Az-Zumar 39:14

Creating Fear of the Punishment of Allah

Allah `says, say O Muhammad, even though you are the Messenger of Allah ﷺ:'

إِنِّى أَخَافُ إِنْ عَصَيْتُ رَبِّى عَذَابَ يَوْمٍ عَظِيمٍ

(Verily, if I disobey my Lord, I am afraid of the torment of a great Day.) meaning the Day of Resurrection. This is a conditional sentence, and if what is referred to here applies to the Prophet , it applies even more so to others,

قُلِ اللَّهَ أَعْبُدُ مُخْلِصاً لَّهُ دِينِى فَاعْبُدُواْ مَا شِئْتُمْ مِّن دُونِهِ

(Say: "Allah Alone I worship by doing religious deeds sincerely for His sake only. So, worship what you like besides Him.") This is also a threat, and a disowning of them.

قُلْ إِنَّ الْخَـسِرِينَ

(Say: "The losers...") means, the greatest losers of all,

الَّذِينَ خَسِرُواْ أَنفُسَهُمْ وَأَهْلِيهِمْ يَوْمَ الْقِيَـمَةِ

(are those who will lose themselves and their families on the Day of Resurrection.) means, they will be separated and will never meet again, whether their families have gone to Paradise and they have gone to Hell, or all of them have gone to Hell, they will never meet or feel happiness again.

أَلاَ ذَلِكَ هُوَ الْخُسْرَانُ الْمُبِينُ

(Verily, that will be a manifest loss!) means, this is the clearest and most obvious loss. Then He describes their state in the Fire:

لَهُمْ مِّن فَوْقِهِمْ ظُلَلٌ مِّنَ النَّارِ وَمِن تَحْتِهِمْ ظُلَلٌ

(They shall have coverings of Fire, above them and covering (of Fire) beneath them.) This is like the Ayat:

لَهُم مِّن جَهَنَّمَ مِهَادٌ وَمِن فَوْقِهِمْ غَوَاشٍ وَكَذَلِكَ نَجْزِى الظَّـلِمِينَ

(Theirs will be a bed of Hell (Fire), and over them coverings (of Hell-fire). Thus do We recompense the wrongdoers) (7:41)

يَوْمَ يَغْشَـهُمُ الْعَذَابُ مِن فَوْقِهِمْ وَمِن تَحْتِ أَرْجُلِهِمْ وَيِقُولُ ذُوقُواْ مَا كُنْتُمْ تَعْمَلُونَ

(On the Day when the torment (Hell-fire) shall cover them from above them and from underneath their feet, and it will be said: "Taste what you used to do.") (29:55)

ذَلِكَ يُخَوِّفُ اللَّهُ بِهِ عِبَادَهُ

(With this Allah frightens His servants:) means, Allah tells us about this, which will undoubtedly come to pass, to frighten His servants, so that they will keep away from unlawful things and from sin.

يعِبَادِ فَاتَّقُونِ

(O My servants, therefore have Taqwa of Me!) means, `fear My wrath, My anger, My punishment and My vengeance.'

In verse 10, it was said: وَأَرْ‌ضُ اللَّـهِ وَاسِعَةٌ (and the earth of Allah is wide).In the sentence previous to this, Good deeds had been enjoined. This might prompt someone to come up with the excuse, 'The city or country in which I live, or the social milieu I am stuck with around me stops me from doing good deeds.' This sentence carries an answer to this excuse - 'if you find adherence to Islamic legal injunctions difficult while living in some particular country, city or social setup, then, leave it. The earth of Allah is wide enough. Go and live at a place and in a surrounding that is conducive to remaining obedient to Divine commandments.' This persuades one to migrate from a place living in which one cannot dutifully follow and observe what has been enjoined by his religion. Some rules relating to hijrah (emigration) have already appeared in the commentary on Surah An-Nisa' (Ma’ ariful-Qur’ an, Volume II, Index p. 659, see under Hijrah).

In the last sentence of verse 10, it was said: إِنَّمَا يُوَفَّى الصَّابِرُ‌ونَ أَجْرَ‌هُم بِغَيْرِ‌ حِسَابٍ (Certainly those who observe patience will be given their reward in full without measure.) The expression: بِغَيْرِ‌ حِسَابٍ (bighayri-hisab: without measure) means that the reward of those who endure ordeals will not be given to them under some pre-determined calculations or measures, instead, it will be sans-calculation, sans-reckoning, in a spirit of generosity at its most sublime as mentioned in a Hadith narration that follows. Some others have interpreted this expression in the sense of request, or claim, that is, in this worldly life, should someone have some right due on someone, he has to initiate the claim for it. But, with Allah, those who observe patience will be given their reward without any request or claim.

Qatadah reports from Sayyidna Anas ؓ that the Holy Prophet ﷺ said, 'On the Day of Judgment, a Scale of Justice will be set in place. When people who had given Sadaqah (charity) come forward, whatever they had given will be weighed, and they will be given their full reward against it. Similarly, the acts of worship such as Salah and Hajj will be weighed, and its reward would be duly given to those who had performed these. And when come those who had stood patient against trials and tribulations, for them, there will be no measure and weight, instead, their return and reward will be rolled down towards them without calculation, measure or reckoning - because, Allah Ta ala has said: إِنَّمَا يُوَفَّى الصَّابِرُ‌ونَ أَجْرَ‌هُم بِغَيْرِ‌ حِسَابٍ (Certainly those who observe patience will be given their reward in full without measure. - 39:10). So much so that people who had lived their life of the mortal world in perfect peace and comfort would wish, 'alas! Had our bodies been shredded with scissors during our life in the mortal world, we too would have earned a similar return for our endurance and patience against trials.'

Imam Malik (رح) has taken: صَابرین (as-sabirun) in this verse to mean people who endure hardships and remain patient over sorrows of the mortal life. Some elders have said that it means people who hold their self in check against acts of disobedience and sin. Qurtubi says, 'when the word: صَابِر (sabir: patient) is uttered unaccompanied by some other word, it invariably means a person who observes patience against hardships caused during the process of making one's desiring self abstain from sins. And when the word: صَبر (sabir) is used for a person who remains patient against distress, it is coupled with some other words: صَابِرت علی کَذَا (one who is patient against such and such distress). وَاللہ سبحانہ و تعالیٰ اَعلَم Allah knows best.

Other English translations

Tafsīr · classical commentary

Creating Fear of the Punishment of Allah