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Surah 43. Az-Zukhruf

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43:1
حمٓ Ha meem
Ha. Mim1
  - Mohammad Asad

See Appendix II.

Ha M'im.
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
Ha-Mim.
  - Mustafa Khattab
Ha. Mim.
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
Ha Mim. 4604
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Abbreviated Letters: see Introduction to S. xi.

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43:2
وَٱلْكِتَـٰبِ ٱلْمُبِينِ Wa a lkit a bi almubeen i
CONSIDER this divine writ, clear in itself and clearly showing the truth:2
  - Mohammad Asad

Regarding this rendering of the term mubin, see note [2] on 12:1 .

By the Glorious Book.
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
By the clear Book!
  - Mustafa Khattab
By the Scripture which maketh plain,
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
By the Book that makes things clear
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

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43:3
إِنَّا جَعَلْنَـٰهُ قُرْءَٰنًا عَرَبِيًّا لَّعَلَّكُمْ تَعْقِلُونَ Inn a jaAAaln a hu qur a nan AAarabiyyan laAAallakum taAAqiloona
behold, We have caused it to be a discourse in the Arabic tongue, so that you might encompass it with your reason.3
  - Mohammad Asad

See note [3] on 12:3 .

We have revealed this Qur'an in the Arabic language so that you may understand its meanings.
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
Certainly, We have made it a Quran in Arabic so perhaps you will understand.
  - Mustafa Khattab
Lo! We have appointed it a Lecture in Arabic that haply ye may understand.
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
We have made it a Qur'an in Arabic that ye may be able to understand (and learn wisdom). 4605
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Cf. xlii. 7, n. 4533.

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43:4
وَإِنَّهُۥ فِىٓ أُمِّ ٱلْكِتَـٰبِ لَدَيْنَا لَعَلِىٌّ حَكِيمٌ Wainnahu fee ommi alkit a bi ladayn a laAAaliyyun h akeem un
And, verily, [originating as it does] in the source, with Us, of all revelation,4 it is indeed sublime, full of wisdom.
  - Mohammad Asad

Cf. last clause of 13:39 - "with Him ('indahu) is the source (umm) of all revelation". The term umm (lit., "mother") has often the idiomatic connotation of "origin" or "source" (asl), and sometimes - as in 3:7 - of "essence". In the present context, only the former meaning is applicable. See also note [11] on the last verse of surah {85}.

Surely, it is a transcript of the Mother Book in Our keeping, which is sublime and full of wisdom.
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
And indeed, it is- in the Master Record1 with Us- highly esteemed, rich in wisdom.
  - Mustafa Khattab

 This refers to the Preserved Tablet, Al-Lawḥ Al-Maḥfûẓ, in which Allah has written the destiny of His entire creation.

And lo! in the Source of Decrees, which We possess, it is indeed sublime, decisive,
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
And verily it is in the Mother of the Book in Our Presence high (in dignity) full of wisdom. 4606
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Cf. iii. 7, n. 347: and xiii. 39, n. 1864. The Mother of the Book, the Foundation of Revelation, the Preserved Tablet (Lauh Mahfuz. lxxxv. 22), is the core or essence of revelation, the original principle or fountain-head of Allah's Eternal and Universal Law. From this fountain-head are derived all streams of knowledge and wisdom, that flow through Time and feed the intelligence of created minds. The Mother of the Book is in Allah's own Presence, and its dignity and wisdom are more than all we can think of.

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43:5
أَفَنَضْرِبُ عَنكُمُ ٱلذِّكْرَ صَفْحًا أَن كُنتُمْ قَوْمًا مُّسْرِفِينَ Afana d ribu AAankumu a l thth ikra s af h an an kuntum qawman musrifeen a
[O YOU who deny the truth!] Should We, perchance, withdraw this reminder from you altogether, seeing that you are people bent on wasting your own selves?5.
  - Mohammad Asad

For this rendering of the term musrif, see note [21] on the last sentence of 10:12 . The above rhetorical question answers itself, of course, in the negative - implying that God never ceases to "remind" the sinner through His revelations, and always accepts repentance.

Should We take this Reminder away from you and ignore you because you are a nation who has transgressed all limits?
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
Should We then turn the 'Quranic' Reminder away from you 'simply' because you have been a transgressing people?
  - Mustafa Khattab
Shall We utterly ignore you because ye are a wanton folk?
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
Shall We then take away the Message from you and repel (you) for that ye are a people transgressing beyond bounds? 4607
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

In vouchsafing Revelation, what an inestimable Mercy has Allah conferred on mankind! Yet so many deluded souls are ungrateful, and ignore or oppose its teaching. If it were not for His attributes of Forgiveness and Forbearing He would be justified in withdrawing that Light, but He continues to shed it, that all who will may come and be blessed by it.

