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Ayah
Word by Word
مِّن
Before them
وَرَآئِهِمۡ
Before them
جَهَنَّمُۖ
(is) Hell
وَلَا
and not
يُغۡنِي
will avail
عَنۡهُم
them
مَّا
what
كَسَبُواْ
they had earned
شَيۡـٔٗا
anything
وَلَا
and not
مَا
what
ٱتَّخَذُواْ
they had taken
مِن
besides
دُونِ
besides
ٱللَّهِ
Allah
أَوۡلِيَآءَۖ
(as) protectors
وَلَهُمۡ
And for them
عَذَابٌ
(is) a punishment
عَظِيمٌ
great
مِّن
Before them
وَرَآئِهِمۡ
Before them
جَهَنَّمُۖ
(is) Hell
وَلَا
and not
يُغۡنِي
will avail
عَنۡهُم
them
مَّا
what
كَسَبُواْ
they had earned
شَيۡـٔٗا
anything
وَلَا
and not
مَا
what
ٱتَّخَذُواْ
they had taken
مِن
besides
دُونِ
besides
ٱللَّهِ
Allah
أَوۡلِيَآءَۖ
(as) protectors
وَلَهُمۡ
And for them
عَذَابٌ
(is) a punishment
عَظِيمٌ
great
Translation
Before them1 is Hell, and what they had earned will not avail them at all nor what they had taken besides Allāh as allies. And they will have a great punishment.
Footnotes
1 - See footnote to 14:16.
Tafsir
Beyond them, that is to say, ahead of them - because they are [still] in this world - is Hell, and that which they have earned, of wealth and deeds, will not avail them in any way, nor those whom they took besides God, that is, idols, as patrons. And for them there will be a great chastisement.
Tafsir of Surah Al-Jathiyah
A Directive to contemplate over Allah's Ayat
Allah says,
حم
Ha Mim.
تَنزِيلُ الْكِتَابِ مِنَ اللَّهِ الْعَزِيزِ الْحَكِيمِ
The revelation of the Book is from Allah, the Almighty, the All-Wise.
إِنَّ فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالاَْرْضِ لَايَاتٍ لِّلْمُوْمِنِينَ
Verily, in the heavens and the earth are signs for the believers.
وَفِي خَلْقِكُمْ
وَمَا يَبُثُّ مِن دَابَّةٍ ايَاتٌ لِّقَوْمٍ يُوقِنُونَ
And in your creation, and what He spread (through the earth) of moving creatures are signs for people who have faith with certainty
وَاخْتِلَافِ اللَّيْلِ وَالنَّهَارِ
وَمَا أَنزَلَ اللَّهُ مِنَ السَّمَاء مِن رِّزْقٍ
And in the alternation of night and day, and the provision that Allah sends down from the sky,
Allah directs His servants to contemplate His favors and gifts, as well as His great power that is demonstrated by His creating the heavens and the earth and the various types and categories of creatures in them. There are the angels, Jinns, humans, animals, birds, beasts, carnivores, insects and various kinds of sea creatures.
The night and day alternate, each follows the other in succession, never ceasing to come, as decreed. One brings darkness and one brings light. Allah the Exalted also sends down the rain from the clouds when it is most needed. He is calling the rain, `provision', because it is the resource that produces various provisions,
فَأَحْيَا بِهِ الاْأَرْضَ بَعْدَ مَوْتِهَا
and revives therewith the earth after its death,
after it was dry and had no vegetation or life of any kind.
Allah said next,
وَتَصْرِيفِ الرِّيَاحِ
and in the turning about of the winds,
sometimes towards the south and sometimes towards the north. Some are easterly winds and some are westerly winds, some bringing sea breezes and some blow from the land, some coming at night and some by day. Some winds bring rain, some cause pollination and some winds just revive the soul, while some others bear no benefit.
ايَاتٌ لِّقَوْمٍ يَعْقِلُونَ
are signs for a people who understand.
Allah said first
لَاايَاتٍ لِّلْمُوْمِنِينَ
(are signs for the believers),
then
يُوقِنُونَ
(who have faith with certainty),
then
يَعْقِلُونَ
(who understand),
thus ascending from one honorable stage to what is more honorable and higher in grade.
