Surah 35. Fatir

All praise is for Allah, the Originator of the heavens and the earth, Who made angels 'as His' messengers with wings- two, three, or four. He increases in creation whatever He wills. Surely Allah is Most Capable of everything.

  - Mustafa Khattab

Praise be to Allah Who created (out of nothing) the heavens and the earth Who made the angels messengers with wings two or three or four (Pairs): He adds to Creation as He pleases: for Allah has power over all things. ^{3869 3870 3871 3872}

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

See n. 3785 to xxxiv. 1. When we praise Allah, it means that we understand and bring to mind that His glory and power are exercised for the good of His Creation, and this is the subject-matter of the Sura.

As man's knowledge of the processes of nature advances, he sees how complex is the evolution of matter itself, leaving out the question of the origin of Life and the spiritual forces, which are beyond the ken of experimental science. But this knowledge itself becomes a sort of "veil of Light": man becomes so conscious of the proximate causes, that he is apt, in his pride, to forget the primal Cause, the ultimate hand of Allah in Creation. And then, creation is such a complex process: see some of the ideas involved explained by different words in n. 120 to ii. 117. The word fatara here used means the creation of primeval matter, to which further creative processes have to be added by the hand of Allah, or Allah "adds to His Creation as He pleases", not only in quantity, but in qualities, functions, relations and variations in infinite ways.

They are Messengers or Instruments of Allah's Will, and may have a few or numerous Errands entrusted to them. Cf. the description of the Spirit of Inspiration in xxvi. 193, and of the spirits or angels for executing the Commands of Allah in lxxix. 1-5.

See n. 3870 above, where the complexities of the creative processes is referred to Allah's creation did not stop at some past time: it continues, for He has all power, and His mercies are ever poured forth without stint.

Whatever mercy Allah opens up for people, none can withhold it. And whatever He withholds, none but Him can release it. For He is the Almighty, All-Wise.

  - Mustafa Khattab

What Allah out of His Mercy doth bestow on mankind there is none can withhold: what He doth withhold there is none can grant apart from Him: and He is the Exalted in Power Full of Wisdom. ³⁸⁷³

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

As Allah is the Creator and Sustainer of all beings and things, so does His kindness extend to all Creatures. No one can intercept Allah's mercies and gifts. Whatever is His Will and Plan and Purpose He can and does carry out. And if from any creature He withholds any particular gifts, there is no other person or power that can give those gifts. But such withholding is not arbitrary. He is full of wisdom and goodness, and every act of His, whether He withholds or gives, is full of kindness and mercy to His creatures.

O humanity! Remember Allah's favours upon you. Is there any creator other than Allah who provides for you from the heavens and the earth? There is no god 'worthy of worship' except Him. How can you then be deluded 'from the truth'?

  - Mustafa Khattab

O men! call to mind the grace of Allah unto you! Is there a Creator other than Allah to give you Sustenance from heaven or earth? There is no god but He: how then are ye deluded away from the Truth? ³⁸⁷⁴

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

As the primal Cause of all things is Allah, an appeal is made to man to turn to Allah instead of running after false fancies. Allah is not only the source, but the centre of all life and activity, and all affairs return to Him. The world is sustained, and human life is sustained, by Allah's grace and providence. "Sustenance" is to be taken, in Quranic language, for all that helps to maintain and develop every aspect of life, physical and spiritual. It would be the height of folly, then, for man to ignore Allah's gracious Message, as explained in His Revelation.

If you are rejected by them, so too were messengers before you. And to Allah 'all' matters will be returned 'for judgment'.

  - Mustafa Khattab

And if they reject thee so were apostles rejected before thee: to Allah go back for decision all affairs. ³⁸⁷⁵

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

And yet there will be human perversity which will reject the True and accept the False. The prophet of Allah is not discouraged by this, as everything ultimately retums to Allah, and we must trust to His Wisdom in His Universal Plan.

