English Translation and Tafsir of Surah Ibrahim Ayah 42-46
Do not think that Allah is unaware of what the wrongdoers do. He only delays them for a day when the eyes will stare in horror. [Q 14:42]
They will hurry frantically, raising their heads, with unseeing eyes and void hearts. [Q 14: 43]
Warn the people of the day when the torment will befall them. The wrongdoers will say, ‘O our Lord! Delay us for a little time. We shall believe in Your call and follow the messengers.’ ‘Did you not swear in the past that you would never perish?’ [Q 14:44]
You dwelt in the dwellings of those who wronged themselves and it became clear to you how We dealt with them. And We presented examples for you. [Q 14:45]
Indeed, they plotted their plot and Allah knew their plot. Their plot was unable even to remove the mountains from their places. [Q 14:46]
Relationship with the Previous Part
The ayat mentioned proofs denoting the Oneness of Allah and narrated some of the story of Ibrahim. They mentioned that Ibrahim prayed to Allah to protect him from worshipping other gods besides Him, guide him to perform righteous deeds, and forgive his sins on the Day of Judgment. Then the following ayat speak about the Day of Judgment.
Tafsir
Do not think that Allah is unaware of what the wrongdoers do. He only delays them for a day when the eyes will stare in horror. [Q 14:42]
The address in the ayah is directed to Messenger Muhammad and it may be directed to whoever entitled to be addressed.
O Messenger! Do not think that Allah is unaware of the wrongdoers since He does not punish them for their sins. He, Exalted be He, gives them a respite and delays their punishment until the Day of Judgment. He precisely counts their deeds. H will certainly call them to account for all the deeds they did in the worldly life on the Day of Judgment.
[…when the eyes will stare in horror.]
On the Day of Judgment, people will suffer great fear to the extent that their eyes will stare in horror. Their eyes will not blink due to the panic and fright that they will be experiencing.
They will hurry frantically, raising their heads, with unseeing eyes and void hearts. [Q 14: 43]
The disbelievers will frighteningly come out of their graves. They will hurry frantically, responding to the call of Allah with humiliation, just as a captive walks hurriedly and fearfully. They will also be raising their heads towards the sky with unseeing eyes because of the great horror of the Day of Judgment.
[…and void hearts.] The hearts of the disbelievers will be void of any feeling or emotion. The disbelievers will be unable to understand anything because of the intense fear and astonishment they will be experiencing.
Warn the people of the day when the torment will befall them. The wrongdoers will say, ‘O our Lord! Delay us for a little time. We shall believe in Your call and follow the messengers.’ ‘Did you not swear in the past that you would never perish?’ [Q 14:44]
Allah, Exalted be He, commanded Messenger Muhammad to warn people of the terrors of the Day of Judgment.
[Warn the people of the day when the torment will befall them.]
O Messenger! Warn the people of the horrors of the Day of Judgment. Command them to be prepared for that day by performing righteous deeds. Verily, the torment of Allah will befall the disbelievers on that day.
The wrongdoers will say, ‘O our Lord! Delay us for a little time. We shall believe in Your call and follow the messengers.’
The wrongdoers will say, ‘O our Lord! Make us return to the worldly life, and delay our death for a little time so that we can believe in You, follow Your messengers, and rectify our wrong ways.
The ayah specifically mentions the torment that will befall the disbelievers on the Day of Judgment though the believers will be rewarded for their righteous deeds then because this situation speaks about warning and threatening. Therefore, it is suitable to focus on mentioning the terrors and horrors of the Day of Judgment.
The ayah uses the plural form of the messengers because following a messenger of Allah is just as following all His messengers since their messages are one, namely, worshipping Allah alone and adhering to virtuous ethics.
[‘Did you not swear in the past that you would never perish?’]
This is scolding and reprimand to the disbelievers after they will enter Hell. They will be addressed, saying, ‘Did you not swear in the worldly life that you would never perish after your death and you would never be resurrected in the Hereafter for reckoning for what you did in the worldly life.’
You dwelt in the dwellings of those who wronged themselves and it became clear to you how We dealt with them. And We presented examples for you. [Q 14:45]
This statement is connected with ‘Did you not swear in the past that you would never perish?’ It will be said to the wrongdoers,
‘You dwelt in the dwellings of those who wronged themselves among the former nations in the worldly life. Those wrongdoers disbelieved in the Oneness of Allah and disobeyed His Messengers. You knew how Allah destroyed them because of their disobedience and transgression. Allah presented clear examples in the Quran for you so that you might repent, believe in Him, and do righteous deeds. Now, you ask for a delay and return to the worldly life to repent when the Day of Judgment has been established and the punishment and torment of Allah will certainly befall you.’
Qatada said, ‘[You dwelt in the dwellings of those who wronged themselves.] Some people dwelt in the dwellings of the people of Noah, Aad, Thamud, and other destroyed nations. […and it became clear to you how We dealt with them. We presented examples for you.] Allah sent His messengers, revealed His Scriptures, and presented examples for you. A person who is heedless of these examples is deaf. No person loses but a loser. Thus, mindfully understand the command of Allah [Tafsir al-Tabari].’
Indeed, they plotted their plot and Allah knew their plot. Their plot was unable even to remove the mountains from their places. [Q 14:46]
The wrongdoers, who disbelieved in the Oneness of Allah and His Messengers, plotted plots as best as they could to nullify the truth that the Messengers of Allah brought and establish falsehood. However, Allah, Exalted be He, is fully aware of their plots. He knows everything about them, and their deeds would be recorded. Allah will justly recompense them for their evil deeds on the Day of Judgment.
[Their plot was unable even to remove the mountains from their places.]
Allah says that failure will be the end of the wrongdoers’ plots. Their plots are very weak no matter how intelligent they may be. The wrongdoers’ plots will never be able to remove even the mountains from their places.
Some scholars say that the mountains refer to the mountains found on earth, and other scholars maintain that they refer to the Islamic law and the Quran as they are firm just like the mountains [An-Nikat wa-Alyoun, Abu al-Hasan 'Ali Ibn Muhammad Ibn Habib al-Mawardi].
The disbelief of the disbelievers will not harm anyone, but themselves and the evil consequences of their disbelief will affect only them.
The intended meaning of the ayah is to belittle the plots of the disbelievers. Their plots will never be able to remove the clear proofs of Allah, as they are firm like the firm mountains.
Learned Lessons From Surah Ibrahim Ayah: 42-46
• The Day of Judgment will definitely be established.
• Allah delays the torment of wrongdoers until the Day of Judgment for wisdom, which He knows.
• Allah, Exalted be He, delays the punishment of the wrongdoers to give them the opportunity to repent of their sins and rectify their wrong way.
• The Day of Judgment will be very fearful and the disbelievers will be extremely frightened that their eyes will not blink.
• The wrongdoers will come out of their graves, frantically hurrying and responding to the call for gathering and reckoning. Their eyes will be transfixed because of the extreme horrors of the Day of Judgment and their hearts will be void of any expression.
• On the Day of Judgment, there will be no hope for returning to the worldly life for amending the mistakes and doing righteous deeds.
• The wrongdoers have received many admonitions in this world; however, those who learn lessons and repent are a few.
• Though the wrongdoers know how the punishment of the former disbelieving nations was, they dwell in their dwellings and follow their footsteps.
• No matter how clever the plots of the disbelievers are, they are weak and can never remove the clear proofs of Allah, Exalted be He, as they are firm.
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