• The signs in the heavens and in the earth

• Signs in the working of the natural phenomena

• Those who disbelieve the signs of God, shall have a painful chastisement

Al-Jathiya Verses 1 – 11

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ

“In the name of God the Beneficent the Merciful”

حم

Ha. Mim. (H. M.) (45:1)1

تَنْزِيلُ الْكِتَابِ مِنَ اللَّهِ الْعَزِيزِ الْحَكِيمِ

The descent (or revealed) of the Book (Qur’an) from God, the All-Mighty, the All-Wise. (45:2)2

إِنَّ فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ لَآيَاتٍ لِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ

Verily in the heavens and the earth are signs for the believers. (45:3)

وَفِي خَلْقِكُمْ وَمَا يَبُثُّ مِنْ دَابَّةٍ آيَاتٌ لِقَوْمٍ يُوقِنُونَ

And in your (own) creation, and what He scattereth in the earth, of the animals,3are signs for a people sure in faith, (45:4)

وَاخْتِلَافِ اللَّيْلِ وَالنَّهَارِ وَمَا أَنْزَلَ اللَّهُ مِنَ السَّمَاءِ مِنْ رِزْقٍ فَأَحْيَا بِهِ الْأَرْضَ بَعْدَ مَوْتِهَا وَتَصْرِيفِ الرِّيَاحِ آيَاتٌ لِقَوْمٍ يَعْقِلُونَ

And in the alternation of the night and the day, and what God sendeth down from heaven, of the sustenance, and (in His) giving life thereby to the earth after its death, and (in) the changing of the winds, are signs for a people who understand. (45:5)4

تِلْكَ آيَاتُ اللَّهِ نَتْلُوهَا عَلَيْكَ بِالْحَقِّ فَبِأَيِّ حَدِيثٍ بَعْدَ اللَّهِ وَآيَاتِهِ يُؤْمِنُونَ

These are the signs of God recite We unto thee with truth; then in what (other) argument5after (rejecting) God and His signs, would they believe? (45:6)6

وَيْلٌ لِكُلِّ أَفَّاكٍ أَثِيمٍ

Woe unto every liar, (and every) sinner, (45:7)

يَسْمَعُ آيَاتِ اللَّهِ تُتْلَىٰ عَلَيْهِ ثُمَّ يُصِرُّ مُسْتَكْبِرًا كَأَنْ لَمْ يَسْمَعْهَا فَبَشِّرْهُ بِعَذَابٍ أَلِيمٍ

He7heareth the signs of God recited unto him, yet persisteth he arrogantly, as if he hath heard them not; so announce thou unto them a painful chastisement. (45:8)

وَإِذَا عَلِمَ مِنْ آيَاتِنَا شَيْئًا اتَّخَذَهَا هُزُوًا أُولَٰئِكَ لَهُمْ عَذَابٌ مُهِينٌ

And when he cometh to know any of Our signs he taketh it in jest;8These shall have a disgracing chastisement. (45:9)

مِنْ وَرَائِهِمْ جَهَنَّمُ وَلَا يُغْنِي عَنْهُمْ مَا كَسَبُوا شَيْئًا وَلَا مَا اتَّخَذُوا مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ أَوْلِيَاءَ وَلَهُمْ عَذَابٌ عَظِيمٌ

Behind them is hell, and shall avail them not aught of what they did earn, nor those whom they took as guardians besides God, and for them shall be a grievous chastisement. (45:10)

هَٰذَا هُدًى وَالَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا بِآيَاتِ رَبِّهِمْ لَهُمْ عَذَابٌ مِنْ رِجْزٍ أَلِيمٌ

This (Qur’an) is guidance, and those who disbelieve in the signs of their Lord, for them shall be the most painful chastisement. (45:11)

Commentary

Verse 2

By the revelation of the Book, the Holy Qur’an, from God the Almighty and the All-Wise.

Verses 39:2, 40:2, 41:2 present God, i.e., 42:2, 44:2, 46:2. From verse 39-46 in almost identical terms is asserted the revelation of the Qur’an in the form of a complete Book. The highly expressive and eloquent Arabic language from the Almighty, All-Wise God and that this is a revealed form of what is contained in the Mother Book which is High and Firm, 43:4. Considering all these assertions one would realise that Qur’an was not a fragment of any Arabic composition uttered by the Holy Prophet to meet the requirement of any particular occasion, left to the people to collect them for themselves. (A.P.)

Verses 3 - 5

To any intelligent seeker of the Truth, there are volumes of knowledge in the manifest universe about the unity of its Maker, His Existence, Power, Authority and Knowledge. The Unity of God, is manifestly declared in the perfect unity of the will, working in the diversity of the creation and the perfect harmony in the functioning of the forces of nature. The uniformity of the laws, regulating the life in the universe, obviously proves the unity of the purpose of the One and the only Creator Lord of everything in existence. His self-Existent Being, His Omnipotence to execute His Will and His Infinite Knowledge and Unlimited Wisdom. Today, more than at any time before, as the human intellect advances with its scientific enquiries, the world is on its automatic march towards acknowledging and realising the truth about God and godly life, preached by Islam about fourteen hundred years ago.9

In the same manner that the Book of Creation referred to here presents unity in its diversity, Qur’an also does it. (A.P.)

Verse 6

If people do not accept such manifest and obvious proofs about God, what other exposition would they need to believe in Him.

Lit. discourse – statement – announcement - exposition, taken in any sense, indicates that Qur’an is uncreated as some schools of thought think. (A.P.)

• 1. Refer to note on verse 2:1.
• 2. Refer to verses 39:2, 40:2, 41:2, 42:2, 44:2, 46:2.
• 3. Arabic – ‘Daabba’ Lit. Moving beings.
• 4. Refer to verse 2:164.
• 5. Lit. Discourse – Statement – announcement – Exposition.
• 6. Refer to verse 39:23.
• 7. The disbeliever.
• 8. Even today people with modern education disbelieve in miracles and ridicule.
• 9. See verse 2:164.