Surah Saba (34): Read Online and Download - English Translation

The Angels will disown Their Worshippers on the Day of Resurrection

Allah tells us that on the Day of Resurrection, He will rebuke the idolators before all of creation. He will ask the angels whom the idolators used to worship, claiming that their idols were in the form of these angels and that they could bring them nearer to Allah. He will ask the angels:

(Was it you that these people used to worship) meaning, `did you command them to worship you' Allah says in Surat Al-Furqan:

(Was it you who misled these My servants or did they (themselves) stray from the (right) path) (25:17). And He will say to `Isa, peace be upon him:

(Did you say unto men: "Worship me and my mother as two gods besides Allah,' He will say: "Glory be to You! It was not for me to say what I had no right (to say).") (5:116). Similarly, the angels will say:

Glorified be You! meaning, exalted and sanctified be You above the notion that there could be any god besides You.

You are our Protector instead of them. means, we are Your servants and we disown these people before You.

(Nay, but they used to worship the Jinn;) meaning, the Shayatin, because they are the ones who made idol worship attractive to them and who misguided them.

most of them were believers in them. This is like the A0yah:

(They invoke nothing but females besides Him, and they invoke nothing but Shaytan, a persistent rebel! Allah cursed him) (4:117-118). Allah says:

(So Today, none of you can profit or harm one another.) means, `none of those idols and rivals whom you hoped would benefit you, will be of any avail to you, those whom you worshipped in the hope that they would help you at times of stress and calamity. Today they will have no power either to benefit you or to harm you.'

And We shall say to those who did wrong: -- meaning the idolators --

("Taste the torment of the Fire which you used to deny.") meaning, this will be said to them by way of rebuke.

The Saying of the Disbelievers about the Prophets, and its refutation

Allah tells us that the disbeliever deserve to be severely punished by Him, because when His clear Verses were recited to them, and they heard them fresh from the lips of His Messenger , they said:

(They say: "This is naught but a man who wishes to hinder you from that which your fathers used to worship.") meaning, that the religion of their fathers was the truth and that what the Messenger brought to them was false -- may the curse of Allah be upon them and their fathers!

(And they say: "This is nothing but an invented lie.") referring to the Qur'an. l

(And those who disbelieve say of the truth when it has come to them: "This is nothing but evident magic!") Allah says:

(And We had not given them Scriptures that they could study, nor sent to them before you any warner) meaning, Allah did not reveal any Book to the Arabs before the Qur'an, and He did not send any Prophet to them before Muhammad . They used to wish for that and say, `if only a warner comes to us or a Book is revealed to us, we would be more guided than others,' but when Allah blessed them with that, they disbelieved him and stubbornly rejected him. Then Allah says:

(And those before them denied;) meaning, other nations.

(these have not received even a tenth of what We had granted to those (of old);) Ibn `Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, said, "Of the power of this world." This was also the view of Qatadah, As-Suddi and Ibn Zayd. This is like the Ayat:

(And indeed We had firmly established them with that wherewith We have not established you! And We had assigned them the hearing, seeing, and hearts; but their hearing, seeing, and their hearts availed them nothing since they used to deny the Ayat of Allah, and they were completely encircled by that which they used to mock at!) (46: 26)

(Have they not traveled through the earth and seen what was the end of those before them They were more in number than them and mightier in strength) (40:82). but that did not protect them from the punishment of Allah, and Allah destroyed them because they denied His Messengers. Allah says:

(yet they denied My Messengers. Then how (terrible) was My denial!) meaning, `how severe was My wrath and how great was My avenging of My Messengers.'

Refutation of Their Accusation that the Prophet was Insane

Allah says: `Say, O Muhammad, to these disbelievers who claim that you are crazy,'

I exhort you to one (thing) only, meaning, I am only telling you to one thing, and that is:

that you stand up for Allah s sake in pairs and singly, and reflect, there is no madness in your companion. meaning, `stand sincerely before Allah, without being influenced by your own desires or tribal feelings, and ask one another, is Muhammad crazy Advise one another,'

and reflect means, let each person look within himself concerning the matter of Muhلammad , and ask other people about him if he is still confused, then let him think about the matter. Allah says:

(that you stand up for Allah's sake in pairs and singly, and reflect, there is no madness in your companion.) This meaning was stated by Mujahid, Muhammad bin Ka`b, As-Suddi, Qatadah and others. This is what is meant by the Ayah.

(He is only a warner to you in face of a severe torment.) Al-Bukhari recorded that Ibn `Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, commented on this Ayah: "One day, the Prophet climbed up As-Safa' and shouted,

(O people!) The Quraysh gathered around him, and said, `What is the matter with you' He said,

(What do you think If I told you that the enemy were approaching and will reach us in the morning or in the evening, would you believe me) They said, `Of course.' He said:

(I am a warner to you in the face of a severe punishment.) Abu Lahab said, `May you perish! You have called us together only to tell us this' Then Allah revealed:

(Perish the two hands of Abu Lahab and perish he!) (111:1) We have already discussed this in our Tafsir of the Ayah:

(And warn your tribe of near kindred) (26:214).

I do not ask for any Reward for conveying the Message

Allah commands His Messenger to say to the idolators:

(Whatever wage I might have asked of you is yours.) meaning, `I do not want anything for conveying the Message of Allah to you, advising you and telling you to worship Allah.'

My wage is from Allah only, means, rather I will seek the reward for that with Allah.

and He is a Witness over all things. means, He knows all things, and He knows everything about me and the manner in which I am conveying the Message to you, and He knows all about you.

(Say: "Verily, my Lord sends down the truth, the All-Knower of the Unseen.") This is like the Ayah:

(He sends the Revelation by His command to any of His servants He wills) (40:15). meaning, He sends the angel to whomsoever He wills of His servants among the people on earth, and He is the All-Knower of the Unseen; nothing whatsoever is hidden from Him in the heavens or on earth.

(Say: "The truth has come, and the falsehood can neither create anything nor resurrect.") means, truth and the great Law have come from Allah, and falsehood has gone and has perished and vanished. This is like the Ayah:

(Nay, We fling the truth against the falsehood, so it destroys it, and behold, it is vanished) (21:18). When the Messenger of Allah entered Al-Masjid Al-Haram on the day of the conquest of Makkah, and found those idols standing around the Ka`bah, he started to hit the idols with his bow, reciting,

(And say: "The truth has come and the falsehood has vanished. Surely, the falsehood is ever bound to vanish.") (17:81), and:

(Say: "The truth has come, and the falsehood can neither create anything nor resurrect.") This was recorded by Al-Bukhari, Muslim, At-Tirmidhi and An-Nasa'i.

(Say: "If (even) I go astray, I shall stray only to my own loss. But if I remain guided, it is because of the Revelation of my Lord to me...") means, all good comes from Allah, and in what Allah sends down of revelation and clear truth there is guidance and wisdom. So whoever goes astray, does so by himself, as `Abdullah bin Mas`ud, may Allah be pleased with him, said when he was asked about some issue. He said, "I will say what I think, and if it is correct, then it is from Allah, and if it is wrong, then it is from me and from the Shaytan, and Allah and His Messenger have nothing to do with it."

Truly, He is All-Hearer, Ever Near. means, He hears all the words of His servants, and He is always near to respond to them when they call on Him. An-Nasa0 0 recorded the Hadith of Abu Mu0sa0 which also appears in the Two Sلahل0hلs:

(You are not calling upon one who is deaf or absent; you are calling upon One Who is All-Hearer, Ever Near and Responsive.)