108)

Translation: He — Allah Most High — will say: "Be driven away into it, despised and rejected! And do not address Me!"

Commentary: Ikhsaʾū — a word used to drive away a dog — represents the ultimate humiliation and rejection. The author (may Allah have mercy on him) says: when the words lā tukallimūn — "do not speak to Me!" — are spoken by the Lord of all worlds, all hope is extinguished. The relationship between Allah and these people is severed absolutely.

إِنَّهُ كَانَ فَرِيقٌ مِّنْ عِبَادِي يَقُولُونَ رَبَّنَا آمَنَّا فَاغْفِرْ لَنَا وَارْحَمْنَا وَأَنتَ خَيْرُ الرَّاحِمِينَ

Innahu kāna farīqun min ʿibādī yaqūlūna rabbanā āmannā fa-ghfir lanā wa irḥamnā wa anta khayru al-rāḥimīn

Indeed, there was a group among My servants who said: "Our Lord! We believe, so forgive us and have mercy on us, and You are the best of those who show mercy." (al-Muʾminūn 23:109)

Translation: Verily, there was a group among My servants who used to say: "Our Lord, we believe! So forgive us and have mercy upon us, for You are the best of those who show mercy."

Commentary: The contrast is drawn sharply: on the one side, the people of the Fire now being told to be silent; on the other, the believers of this world — remembered now by Allah — who called upon Him with sincere duʿāʾ, humility, and hope. This supplication — rabbanā āmannā fa-ghfir lanā wa irḥamnā wa anta khayru al-rāḥimīn — is one of the most beautiful and complete of Qurʾānic prayers: affirming īmān, seeking maghfira, asking for raḥma, and acknowledging divine excellence. The author (may Allah have mercy on him) recommends frequent recitation of this supplication.

فَاتَّخَذْتُمُوهُمْ سِخْرِيًّا حَتَّى أَنسَوْكُمْ ذِكْرِي وَكُنتُم مِّنْهُمْ تَضْحَكُونَ

Fa-ittakhadhtumūhum sikhriyan ḥattā ansawkum dhikrī wa kuntum minhum taḍḥakūn

But you took them in mockery until they caused you to forget My remembrance, and you used to laugh at them. (al-Muʾminūn 23:110)

Translation: But you [the disbelievers] took those faithful servants as objects of mockery and ridicule, until they caused you to forget My remembrance (dhikr) entirely — and you used to laugh at them.

Commentary: The address shifts here to the disbelievers being condemned. They had mocked the believers — ridiculed their prayers, their dhikr, their devotion — until the mockery itself consumed them and drove out all remembrance of Allah from their hearts. This is one of the great spiritual dangers: allowing contempt for the devout to extinguish one's own connection with Allah.

إِنِّي جَزَيْتُهُمُ الْيَوْمَ بِمَا صَبَرُوا أَنَّهُمُ هُمُ الْفَائِزُونَ

Innī jazaytuhumu al-yawma bimā ṣabarū annahumu humu al-fāʾizūn

"Indeed I have rewarded them this day for their patience — they are the triumphant ones." (al-Muʾminūn 23:111)

Translation: "Indeed, today I have rewarded them because of their patience (ṣabr) — they are the triumphant, successful ones!"

Commentary: Ṣabr — patience, steadfastness, perseverance — is the single quality highlighted as the cause of the believers' ultimate triumph. They were patient under the persecution, mockery, and hostility they endured in this world. Allah Most High personally announces their reward. Humu al-fāʾizūn — "they, they are the triumphant" — with the emphatic pronoun humu for especial distinction: those are the real victors, not those who mocked them.

قَالَ كَمْ لَبِثْتُمْ فِي الْأَرْضِ عَدَدَ سِنِينَ

Qāla kam labithtum fī al-arḍi ʿadada sinīn

He will say: "How many years did you remain on the earth?" (al-Muʾminūn 23:112)

Translation: He — Allah Most High — will ask: "How many years did you spend on the earth?"

قَالُوا لَبِثْنَا يَوْمًا أَوْ بَعْضَ يَوْمٍ فَاسْأَلِ الْعَادِّينَ

Qālū labithnā yawman aw baʿḍa yawmin fa-sʾali al-ʿāddīn

They will say: "We remained a day or part of a day — ask those who count." (al-Muʾminūn 23:113)

Translation: They will say: "We remained a day, or perhaps part of a day — ask those who keep count."

Commentary: This exchange captures one of the most vivid and existentially powerful moments in the Qurʾān. After seventy or eighty years in this world — perhaps a lifetime of luxury, power, and pleasure — the disbelievers will feel, in the light of eternity, that their entire earthly existence lasted barely a day or a fraction of a day. The puniness and transience of this world compared to the eternity of the Hereafter is made utterly manifest. The author (may Allah have mercy on him) says: this is the heart of the matter — the world is faʿala Allah (Allah's doing), a brief passage, a test. Those who made it their final goal have wasted everything.

قَالَ إِن لَّبِثْتُمْ إِلَّا قَلِيلًا لَّوْ أَنَّكُمْ كُنتُمْ تَعْلَمُونَ

Qāla in labithtum illā qalīlan law annakum kuntum taʿlamūn

He will say: "You remained but a little while — if only you had known!" (al-Muʾminūn 23:114)

Translation: He will say: "You remained only a very brief time — if only you had known this!"