These Ayat are similar to an Ayah in Surah Al-Baqarah,
إِنَّ فِي خَلْقِ السَّمَـوَتِ وَالاٌّرْضِ وَاخْتِلَـفِ اللَّيْلِ وَالنَّهَارِ وَالْفُلْكِ الَّتِى تَجْرِى فِى الْبَحْرِ بِمَا يَنفَعُ النَّاسَ وَمَأ أَنزَلَ اللَّهُ مِنَ السَّمَأءِ مِن مَّأءٍ فَأَحْيَا بِهِ الاٌّرْضَ بَعْدَ مَوْتِهَا وَبَثَّ فِيهَا مِن كُلِّ دَابَّةٍ وَتَصْرِيفِ الرِّيَـحِ وَالسَّحَابِ الْمُسَخَّرِ بَيْنَ السَّمَأءِ وَالَارْضِ لايَـتٍ لِّقَوْمٍ يَعْقِلُونَ
Verily, in the creation of the heavens and the earth, and in the alternation of night and day, and the ships which sail through the sea with that which is of use to mankind, and the water which Allah sends down from the sky and makes the earth alive therewith after its death, and the moving creatures of all kinds that He has spread therein, and in the veering of winds and clouds which are held between the sky and the earth, are indeed signs for people of understanding. (2:164
The Description of the Sinful Liar and His Requital
Allah the Exalted says,
تِلْكَ ايَاتُ اللَّهِ
These are the Ayat of Allah --
in reference to the Qur'an with the proofs and evidences that it contains,
نَتْلُوهَا عَلَيْكَ بِالْحَقِّ
which We recite to you with truth.
for they contain the truth from the Truth (i.e., Allah).
فَبِأَيِّ حَدِيثٍ بَعْدَ اللَّهِ وَايَاتِهِ يُوْمِنُونَ
Then in which speech after Allah and His Ayat will they believe?
Therefore, if they do not believe in Allah's Ayat nor abide by them, what speech after Allah and His Ayat will they then believe in?
Allah said next,
وَيْلٌ لِّكُلِّ أَفَّاكٍ أَثِيمٍ
Woe to every sinful liar.
who lies in his speech, often swears, who is worthless, commits and utters sinful acts and statements, and disbelieves in Allah's Ayat,
يَسْمَعُ ايَاتِ اللَّهِ تُتْلَى عَلَيْهِ
Who hears the Ayat of Allah Tutla (recited) to him,
meaning, being recited to him,
ثُمَّ يُصِرُّ مُسْتَكْبِرًا
yet persists with pride,
i.e. in his disbelief, denial, pride and rebellion,
كَأَن لَّمْ يَسْمَعْهَا
as if he heard them not.
i.e. as if he did not hear them being recited to him,
فَبَشِّرْهُ بِعَذَابٍ أَلِيمٍ
So announce to him a painful torment!
i.e. convey the news to him that on the Day of Resurrection, he will have a painful, severe torment from Allah.
Allah said
وَإِذَا عَلِمَ مِنْ ايَاتِنَا شَيْيًا اتَّخَذَهَا هُزُوًا
And when he learns something of Our Ayat, he makes them a jest.
i.e. if he learns anything from the Qur'an, he disbelieves in it and takes it as the subject of jest and ridicule,
أُوْلَيِكَ لَهُمْ عَذَابٌ مُّهِينٌ
For such there will be a humiliating torment.
i.e. as recompense for ridiculing the Qur'an and jesting about it.
In the Sahih, Muslim recorded from Abdullah bin Umar that;
the Messenger of Allah prohibited traveling with the Qur'an to enemy lands for fear that the Qur'an might be desecrated by the enemy.
Allah explained the type of torment that these people earn on the Day of Return
مِن وَرَايِهِمْ جَهَنَّمُ
In front of them there is Hell.
meaning, all those who have these evil characteristics will end up in Hellfire on the Day of Resurrection,
وَلَا يُغْنِي عَنْهُم مَّا كَسَبُوا شَيْيًا
And that which they have earned will be of no profit to them,
i.e. their wealth and children will not avail them,
وَلَا مَا اتَّخَذُوا مِن دُونِ اللَّهِ أَوْلِيَاء
nor those whom they have taken as protecting friends besides Allah.
i.e. nor will the false gods that they worshipped besides Allah benefit them in the least,
وَلَهُمْ عَذَابٌ عَظِيمٌ
And theirs will be a great torment.
Allah the Exalted said
هَذَا هُدًى
This is Huda (guidance).
in reference to the Qur'an,
وَالَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا بِأيَاتِ رَبِّهِمْ لَهُمْ عَذَابٌ مَّن رِّجْزٍ أَلِيمٌ
And those who disbelieve in the Ayat of their Lord, for them there is a painful torment of Rijz.
that is agonizing and severe. Allah knows best.
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