O humanity! Indeed, Allah's promise is true. So do not let the life of this world deceive you, nor let the Chief Deceiver¹ deceive you about Allah.

  - Mustafa Khattab

 Satan.

O men! certainly the promise of Allah is true. Let not then this present life deceive you nor let the Chief Deceiver deceive you about Allah. ^{3876 3877}

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

In verse 3 above the appeal was on the basis of the Past and the Present: now the appeal is on the basis of the Future. Allah's grace has promised us the Garden of Bliss; His justice has promised us the Fire of Suffering. Both promises are certain to be fulfilled. On which side shall we range ourselves?

Cf. xxxi. 33 and n. 3624. The deception of Evil takes two forms. (1) The seductive temptations of this world may deceive us into forgetting the Hereafter. (2) The Arch-Enemy himself may so blind our vision that we may say with him, "Evil! be thou my good!" We may be misled by easy stages. Are we on our guard?

Surely Satan is an enemy to you, so take him as an enemy. He only invites his followers to become inmates of the Blaze.

  - Mustafa Khattab

Verily Satan is an enemy to you: so treat him as an enemy. He only invites his adherents that they may become Companions of the Blazing Fire. ³⁸⁷⁸

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Evil is our enemy and should be treated as such. It is really foreign to our nature, however much it may disguise itself to deceive us as our friend, or a part of our own nature. Personifying the Spirit of Evil, we may say that he wants us to share in his own damnation. Shall we allow ourselves to fall into his snare?

Those who disbelieve will have a severe punishment. But those who believe and do good will have forgiveness and a great reward.

  - Mustafa Khattab

For those who reject Allah is a terrible Penalty: but for those who believe and work righteous deeds is Forgiveness and a magnificent Reward. ³⁸⁷⁹

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

To reject Allah is to reject all the good which He has implanted in our nature. Are we going to be false to the true Pattern according to which He created us, and suffer the consequences? Or are we going to be true to that Pattern and achieve the high and noble Destiny intended for us?

Are those whose evil-doing is made so appealing to them that they deem it good 'like those who are rightly guided'? 'It is' certainly Allah 'Who' leaves to stray whoever He wills, and guides whoever He wills. So do not grieve yourself to death over them 'O Prophet'. Surely Allah is All-Knowing of what they do.

  - Mustafa Khattab

Is he then to whom the evil of his conduct is made alluring so that he looks upon it as good (equal to one who is rightly guided)? For Allah leaves to stray whom He wills and guides whom He wills. So let not thy soul go out in (vainly) sighing after them: for Allah knows well all that they do! ³⁸⁸⁰

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Cf. n. 3877 above. When a stage is reached at which a man accepts Evil as his Good, his case is hopeless. Can such a man profit by preaching or guidance? He has himself deliberately rejected all guidance. Such a man is best left to stray. Perhaps, even in the paths in which he is straying, some sudden flash of light may come to him! That may be as Allah wills in His holy and wise Purpose and Plan. But the prophet of Allah is not to worry or feel disheartened by such men's attitude. He must go on tilling the soil that is open to him. For Allah's Plan may work in all sorts of unexpected ways, as in the allegory in the next verse.

And it is Allah Who sends the winds, which then stir up 'vapour, forming' clouds, and then We drive them to a lifeless land, giving life to the earth after its death. Similar is the Resurrection.

  - Mustafa Khattab

It is Allah Who sends forth the Winds so that they raise up the Clouds and We drive them to a Land that is dead and revive the earth therewith after its death: even so (will be) the Resurrection! ³⁸⁸¹

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

The allegory here is double. (1) Dry, unpromising soil may seem to all intents and purposes dead; there is no source of water near; moisture is sucked up by the sun's heat in a far-off ocean, and clouds are formed; winds arise; it seems as if the wind "bloweth as it listeth", but it is really Allah's Providence that drives it to the dead land; the rain falls, and behold! there is life and motion and beauty everywhere! So in the spiritual world, Allah's Revelation is His Mercy and His Rain; there may be the individual resurrection (Nushur) or unfolding of a soul. (2) So again, may be the general Resurrection (Nushur), the unfolding of a new World in the Hereafter, out of an old World that is folded up and dead (Takwir, S. lxxxi).