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43:6
وَكَمْ أَرْسَلْنَا مِن نَّبِىٍّ فِى ٱلْأَوَّلِينَ Wakam arsaln a min nabiyyin fee alawwaleen a
And how many a prophet did We send to people of olden times!
  - Mohammad Asad
And how many Prophets have We sent among the ancient peoples?
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
'Imagine' how many prophets We sent to those 'destroyed' before!
  - Mustafa Khattab
How many a Prophet did We send among the men of old!
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
But how many were the prophets We sent amongst the peoples of old? 4608
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

In spite of, or because of, man's obstinate and rebellious nature, Allah sent prophet after prophet to the peoples of old, but there was among them always a party that ridiculed them and treated Allah's Signs as naught.

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43:7
وَمَا يَأْتِيهِم مِّن نَّبِىٍّ إِلَّا كَانُوا۟ بِهِۦ يَسْتَهْزِءُونَ Wam a yateehim min nabiyyin ill a k a noo bihi yastahzioon a
But never yet came a prophet to them without their deriding him -
  - Mohammad Asad
Never did it happen that a Prophet came to his people and they did not mock at him.
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
But no prophet ever came to them without being mocked.
  - Mustafa Khattab
And never came there unto them a Prophet but they used to mock him.
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
And never came there a prophet to them but they mocked him.
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

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43:8
فَأَهْلَكْنَآ أَشَدَّ مِنْهُم بَطْشًا وَمَضَىٰ مَثَلُ ٱلْأَوَّلِينَ Faahlakn a ashadda minhum ba t shan wama da mathalu alawwaleen a
and so, [in the end,] We destroyed them [even though they were] of greater might than these:6 and the [very] image of those people of old became a thing of the past.
  - Mohammad Asad

I.e., than the people addressed in verse {5} above.

So We destroyed them, though they were stronger in power than these people, and provided an example in the case of prior people.
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
So We destroyed those who were far mightier than these 'Meccans'. The examples of 'their' predecessors have 'already' been related.1
  - Mustafa Khattab

 For example, in the stories of the people of Noah, Lot, Shu’aib and other nations that were destroyed, found throughout the Quran.

Then we destroyed men mightier than these in prowess; and the example of the men of old hath gone (before them).
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
So We destroyed (them) stronger in power than these and (thus) has passed on the Parable of the peoples of old. 4609
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

The result of rebellion was destruction. And the pagan Makkan generation contemporary with the Prophet are reminded that the peoples of old who were destroyed were, many of them, more powerful than they, and that they, in disobeying Allah's Law, were inviting the same fate for themselves. The events of the past have become examples for the present and the future.

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43:9
وَلَئِن سَأَلْتَهُم مَّنْ خَلَقَ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضَ لَيَقُولُنَّ خَلَقَهُنَّ ٱلْعَزِيزُ ٱلْعَلِيمُ Walain saaltahum man khalaqa a l ssam a w a ti wa a lar d a layaqoolunna khalaqahunna alAAazeezu alAAaleem u
Yet thus it is [with most people]: if7 thou ask them, "Who is it that has created the heavens and the earth?" - they will surely answer, "The Almighty, the All-Knowing has created them."
  - Mohammad Asad

See surah {30}, note [45].

If you ask them: "Who has created the heavens and the earth?" They will surely say: "They have been created by the All-Mighty, the All-Knowledgeable."
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
If you ask them 'O Prophet' who created the heavens and the earth, they will certainly say, 'The Almighty, All-Knowing did.'
  - Mustafa Khattab
And if thou (Muhammad) ask them: Who created the heavens and the earth, they will surely answer: The Mighty, the Knower created them;
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
If thou wert to question them `Who created the heavens and the earth?' They would be sure to reply `They were created by (Him) the Exalted in Power Full of knowledge' 4610 4611
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Cf. xxix. 61 and n. 3493; and xxxi. 25 and n. 3613. This class of men acknowledge Allah's Power and Allah's Knowledge or Wisdom, but do not realise Allah's infinite Mercy and care for His creatures.

Note the beautiful rhetorical figure of speech here. The reply of the inconsistent men who do not follow Allah's Law is turned against themselves. When they acknowledge Allah's Power and Knowledge, their speech is interrupted, and the concomitant qualities of Allah's Mercy and care of His creatures, with pointed reference to the inconsistent ones themselves, is set out in eloquent terms, as completing what they themselves had said, and the right course of conduct is pointed out to them (verses 10-14).

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43:10
ٱلَّذِى جَعَلَ لَكُمُ ٱلْأَرْضَ مَهْدًا وَجَعَلَ لَكُمْ فِيهَا سُبُلًا لَّعَلَّكُمْ تَهْتَدُونَ Alla th ee jaAAala lakumu alar d a mahdan wajaAAala lakum feeh a subulan laAAallakum tahtadoon a
He it is who has made the earth a cradle for you, and has provided for you ways [of livelihood] thereon,8 so that you might follow the right path.
  - Mohammad Asad

Cf. 20:53 .

