Chapter 30-49
The Byzantines (Surah Ar-Rum)
(60 verses in total; revealed in Makkah, beginning of Middle Period – 6th of 7th year)
This chapter makes some prediction about the future of Byzantine Empire long before Muslims were powerful enough to overpower them eventually and then follows with a long series of natural evidence of God’s control and oversight of the nature and human accountability.
Key themes in this chapter are as follows:
· To God belongs the past, present and the future – the natural world and our lives – all acts within God’s purposeful plan for His creation
· While we see, hear and sense the outward nature of our life and existence, few reflects on the inner construct and realities that is beyond this earthly life
· The nature of our creation from dust, our love for one another, diversity of our race and language, the alternations of day and night, our progression from infant to adulthood to old age – all of these are matters of deeper insight and God’s omnipresence, if we care to reflect
· The Prophet is encouraged, along with the new adherent to the emerging faith of Islam, to commit to this upright Way of Life and devote to God in constant remembrance and care of one another
In the name of God, the God of Mercy, the Endower of Mercy!
Alif, Laam, Meem!
The Byzantines are routed!
In a land nearby
But will gain victory after defeat! (v. 1-3)
Within few years
God is always in command - before and after!
The faithful will rejoice
On that day in God’s help!
God helps whom God pleases
God is Mighty, Endower of Mercy! (v. 4-5)
This is God’s promise
God does not fail in promises!
But most of humankind do not know!
They only know the exposed layer of this earthly life
While being totally oblivious to after life! (v. 6-7)
Why is it that they do not reflect inwardly? God did not create the heavens, the earth and all that is in them without a purpose – all has an appointed time, yet most of humankind denies that they will meet God! (v. 8)
Do they not travel the world and see the condition of those before them? They were more powerful, extracted more from earth and build loftier construction than these people. Their designated messengers came to them with clearly articulated reasonings! It was not God who did injustice, but it was they who were unjust to themselves. Evil is the outcome of those who do evil – they deny God’s messages and make fun of them! (v. 9-10)
God originates creation (yabdau), then establishes means for reproduction (yu’eedu), and finally all will be called back to God! (v. 11)
When the Day and the Hour come, the guilty will despair – their deities will not be there to intercede, and they will deny such associations. When the Day and the Hour come, they will be separated from one another – those who believed and did good will be given contentment in a garden while those who denied and rejected God’s messages and the eventual meeting of the afterlife will be made to face the consequences. (v. 12-16)
Therefore, glorify God in the evening and in the morning. God’s praise be present in the heavens and the earth at mid-day and in the afternoon. God extracts (yukhrizu) the living out of the dead, the dead out of the living and gives life to the earth after its death. Such will be your extraction and return. (v. 17-19)
Among God’s signs is this: God created you out of elements of this earth (turab), and – lo and behold – you became mortals and scattered far and wide!
Among God ‘s signs is this: God creates mates for your from amongst yourselves that you might find comfort in each other, and God bestows love and mercy between you. These are indeed signs if you wish to reflect!
Another of God’s sign is the creation of the heavens and the earth and the diversity of your languages and races. Again, these are signs if you wish to educate yourselves!
Another of God’s sign is your sleep by night and your seeking of God’s provisions by day. Again, these are signs for people who wish to hear!
Another of God’s sign is this: God shows you fear and hope through lightning, and sends water from the cloud, giving life to the earth after its death. Indeed, these are evidence if you wish to comprehend!
Another of God’s sign is this: the heavens and the earth stand firm by God’s command. Then when God will call you back from the earth – lo and behold – you will come forth!
