Verse Number 7-9
The Disbelievers’ Denial of Life after Death, and the Refutation of Their View
Here Allah tells us how the disbelievers and heretics denied that the Hour will come, and mocked the Messenger ﷺ for speaking of it.
وَقَالَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ هَلْ نَدُلُّكُمْ عَلَى رَجُلٍ يُنَبِّئُكُمْ إِذَا مُزِّقْتُمْ كُلَّ مُمَزَّقٍ
(Those who disbelieve say: “Shall we direct you to a man who will tell you (that) when you have become fully disintegrated into dust with full dispersion…”) means, when your bodies have disintegrated into the earth and dispersed without a trace,
إِنَّكُمْ
(then you) means, after this has happened,
لَفِى خَلْقٍ جَدِيدٍ
(will be created (again) anew) means, you will be restored to life and will receive provision anew. `By telling us this, he is doing one of two things: either he is deliberately fabricating something and saying that Allah has revealed it to him, or he is not doing it deliberately, but he is deluded as crazy and insane people are.’ They said:
أَفْتَرَى عَلَى اللَّهِ كَذِباً أَم بِهِ جِنَّةٌ
(Has he invented a lie against Allah, or is there a madness in him) Allah said, refuting their words:
بَلِ الَّذِينَ لاَ يُؤْمِنُونَ بِالاٌّخِرَةِ فِى الْعَذَابِ وَالضَّلَـلِ الْبَعِيدِ
(Nay, but those who disbelieve in the Hereafter are (themselves) in a torment, and in far error.) meaning, the matter is not as they claim or as they think; on the contrary, Muhammad ﷺ is the one who is telling the truth, and is righteous and wise; he is the one who has brought the truth, and they are the foolish and ignorant liars.
فِى الْعَذَابِ
are themselves( in a torment, means, their disbelief, which will lead them to the torment of Allah.
وَالضَّلَـلِ الْبَعِيدِ
(and in far error.) far from the truth in this world. Then Allah warns them of His power in the creation of heavens and earth, as He says:
أَفَلَمْ يَرَوْاْ إِلَى مَا بَيْنَ أَيْدِيهِمْ وَمَا خَلْفَهُمْ مِّنَ السَّمَآءِ وَالاٌّرْضِ
(See they not what is before them and what is behind them, of the heaven and the earth) meaning, wherever they go, in whatever direction, the heavens are above them and the earth is beneath them. This is like the Ayah:
وَالسَّمَآءَ بَنَيْنَـهَا بِأَيْدٍ وَإِنَّا لَمُوسِعُونَ – وَالاٌّرْضَ فَرَشْنَـهَا فَنِعْمَ الْمَـهِدُونَ
(With Hands did We construct the heaven. Verily, We are Able to extend the vastness of space thereof. And We have spread out the earth; how Excellent Spreader (thereof) are We!) (51:47-48)
إِن نَّشَأْ نَخْسِفْ بِهِمُ الاٌّرْضَ أَوْ نُسْقِطْ عَلَيْهِمْ كِسَفاً مِّنَ السَّمَآءِ
(If We will, We shall sink the earth with them, or cause a piece of the heaven to fall upon them.) means, `if We wished, We could do that to them because of their wrongdoing and Our power over them, but We delay it because We are Patient and Forgiving.’ Then Allah says:
إِنَّ فِى ذَلِكَ لاّيَةً لِّكُلِّ عَبْدٍ مُّنِيبٍ
(Verily, in this is a sign for every Munib servant.) Ma`mar narrating from Qatadah, said that Al-Munib means every one who repents. Sufyan narrated from Qatadah, that Al-Munib is the one who turns to Allah. This means that in looking at the creation of the heavens and the earth, there is a sign for every servant who is intelligent and wise and who turns towards Allah. There is a sign of the Allah’s ability to recreate bodies and bring about the Resurrection, because the One Who was able to create these heavens — with their vast reaches of space, and this earth, as deep and vast as it is — is able to recreate bodies and revive decayed bones. This is like the Ayat:
أَوَلَـيْسَ الَذِى خَلَقَ السَّمَـوتِ وَالاٌّرْضَ بِقَـدِرٍ عَلَى أَن يَخْلُقَ مِثْلَهُم بَلَى