The One Who has made the earth a resting place for you and traced out routs upon it so that you may find your ways.
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
'He is the One' Who has laid out the earth for you, and set in it pathways for you so that you may find your way.
  - Mustafa Khattab
Who made the earth a resting place for you, and placed roads for you therein, that haply ye may find your way;
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
(Yea the same that) has made for you the earth (like a carpet) spread out and has made for you roads (and channels) therein in order that ye may find guidance (on the way); 4612 4613
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

See last note.

Cf. xx. 53 and n. 2576. Mihad, a carpet or bed spread out, implies not only freedom of movement but rest also. The 'roads and channels' carry out the idea of communications and include land routes, sea routes, and airways.

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43:11
وَٱلَّذِى نَزَّلَ مِنَ ٱلسَّمَآءِ مَآءًۢ بِقَدَرٍ فَأَنشَرْنَا بِهِۦ بَلْدَةً مَّيْتًا ۚ كَذَٰلِكَ تُخْرَجُونَ Wa a lla th ee nazzala mina a l ssam a i m a an biqadarin faansharn a bihi baldatan maytan ka tha lika tukhrajoon a
And He it is who sends down, again and again,9 waters from the sky in due measure: and [as] We raise therewith dead land to life, even thus will you be brought forth [from the dead].
  - Mohammad Asad

The grammatical form nazzala implies here recurrence: hence, "again and again".

The One Who sends down rain from the sky in due measure and thereby resurrects a dead land - that's how you shall be brought forth (raised to life again).
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
And 'He is the One' Who sends down rain from the sky in perfect measure, with which We give life to a lifeless land. And so will you be brought forth 'from the grave'.
  - Mustafa Khattab
And who sendeth down water from the sky in (due) measure, and We revive a dead land therewith. Even so will ye be brought forth;
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
That sends down (from time to time rain from the sky in due measure; and We raise to life therewith a land that is dead; even so will ye be raised (from the dead) 4614 4615
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

In due measure: i.e., according to needs, as measured by local as well as universal considerations. This applies to normal rainfall: floods and droughts are abnormal conditions, and may be called unusual manifestations of His power, fulfilling some special purpose that we may or may not understand.

The clause 'And We raise...(from the dead)' is parenthetical. Cf. xxxv. 9, n. 3881. Note the transition from the third to the first person, to mark the Resurrection as a special act of Allah as distinguished from the ordinary processes of nature ordained by Allah.

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43:12
وَٱلَّذِى خَلَقَ ٱلْأَزْوَٰجَ كُلَّهَا وَجَعَلَ لَكُم مِّنَ ٱلْفُلْكِ وَٱلْأَنْعَـٰمِ مَا تَرْكَبُونَ Wa a lla th ee khalaqa alazw a ja kullah a wajaAAala lakum mina alfulki wa a lanAA a mi m a tarkaboon a
And He it is who has created all opposite.10 And He [it is who] has provided for you all those ships and animals whereon you ride,
  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "all pairs". Some commentators regard the term azwaj as synonymous in this context with "kinds" (Baghawi, Zamakhshari, Baydawi, Ibn Kathir): i.e., they take the above phrase to mean no more than that God created all kinds of things, beings and phenomena. Others (e.g., Tabari) see in it a reference to the polarity evident in all creation. Ibn'Abbas (as quoted by Razi) says that it denotes the concept of opposites in general, like "sweet and sour, or white and black, or male and female"; to which Razi adds that everything in creation has its complement, "like high and low, right and left, front and back, past and future, being and attribute", etc., whereas God - and He alone - is unique, without anything that could be termed "opposite" or "similar" or "complementary". Hence, the above sentence is an echo of the statement that "there is nothing that could be compared with Him" ( 112:4 ).

The One Who has created all living things in pairs and made for you the ships and cattle on which you ride
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
And 'He is the One' Who created all 'things in' pairs,1 and made for you ships and animals to ride
  - Mustafa Khattab

 For example, male and female, sweet and bitter, day and night, plains and mountains, heat and cold, light and darkness.

He who created all the pairs, and appointed for you ships and cattle whereupon ye ride.
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
That has created pairs in all things and has made for you ships and cattle on which ye ride 4616 4617
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Cf. n. 2578 to xx. 53. Also see xxxvi. 36, n. 3981.

By analogy all means of transport, including horses, camels, ships, steamers, railways, aeroplanes, airships, etc. The domestication of animals as well as the invention of mechanical means of transport require a skill and ingenuity in man, which are referred to Allah as His gifts or endowments to man.