Whoever seeks honour and power, then 'let them know that' all honour and power belongs to Allah. To Him 'alone' good words ascend, and righteous deeds are raised up by Him. As for those who plot evil, they will suffer a severe punishment. And the plotting of such 'people' is doomed 'to fail'.

  - Mustafa Khattab

If any do seek for glory and power to Allah belong all glory and power. To Him mount up (all) Words of Purity: it is He Who exalts each Deed of Righteousness. Those that lay Plots of Evil for them is a Penalty terrible; and the plotting of such will be void (of result). ^{3882 3883}

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Good and Evil are to be distinguished sharply. No good is ever lost: it goes up to Allah. The humblest Good, in word or deed, is exalted to high rank. If man seeks for mere glory and power, there is no such thing apart from Allah. But seeking Allah, we attain to the highest glory and power.

It is the nature of Evil to work underground, to hide from the Light, to plot against Righteousness; but Evil inevitably carries its own punishment. Its plots must fail miserably. And eventually Evil itself is to be blotted out.

And 'it is' Allah 'Who' created you from dust,¹ then 'developed you' from a sperm-drop, then made you into pairs.² No female ever conceives or delivers without His knowledge. And no one's life is made long or cut short but is 'written' in a Record.³ That is certainly easy for Allah.

  - Mustafa Khattab

 Created your father, Adam, from dust.

 Males and females.

 See footnote for 33:6.

And Allah did create you from dust; then from a sperm-drop; then He made you in pairs. And no female conceives or lays down (her load) but with His knowledge. Nor is a man long-lived granted length of days nor is a part cut off from his life but is in a Decree (ordained). All this is easy for Allah. ^{3884 3885 3886 3887}

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Cf. xviii. 37 and n. 2379; xxii. 5 and n. 2773; and xxx. 20, and n. 3524. Here the argument is that man's physical origin is lowly: his physical body is but dust; his life-sperm issues from a part of his body which he hides and considers as a place of shame; and the mystery of sex shows that no one individual among mankind is sufficient in himself. Glory and power and knowledge are not in him, but in Allah, from Whom alone he derives any glory, or power, or knowledge that he possesses.

"Then" in this and the following clause refers, not to stages of time, but to stages in the argument. It is almost equivalent to "further", "also", and "in addition".

Things that appear most secret and mysterious to man are all known and ordained by Allah. They are all subject to Allah's Laws and Decrees. The mystery of human birth (see n. 3625 to xxxi. 34), the mystery of sex, the mystery of Life and Death and many other things, seem to man inexplicable. But they are all ordained by Allah, and their reasons are fully known to Him.

Man's knowledge may be acquired laboriously and may be a burden to him. Allah's knowledge is different; it is not task or burden to Him. Cf. xxxiii. 19 and 30.

The two bodies of water are not alike: one is fresh, palatable, and pleasant to drink and the other is salty and bitter. Yet from them both you eat tender seafood and extract ornaments to wear. And you see the ships ploughing their way through both, so you may seek His bounty and give thanks 'to Him'.

  - Mustafa Khattab

Nor are the two bodies of flowing water alike the one palatable sweet and pleasant to drink and the other salty and bitter. Yet from each (kind of water) do ye eat flesh fresh and tender and ye extract ornaments to wear; and thou seest the ships therein that plough the waves that ye may seek (thus) of the Bounty of Allah that ye may be grateful. ^{3888 3889 3890}

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

See xxv. 53 and notes 3111 and 3112. The great salt Ocean with its seas and gulfs is all one: and the great masses of sweet water in rivers, lakes, ponds, and underground springs are also one: and each is connected with the other by the constant circulation going on, which sucks up vapours, carries them about in clouds or atmospheric moisture, and again brings them condensed into water or snow or hail to mingle with rivers and streams and get back into the Ocean.