(Is not He Who created the heavens and the earth, Able to create the like of them Yes, indeed!) (36:81)
لَخَلْقُ السَّمَـوَتِ وَالاٌّرْضِ أَكْـبَرُ مِنْ خَلْقِ النَّاسِ وَلَـكِنَّ أَكْـثَرَ النَّاسِ لاَ يَعْلَمُونَ
(The creation of the heavens and the earth is indeed greater than the creation of mankind; yet, most of mankind know not. ) (40:57)
Verse Number 10-11
The Favors which Allah bestowed upon Dawud
Here Allah tells us how He blessed His servant and Messenger Dawud (David), peace be upon him, and what He gave him of His great bounty, giving him both prophethood and kingship, and huge numbers of troops. And He blessed him with a mighty voice. Such that when he glorified Allah, the firm, solid, high mountains joined him in glorifying Allah, and the free-roaming birds, who go out in the morning and come back in the evening, stopped for him, and he was able to speak all languages. In the Sahih it is recorded that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ heard the voice of Abu Musa Al-Ash`ari, may Allah be pleased with him, reciting at night, and he stopped and listened to his recitation, then he said:
«لَقَدْ أُوتِيَ هذَا مِزْمَارًا مِنْ مَزَامِيرِ آلِ دَاوُد»
(This man has been given one of the sweet melodious voices of the Prophet Dawud.) Abu `Uthman An-Nahdi said, “I never heard any cymbal, stringed instrument or chord that was more beautiful than the voice of Abu Musa Al-Ash`ari, may Allah be pleased with him.”
أَوِّبِى
(Glorify) means, glorify Allah. This was the view of Ibn `Abbas, Mujahid and others. The root of this word Ta’wib means to repeat or respond, so the mountains and birds were commanded to repeat after him.
وَأَلَنَّا لَهُ الْحَدِيدَ
And We made the iron soft for him. Al-Hلasan Al-Basلri, Qata0dah, Al-A mash and others said, He did not need to heat it in the fire or beat it with a hammer؛ he could simply twist it in his hands, like a thread. Allah said:
أَنِ اعْمَلْ سَـبِغَـتٍ
Saying: Make you perfect coats of mail… , which means chain mail. Qata0dah said, He was the first person ever to make chain mail؛ before that, they used to wear plated armor.
وَقَدِّرْ فِى السَّرْدِ
(and balance well the rings of chain armor Sard,) This is how Allah taught His Prophet Dawud, peace be upon him, to make coats of mail. Mujahid said concerning the Ayah:
وَقَدِّرْ فِى السَّرْدِ
(and balance well the rings of chain armor Sard,) “Do not make the rivets too loose that the rings (of chain mail) will shake, or make them too tight that they will not be able to move at all, but make it just right.” `Ali bin Abi Talhah reported that `Ibn `Abbas said, “Sard refers to a ring of iron.” Some of them said, “Chain mail is called Masrud if it is held together with rivets.”
وَاعْمَلُواْ صَـلِحاً
and work you (men) righteousness. means, with regard to what Allah has given you of blessings.
إِنِّى بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ بَصِيرٌ
Truly, I am All-Seer of what you do. means, watching you and seeing all that you do and say؛ nothing of that is hidden at all.
Verse Number 12-13
The Favors which Allah bestowed upon Sulayman
Having mentioned the blessings with which He favored Dawud, Allah follows this by mentioning what He gave to Dawud’s son Sulayman (Solomon), may peace be upon them both. He subjugated the wind to him, so that it would carry his carpet one way for a month, then back again the next month. Al-Hasan Al-Basri said, “He set out from Damascus in the morning, landed in Istakhar where he ate a meal, then flew on from Istakhar and spent the night in Kabil.” Between Damascus and Istakhar is an entire month’s travel for a swift rider, and between Istakhar and Kabul is an entire month’s travel for a swift rider.
