Al-Baqara 2:39 · The Cow · Arabic, translation, recitation

Other English translations

Abdel Haleem (Oxford)+

"those who disbelieve and deny Our messages shall be the inhabitants of the Fire, and there they will remain.’"

Pickthall (classic)+

"But they who disbelieve, and deny Our revelations, such are rightful Peoples of the Fire. They will abide therein."

Yusuf Ali (classic)+

""But those who reject Faith and belie Our Signs, they shall be companions of the Fire; they shall abide therein.""

Tafsīr · classical commentary

Ibn Kathir

Abridged English, public domain

Allah stated that when He sent Adam, Hawwa', and Shaytan to earth from Paradise, He warned them that He will reveal Books and send Prophets and Messengers to them, i.e., to their offspring. Abu Al-`Aliyah said, "Al-Huda, refers to the Prophets, Messengers, the clear signs and plain explanation."

فَمَن تَبِعَ هُدَايَ

(And whoever follows My guidance) meaning, whoever accepts what is contained in My Books and what I send the Messengers with,

فَلاَ خَوْفٌ عَلَيْهِمْ

(There shall be no fear on them) regarding the Hereafter,

وَلاَ هُمْ يَحْزَنُونَ

(nor shall they grieve) regarding the life of this world. Similarly, in Surat Ta Ha, Allah said,

قَالَ اهْبِطَا مِنْهَا جَمِيعاً بَعْضُكُمْ لِبَعْضٍ عَدُوٌّ فَإِمَّا يَأْتِيَنَّكُم مِّنِّى هُدًى فَمَنِ اتَّبَعَ هُدَاىَ فَلاَ يَضِلُّ وَلاَ يَشْقَى

(He (Allah) said: "Get you down (from the Paradise to the earth), both of you, together, some of you are an enemy to some others. Then if there comes to you guidance from Me, then whoever follows My guidance, he shall neither go astray, nor shall he be distressed.) (20:123)

Ibn `Abbas commented, "He will not be misguided in this life or miserable in the Hereafter." The Ayah,

وَمَنْ أَعْرَضَ عَن ذِكْرِى فَإِنَّ لَهُ مَعِيشَةً ضَنكاً وَنَحْشُرُهُ يَوْمَ الْقِيـمَةِ أَعْمَى

(But whosoever turns away from My Reminder (i.e. neither believes in this Qur'an nor acts on its teachings) verily, for him is a life of hardship, and We shall raise him up blind on the Day of Resurrection.) (20:124) is similar to what Allah stated here,

وَالَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ وَكَذَّبُواْ بِآيَـتِنَآ أُولَـئِكَ أَصْحَـبُ النَّارِ هُمْ فِيهَا خَـلِدُونَ

(But those who disbelieve and belie Our Ayat ـ such are the dwellers of the Fire. They shall abide therein forever), meaning, they will remain in Hell for eternity and will not find a way out of it.

Tafsir Saʿdi

English translation, public domain

Всевышний еще раз упомянул о низвержении Адама и его супруги на землю, чтобы связать их существование на земле с верным руководством от Господа. О люди и джинны! Когда бы ни явилось к вам верное руководство от Аллаха, когда бы Божий посланник, да благословит его Аллах и приветствует, ни принес вам Писание от вашего Господа, которое подскажет вам, как можно приблизиться к Нему и снискать Его благоволение, последуйте за этим руководством. Кто последует за ним, уверовав в Посланника, да благословит его Аллах и приветствует, и в ниспосланное Писание, кто станет руководствоваться их наставлениями, признав правдивость всех рассказов Пророка, да благословит его Аллах и приветствует, и откровений, выполняя заповеди Писания и остерегаясь всего запрещенного, тот никогда не познает страха и не будет опечален. В похожем аяте Всевышний Аллах сказал: «Низвергнитесь отсюда вместе, и одни из вас будут врагами других. Если же к вам явится от Меня верное руководство, то всякий, кто последует Моему верному руководству, не окажется заблудшим и несчастным. А кто отвернется от Моего Напоминания, того ожидает тяжкая жизнь, а в День воскресения Мы воскресим его слепым» (20:123–124). Всевышний сообщил, что принятие верного руководства дает человеку четыре преимущества. Прежде всего, он избавляется от страха и печали. Если человеку пришлось пережить неприятное в прошлом, то это заставляет его печалиться, а если ему предстоит пережить неприятное в будущем, то это вселяет в него страх. Всевышний сказал, что на прямом пути человек не знает ни страха, ни печали. А это значит, что им овладевают совершенно противоположные чувства - безопасность и счастье. Следуя прямым путем, человек оказывается в безопасности и обретает счастье как при жизни на земле, так и после смерти. Он избавляется от страха, печали, заблуждения и злосчастья. Он добивается всего самого заветного и желанного и спасается от всего самого страшного и неприятного. Но если человек не обращает внимания на верное руководство, отказывается уверовать и отрицает Божьи знамения, то его ожидает совершенно иная судьба. И поэтому далее Всевышний Аллах возвестил, что мученики никогда не покинут Преисподнюю. Они будут неразлучны с ней, подобно тому, как неразлучны близкие друзья или непримиримые враги. Они не смогут покинуть Ад, их страдания не будут облегчены, и никто не окажет им поддержки. В этих и других похожих аятах Всевышний Аллах разделил людей и джиннов на счастливых и несчастных. В них описываются качества обеих группировок и деяния, которые обрекают их на такую судьбу. Из них также следует, что джинны, подобно людям, обязаны выполнять религиозные веления и остерегаться запретов, за что они непременно получат вознаграждение или наказание.