Commentary: Law annakum kuntum taʿlamūn — "if only you had known!" This is one of the most poignant expressions of divine grief over human folly. Had they truly known the brevity and insignificance of worldly life in relation to the eternal Hereafter, they would never have sacrificed the Hereafter for the sake of the world. The author (may Allah have mercy on him) reflects: this knowledge is available — the Qurʾān, the sunna, and the reminders of the ʿulamāʾ and the awliyāʾ continuously proclaim it. But heedlessness (ghafla) is the great veil.

أَفَحَسِبْتُمْ أَنَّمَا خَلَقْنَاكُمْ عَبَثًا وَأَنَّكُمْ إِلَيْنَا لَا تُرْجَعُونَ

A-fa-ḥasibtum annamā khalaqnākum ʿabathan wa annakum ilaynā lā turjaʿūn

Did you then suppose that We created you without purpose, and that you would not be returned to Us? (al-Muʾminūn 23:115)

Translation: Did you then suppose and imagine that We created you aimlessly and purposelessly (ʿabathan) — and that you would never be returned to Us?

Commentary: ʿAbath — purposelessness, vain play — is the antithesis of divine wisdom (ḥikma). The entire Qurʾānic worldview rests on the understanding that creation is purposeful, ordered by the divine will, and oriented toward an ultimate reckoning. To believe that one's existence is random and that there is no accountability before Allah is the root of all moral corruption. The rhetorical question here is devastating in its implication: how could any rational being, having reflected upon this universe and upon themselves, conclude that their creation was without purpose?

فَتَعَالَى اللَّهُ الْمَلِكُ الْحَقُّ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا هُوَ رَبُّ الْعَرْشِ الْكَرِيمِ

Fa-taʿālā allāhu al-maliku al-ḥaqqu lā ilāha illā huwa rabbu al-ʿarshi al-karīm

Exalted be Allah, the True King — there is no deity save Him, Lord of the Noble Throne! (al-Muʾminūn 23:116)

Translation: So exalted is Allah — the True King, the Real Sovereign! There is no deity worthy of worship but He — the Lord of the Noble Throne (ʿArsh al-Karīm).

Commentary: Following the exposure of the emptiness of disbelief, the Sūra now exalts the divine reality: al-Maliku al-Ḥaqq — the True and Real King. All worldly sovereignty is borrowed, transient, and illusory; divine sovereignty is absolute and eternal. Lā ilāha illā huwa — the kalima of tawḥīd — is the heart of everything. Rabb al-ʿarshi al-karīm — the Lord of the Noble, Generous Throne — establishes the supreme grandeur of the divine majesty. The word karīm (noble, generous) attributes generosity not only to Allah but to the Throne itself, by virtue of its proximity to the Most Generous.

وَمَن يَدْعُ مَعَ اللَّهِ إِلَهًا آخَرَ لَا بُرْهَانَ لَهُ بِهِ فَإِنَّمَا حِسَابُهُ عِندَ رَبِّهِ إِنَّهُ لَا يُفْلِحُ الْكَافِرُونَ

Wa man yadʿu maʿa allāhi ilāhan ākhara lā burhāna lahu bihi fa-innamā ḥisābuhu ʿinda rabbihi innahu lā yufliḥu al-kāfirūn

And whoever calls upon another deity alongside Allah — for which he has no proof — his reckoning is only with his Lord. Verily the disbelievers will not prosper. (al-Muʾminūn 23:117)

Translation: And whoever calls upon another deity alongside Allah — having no proof whatsoever for it — his accounting is solely with his Lord. Truly the disbelievers shall not prosper or attain falāḥ.

Commentary: Lā burhāna lahu bihi — for which he has no proof — establishes the epistemological framework: no rational or revelational proof exists for the worship of anything beside Allah. The burhān (decisive proof) is demanded and it does not exist. The consequences are absolute: lā yufliḥu al-kāfirūn — disbelievers do not succeed. Falāḥ — the comprehensive success of both worlds — belongs only to the true believer.

وَقُل رَّبِّ اغْفِرْ وَارْحَمْ وَأَنتَ خَيْرُ الرَّاحِمِينَ

Wa qul rabbi ighfir wa irḥam wa anta khayru al-rāḥimīn

And say: "My Lord, forgive and have mercy, and You are the best of those who show mercy." (al-Muʾminūn 23:118)

Translation: And say — O Muḥammadﷺ— and let every believer say: "My Lord! Forgive and have mercy, for You are the best of those who show mercy."

Commentary: The Sūrat al-Muʾminūn closes with this most beautiful supplication — a khātima (conclusion) of duʿāʾ and complete surrender to divine mercy. After the terrifying descriptions of the Day of Judgement, the Fire, and the fate of disbelievers, the sūra ends not with punishment but with a prayer for mercy — ighfir wa irḥam wa anta khayru al-rāḥimīn. This is the spirit of the Sunnī Ḥanafī Sufi tradition as expressed in this tafsīr: awe and fear of Allah balanced by hope in His boundless mercy, and the knowledge that raḥmatu allāhi wāsiʿatun — the mercy of Allah is all-encompassing. May Allah Most High grant us all His forgiveness and mercy, by the intercession of His beloved Prophet Muḥammadﷺ. Āmīn.

Sūrat al-Nūr