وَأَسَلْنَا لَهُ عَيْنَ الْقِطْرِ
(And We caused a fount Qitr to flow for him,) Ibn `Abbas, may Allah be plased with him, Mujahid, `Ikrimah, `Ata’ Al-Khurasani, Qatadah, As-Suddi, Malik from Zayd bin Aslam, `Abdur-Rahman bin Zayd bin Aslam and others said, “Qitr means copper.” Qatadah said, “It was in Yemen.” Allah brought forth all the things that people make for Sulayman, peace be upon him.
وَمِنَ الْجِنِّ مَن يَعْمَلُ بَيْنَ يَدَيْهِ بِإِذْنِ رَبِّهِ
(and there were Jinn that worked in front of him, by the leave of his Lord.) means, `We subjugated the Jinn to work in front of him,’ by the permission of his Lord, i.e., by Allah’s decree and subjugation, they built whatever constructions he wanted, and did other work as well.
وَمَن يَزِغْ مِنْهُمْ عَنْ أَمْرِنَا
(And whosoever of them turned aside from Our command,) means, whoever among them tried to rebel and disobey,
نُذِقْهُ مِنْ عَذَابِ السَّعِيرِ
(We shall cause him to taste of the torment of the blazing Fire.) which means, burning.
يَعْمَلُونَ لَهُ مَا يَشَآءُ مِن مَّحَـرِيبَ وَتَمَـثِيلَ
(They worked for him as he desired on Maharib, Tamathil,) Maharib refers to beautiful structures, the best and innermost part of a dwelling. Ibn Zayd said, “This means dwellings.” With regard to “Tamathil,” `Atiyah Al-`Awfi, Ad-Dahhak and As-Suddi said that Tamathil means pictures.
وَجِفَانٍ كَالْجَوَابِ وَقُدُورٍ رَسِيَـتٍ
(large basins like Jawab and Qudur Rasiyat.) Jawab, the plural form of Jabiyah, refers to cisterns or tanks in which water is held, and Qudur Rasiyat are cauldrons that stay in one place and are not moved around because of their great size. This was the view of Mujahid, Ad-Dahhak and others.
اعْمَلُواْ ءَالَ دَاوُودَ شُكْراً
(Work you, O family of Dawud, with thanks!) means, `We said to them: Work with thanks for the blessings that We have bestowed upon you in this world and the Hereafter.’ This indicates that thanks may be expressed by actions as much as by words and intentions. Abu `Abdur-Rahman Al-Hubuli said, “Prayer is thanks, fasting is thanks, every good deed that you do for the sake of Allah is thanks, and the best of thanks is praise.” This was recorded by Ibn Jarir. In the Two Sahihs, it is reported that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
«إِنَّ أَحَبَّ الصَّلَاةِ إِلَى اللهِ تَعَالَى صَلَاةُ دَاوُدَ، كَانَ يَنَامُ نِصْفَ اللَّيْلِ، وَيَقُومُ ثُلُثَهُ، وَيَنَامُ سُدُسَهُ، وَأَحَبَّ الصِّيَامِ إِلَى اللهِ تَعَالَى صِيَامُ دَاوُدَ، كَانَ يَصُومُ يَوْمًا وَيُفْطِرُ يَوْمًا، وَلَا يَفِرُّ إِذَا لَاقَى»
(The most beloved of prayer to Allah is the prayer of Dawud. He used to sleep for half the night, stand in prayer for a third of it and sleep for a sixth of it. The most beloved of fasting to Allah is the fasting of Dawud. He used to fast for a day then not fast for a day, and he never fled the battlefield.) Ibn Abi Hatim narrated that Fudayl said concerning the Ayah:
اعْمَلُواْ ءَالَ دَاوُودَ شُكْراً
(Work you, O family of Dawud, with thanks!) Dawud said, “O Lord! How can I thank you when thanks itself is a blessing from You” He said: “Now you have truly given thanks to Me, for you have realized that it is a blessing from Me.”
وَقَلِيلٌ مِّنْ عِبَادِىَ الشَّكُورُ
But few of My servants are grateful. This is a reflection of reality.