Descension of Adam was not a punishment

That is why the command for Adam (علیہ السلام) to go down to the earth was not withdrawn even when he had been pardoned: only the mode was now altered. Earlier the command had been given in the mode of authority, and the sending down to the earth intended as a punishment: hence the reference to the enmity among men. Now, it was in the mode of wisdom, and the sending down to the earth, an honour - the honour of vice regency. Hence the reference to things Viceregency involves. In commanding Adam and Hawwa (علیہما السلام) and their progeny to live on the earth, Allah told them that He would be sending down to men His guidance - that is, the injunctions of the Shari'ah - through revelation, and that those who follow it faithfully shall be free from sorrow and anxiety - in other words, they shall not have to grieve about any loss in the past, nor to worry about some misfortune in the future.

The obedient are freed of worries

(4) Verse 38 promises two great rewards to those who follow divine guidance - they will fear, and they will not grieve. Fear is the anxiety one feels in apprehending some trouble or pain in the future. Grief is the sorrow arising from the loss of something valuable or from one's failure in attaining a desired object. One can see that these two rewards comprehend all the possible forms of comfort and peace. Then, the text of the Holy Qur'an makes a subtle distinction between the two. In saying that those who follow divine guidance will have no fear, it speaks in general terms and uses a noun - the Arabic Phrase: لَا خَوْفٌ عَلَيْهِمْ is to be translated literally as 'no fear upon them'. But in the next phrase وَلَا هُمْ يَحْزَنُونَ , the Holy Qur'an employs a verb, placing before it a pronoun as the subject. The literal translation of the phrase is: 'they shall not grieve'. The implication here is that being totally free from all sense of loss is possible only to Men of Allah or the saints18 who follow divine guidance in all its details; as for the others, no man whether an emperor or a billionaire, can help being grieved at the loss of a valued object or the frustration of a desire, all of which is but a necessary part of the scheme of things. The 'friends of Allah' do not have to grieve, because they annihilated their own desires and their very will in submitting themselves totally to the will of Allah. The Holy Qur'an also tells us that those who go to Paradise will thank Allah for having removed from them all regret and sorrow: الْحَمْدُ لِلَّـهِ الَّذِي أَذْهَبَ عَنَّا الْحَزَنَ "All praise belongs to Allah who has put away all sorrow from us" (35:34). It means that some degree of sorrow is inevitable for every human being except those who have perfected and made fast their relationship with Allah.

Let us make it clear that the verse does negate all grief and sorrow in the case of the 'friends of Allah', but the negation applies only to the loss of worldly things and the frustration of worldly desires. As for the anxiety about the other world and the fear of Allah and the deep sense of awe before His Glory, the 'friends of Allah' are far ahead of other men in these. It has been reported that the Holy Prophet ﷺ often appeared to be worried and in deep thought - this was not for fear of any trouble or loss in the worldly sense, but on account of his anxiety for his Ummah, and of his awe before Divine Glory.

Nor does this verse imply that prophets and saints should not feel the instinctive and all too human fear when confronted by things which are generally known to inspire dread. The Holy Qur'an itself relates how the prophet Musa (Moses) (علیہ السلام) was struck with fear when his stick turned into a dragon: أَوْجَسَ فِي نَفْسِهِ خِيفَةً مُّوسَیٰ : "Musa felt a fear in himself." (20:67)

18. The word "Saints" is very weak and only an approximate translation of the Arabic phrase "Awliya-Allah", 'the friends of Allah' - a concept which has only a faint resemblance with the Christian idea of a 'saint'. Consequently, the term 'men of Allah' has been used most frequently throughout this commentary.

But it was only an instinctive and physical fear, and the incident anyhow belongs to the early days of his prophethood, for when Allah said: لَا تَخَفْ : 'Do not be afraid', the fear disappeared altogether. We may explain the incident in another way also. His fear did not arise as it does in the case of ordinary men, from the apprehension of some harm or hurt from the dragon, but from the likelihood that the extraordinary event might lead the Israelites into misguidance. So, this fear was not worldly, but other-worldly.