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43:13
لِتَسْتَوُۥا۟ عَلَىٰ ظُهُورِهِۦ ثُمَّ تَذْكُرُوا۟ نِعْمَةَ رَبِّكُمْ إِذَا ٱسْتَوَيْتُمْ عَلَيْهِ وَتَقُولُوا۟ سُبْحَـٰنَ ٱلَّذِى سَخَّرَ لَنَا هَـٰذَا وَمَا كُنَّا لَهُۥ مُقْرِنِينَ Litastawoo AAal a th uhoorihi thumma ta th kuroo niAAmata rabbikum i tha istawaytum AAalayhi wataqooloo sub ha na alla th ee sakhkhara lan a h atha wam a kunn a lahu muqrineen a
in order that you might gain mastery over them,11 and that whenever you have mastered them, you might remember your Sustainer's blessings and say: "Limitless in His glory is He who has made [all] this subservient to our use - since [but for Him,] we would not have been able to attain to it.
  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "over its backs" - i.e., according to all classical commentators, the "backs" of the above-mentioned animals and ships alike, the singular form of the pronoun ("its") relating to the collective entity comprised in the concept of "all whereon you ride" (ma tarkabun): in other words, "all that you use or may use by way of transport". As regards my rendering of li-tasta'u as "so that you might gain mastery", I should like to point out that the verb istawa (lit., "he established himself") has often the connotation adopted by me: see Jawhari, Raghib and Lisan al-'Arab, art. sawa; also Lane IV, 1478.

so that you may firmly sit on their backs, then as you mount, recall the goodness of your Rabb and say: "Glory be to Him Who has subjected these to Our use, otherwise We could not have brought them under our control,
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
so that you may sit firmly on their backs, and remember your Lord's blessings once you are settled on them, saying, 'Glory be to the One Who has subjected these for us, for we could have never done so 'on our own'.
  - Mustafa Khattab
That ye may mount upon their backs, and may remember your Lord's favor when ye mount thereon, and may say: Glorified be He Who hath subdued these unto us, and we were not capable (of subduing them);
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
In order that ye may sit firm and square on their backs and when so seated ye may celebrate the (kind) favor of your Lord and say "Glory to Him Who has subjected these to Our (use) for We could never have accomplished this (by ourselves). 4618
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

See last note. People of understanding attribute all good to its true and original source viz.: Allah.

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43:14
وَإِنَّآ إِلَىٰ رَبِّنَا لَمُنقَلِبُونَ Wainn a il a rabbin a lamunqaliboon a
Hence, verily, it is unto Him that we must always turn."
  - Mohammad Asad
and to our Rabb we shall all return."
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
And surely to our Lord we will 'all' return.'
  - Mustafa Khattab
And lo! unto our Lord we are returning.
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
"And to Our Lord surely Must We turn back!" 4619
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Men of understanding, every time they take a journey on earth, are reminded of that more momentous journey which they are taking on the back of Time to Eternity. Have they tamed Time to their lawful use, or do they allow Time to run away with them wildly to where they know not? Their goal is Allah, and their thoughts are ever with Allah.

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43:15
وَجَعَلُوا۟ لَهُۥ مِنْ عِبَادِهِۦ جُزْءًا ۚ إِنَّ ٱلْإِنسَـٰنَ لَكَفُورٌ مُّبِينٌ WajaAAaloo lahu min AAib a dihi juzan inna alins a na lakafoorun mubeen un
AND YET,12 they attribute to Him offspring from among some of the beings created by Him!13 Verily,most obviously bereft of all gratitude is man!
  - Mohammad Asad

I.e., despite the fact that most people readily admit that God has created all that exists (verse {9} above), some of them tend to forget His uniqueness.

Lit., "attribute to Him a part out of [some of] His creatures ('ibad)": cf. 6:100 and the corresponding notes. The noun juz' (lit., "part") evidently denotes here "a part of Himself", as implied in the concept of "offspring"; hence my rendering. If, on the other hand, juz' is understood in its literal sense, the above sentence could have (as Razi assumes) a more general meaning, namely, "they attribute a part of His divinity to some of the beings created by Him". However, in view of the sequence, which clearly refers to the blasphemous attribution of "offspring" to God, my rendering seems to be preferable.

Yet inspite of recognizing all this, they have made some of His servants to be a part of Him! Surely mankind is clearly ungrateful.
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
Still the pagans have made some of His creation out to be a part of Him.1 Indeed, humankind is clearly ungrateful.
  - Mustafa Khattab

 See footnote for 37:149.

And they allot to Him a portion of His bondmen! Lo! man is verily a mere ingrate.
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
Yet they attribute to some of His servants a share with Him (in His godhead)! Truly is man a blasphemous ingrate avowed! 4620
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

As a contrast to the men of true understanding are the ungrateful blasphemous creatures, who offer a share to others besides Allah! They imagine sons and daughters to Allah, and forget the true lesson of the whole of Creation, which points to the Unity of Allah. This theme is further developed in the following Section.

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