To God belongs all that is in the heavens and the earth – they all are subservient to God! It is God who originates creation and then reproduces (for continuity) – all is easy for God! Most exulted is God’s stature in the heavens and the earth! God is the Mighty, the Wise! (v. 20-27)
God shares an example from your own lives – those whom you enslave or those whom you imprison in battle, do you share with them what We (God) had given you so that they become your equals? Do you fear them as you fear each other? This is how We make the message clear if you wish to understand. Nay, they are indeed unjust who follow their frivolous desires without the benefit of knowledge. Therefore, who can guide them whom God leaves in error? There will be no helpers for them either. (v. 28-29)
(O Prophet) Set your mind for this way of life (deen), being sincere and committed – aligned with the true nature of God (fitrah), the essence of which God has embedded in humankind! There is no deviation in God’s creation – this is the right way to live, but most people seem to be ignorant of this. (v. 30)
Turn to God and act responsibly with respect to God (and God’s creation). Keep up worship of God and neither practice polytheism nor split your religion into sects, whereby each sect glorifies its practices. (v. 31-32)
When something bad afflicts human beings, they call upon God pleading. No sooner God shows mercy than – lo and behold – they give credit to partners, not to God, being ungrateful for what was given to them. Let them enjoy a while, but soon they will come to know. Have We sent them an authoritative instruction that speaks of such partnerships with God? (v. 33-35)
When We (God) provision mercy for people, they rejoice but when an evil touch them, on account of their own misconducts, they become full of despair. Do they not see that God expands or contracts provisions for whomever God pleases? For the faithful, this affirms God’s presence (ayat)! (v36-37)
Therefore, give to kins and neighbors, the poor, and the travelers (strangers). This is better if you wish to have God’s pleasure and success in life! Whatever you gain through usury (and corrupt practices), it may increase in property and wealth for people, but it does not increase with God. Whatever you give away of your wealth as an obligation to uplift others (zakat), aspiring for God’s good grace, it will get magnified! It is God Who created you, Who sustains you, Who causes you to die, and then brings you back to life. Is there a deity that you assign with God that can do any of these? Glory be to God – God is above any deity they associate with God! (v. 38-40)
Corruption has spread across land and sea because of what humankind has done with its own hands. God will make them suffer the consequences of what they have done – perhaps they will amend their conduct! (v. 41)
Say, “Travel the earth and see the outcomes of those who came before you – most of them were polytheists.” Therefore, stand firm and orient yourself to the upright Way of Life (deenil qayyim) before you are confronted with a Day from God that you cannot avert. On that day, people will be separated – whoever denied God will be responsible for their own behaviors, and whoever did good will have prepared their souls well, that God may bestow God’s blessings on those who believed and did good. God does not love those who deny the truth! (v. 42-45)
One of God’s signs is this: God sends winds bearing good news that you may taste God’s mercy, that your ships may glide with God’s command, that you may seek God’s grace, and that you may be thankful! (v. 46)
We did send messengers before you (Prophet) to their communities, and they each came with clear proof. Then We took account of those who proved to be guilty. We make it an obligation on Us to help the faithful! (v. 47)
It is God Who sends forth winds that raise clouds, spreads the clouds as God pleases, breaks them so that you see rain pouring down from inside, and causes rain to fall to benefit God’s creation as God pleases – and lo, they rejoice! Yet, before this, before the rain was sent down to them, they were in a state of despair. Again, look at the evidence of God’s mercy – God gives life to the earth after its death, and it is the same God Who will bring life after death. God is ever powerful over all things! (v. 48-50)
If We were to send winds, winds that are destructive1, they would continue to disbelieve even after that. So, Prophet, you cannot make them hear, like the dead or the deaf, as they turn and retreat. Similarly, you cannot guide a blind person out of blind wanderings. You cannot make anyone hear except those who submit because they have believed in Our messages! (v. 51-53)
God is the One Who created you in a vulnerable state, then gave you strength after weakness, and then brought you back to weakness and gray hair after strength. God creates as God pleases. God is the All-Knowing, the All-Powerful! (v. 54)
The day when the Hour (resurrection) arrives, the guilty will swear that they did not live for more than an hour – this is how they are deluded. While those who were given knowledge and had faith will say, “Surely you lived long till the day of Resurrection, as God had commanded, and this is the day of Resurrection – but you did not care to know!” On that occasion, neither the excuses of the corrupt ones will profit them, nor can they make amends. (v. 55-57)
For humankind, We (God) have laid out all kinds of explanations in this Qur’an. Yet if you (Prophet) were to bring them even a miracle, those who disbelieve would say, “You are none but a deceiver.” This is how God seals the hearts of those who do not care to know. Therefore, be patient and know that God’s promise is ever true. Let not their lack of certainty unsettle you! (v. 58-60)
1The word used means yellow – possibly implying that the air is hot that burns vegetations, turning them dry and yellow or the color of a tornado filled with dust and sand that is deadly.