For this whole passage see xvi. 14 and notes 2034 and 2035. Both from the sea and from rivers and lakes we get fish, of which some kinds have a flesh particularly fresh and tender, and of a most delicate flavour.

Such as pearls and coral from the sea, and such delicately tinted stones as the Aqiq (carnelian), the agate, the goldstone, or other varieties of quartz pebbles found in river-beds, and considered as gems. Many such are found in the Ken river in Banda District (in India). Some river sands also yield minute quantities of gold. In large navigable rivers and big Lakes like those of North America, as well as in the sea, there are highways for shipping and commerce.

He merges the night into the day and the day into the night, and has subjected the sun and the moon, each orbiting for an appointed term. That is Allah- your Lord! All authority belongs to Him. But those 'idols' you invoke besides Him do not possess even the skin of a date stone.

  - Mustafa Khattab

He merges Night into Day and He merges Day into Night and He has subjected the sun and the moon (to His Law): each one runs its course for a term appointed. Such is Allah your Lord: to Him belongs all Dominion. And those whom ye invoke besides Him have not the least power. ^{3891 3892 3893 3894}

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Cf. xxii. 61. The phases of Light in nature may have other uses. But for man they mark periods of rest and activity, and have great influence on his physical, moral, and spiritual life.

Cf. xiii. 2. The sun and the moon mark phases of light, and serve man during the periods of the day and the night. The sun marks the seasons, and is the source of heat and energy and physical life for the whole solar system. The sun and the moon run according to fixed laws, and they will continue to do so, not for ever, but for the period appointed for their duration by Allah.

Allah's might and majesty, and Allah's goodness and wisdom, having been shown by a few examples, it follows that it is folly to seek or worship any other power but Allah. It only throws off man into false paths, and takes him farther and farther away from the Truth.

Qitmir: the thin, white skin that covers the date-stone. It has neither strength nor texture, and has no value whatever. Any one relying on any power other than that of Allah relies on nothing whatever. The Qitmir is worse than the proverbial "broken reed". Cf. iv. 53 and iv. 124, where the word naqir, 'the groove in a date-stone', is used similarly for a thing of no value or significance.

If you call upon them, they cannot hear your calls. And if they were to hear, they could not respond to you. On the Day of Judgment they will disown your worship 'of them'. And no one can inform you 'O Prophet' like the All-Knowledgeable.

  - Mustafa Khattab

If ye invoke them they will not listen to your call and if they were to listen they cannot answer your (prayer). On the Day of Judgement they will reject your "Partnership." And none (O man!) can tell thee (the Truth) like the One Who is acquainted with all things. ^{3895 3896 3897}

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

False or imaginary objects of worship serve no purpose whatever. They cannot hear; if they could hear, they could not grant prayers or petitions. In fact, if they are real creatures, such as angels or deified human beings, they will very rightly repudiate any such worship as brings them into competition or "partnership" with Allah. See next note.

Cf. x. 28 and n. 1418; also xxxiv. 40-41. No false ideas or false impressions will remain when true values are restored. Why not then accept the Truth now in this life, and get on to the true path of Grace?

None can tell you the Truth better than He Who is All-Wise and All-knowing. Why not accept His Message and receive His guidance?

O humanity! It is you who stand in need of Allah, but Allah 'alone' is the Self-Sufficient, Praiseworthy.

  - Mustafa Khattab

O ye men! it is ye that have need of Allah: but Allah is the One Free of all wants Worthy of all praise. ³⁸⁹⁸

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

What is man that Allah should care for him, instruct him, and send him special messengers to warn him of danger and harm? It is man that depends on Allah and has need of Him every moment of his life. Allah has no need of him, but He bestows His Grace on him as on all His creatures, out of His unbounded Mercy and loving-kindness. If it were Allah's Will, He could blot out man for his rebellion and create an entirely new world.