الملك
Surah Al-Mulk
The Sovereignty · Surah 67 · Meccan · 30 verses
1تَبَٰرَكَ ٱلَّذِي بِيَدِهِ ٱلۡمُلۡكُ وَهُوَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَيۡءࣲ قَدِيرٌ ١Blessed is He in Whose hand is the Sovereignty, and, He is Able to do all things.InsightAccording to Elmalılı, when Allah gives someone dominion and power, He does not give it as lasting, true ownership. He gives it only as a temporary trust under His rule and takes it back when He wills. The true Owner of all dominion is always He.2ٱلَّذِي خَلَقَ ٱلۡمَوۡتَ وَٱلۡحَيَوٰةَ لِيَبۡلُوَكُمۡ أَيُّكُمۡ أَحۡسَنُ عَمَلࣰاۚ وَهُوَ ٱلۡعَزِيزُ ٱلۡغَفُورُ ٢Who hath created life and death that He may try you which of you is best in conduct; and He is the Mighty, the Forgiving.InsightAccording to Elmalılı, the succession of death and life brings a person into an arena of trial in which they compete in good work. This race is an order that rises from life to life, from beauty to beauty.3ٱلَّذِي خَلَقَ سَبۡعَ سَمَٰوَٰتࣲ طِبَاقࣰاۖ مَّا تَرَىٰ فِي خَلۡقِ ٱلرَّحۡمَٰنِ مِن تَفَٰوُتࣲۖ فَٱرۡجِعِ ٱلۡبَصَرَ هَلۡ تَرَىٰ مِن فُطُورࣲ ٣Who hath created seven heavens in harmony. Thou (Muhammad) canst see no fault in the Beneficent One’s creation; then look again: Canst thou see any rifts.InsightAccording to Elmalılı, “seven” here may express abundance and vastness, not just a number: many heavens, each a world of its own, created in a special harmony with one another.4ثُمَّ ٱرۡجِعِ ٱلۡبَصَرَ كَرَّتَيۡنِ يَنقَلِبۡ إِلَيۡكَ ٱلۡبَصَرُ خَاسِئࣰا وَهُوَ حَسِيرࣱ ٤Then look again and yet again, thy sight will return unto thee weakened and made dim.InsightElmalılı notes that the word meaning “twice” is used here for “again and again”. For him, the verse also points to how two eyes join into one sight, and to the inner vision that unites them.5وَلَقَدۡ زَيَّنَّا ٱلسَّمَآءَ ٱلدُّنۡيَا بِمَصَٰبِيحَ وَجَعَلۡنَٰهَا رُجُومࣰا لِّلشَّيَٰطِينِۖ وَأَعۡتَدۡنَا لَهُمۡ عَذَابَ ٱلسَّعِيرِ ٥And verily We have beautified the world’s heaven with lamps, and We have made them missiles for the devils, and for them We have prepared the doom of flame.InsightElmalılı stresses that “as-sama’ ad-dunya” means “the nearest heaven”, not “the heaven of the world”. In the Qur’an “dunya” is always an adjective meaning “near, low”; “the life of the dunya” is “the near life”.6وَلِلَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ بِرَبِّهِمۡ عَذَابُ جَهَنَّمَۖ وَبِئۡسَ ٱلۡمَصِيرُ ٦And for those who disbelieve in their Lord there is the doom of hell, a hapless journey’s end.InsightAccording to Elmalılı, the disbelief here is ingratitude and disrespect towards the Lord who creates and sustains a person. “What an evil destination” describes how bitter the end of that road is.7إِذَآ أُلۡقُواْ فِيهَا سَمِعُواْ لَهَا شَهِيقࣰا وَهِيَ تَفُورُ ٧When they are flung therein they hear its roaring as it boileth up.InsightElmalılı explains “shahiq” as a sob, a terrible hissing: either the sound of the fire’s greed to devour, or the bitter cry of those within it.8تَكَادُ تَمَيَّزُ مِنَ ٱلۡغَيۡظِۖ كُلَّمَآ أُلۡقِيَ فِيهَا فَوۡجࣱ سَأَلَهُمۡ خَزَنَتُهَآ أَلَمۡ يَأۡتِكُمۡ نَذِيرࣱ ٨As it would burst with rage. Whenever a (fresh) host is flung therein the wardens thereof ask them: Came there unto you no warner.InsightElmalılı says this question is a rebuke, and recalls a principle: Allah does not punish until He has sent a messenger. Before every punishment there is always a warning, heard or known by reason.9قَالُواْ بَلَىٰ قَدۡ جَآءَنَا نَذِيرࣱ فَكَذَّبۡنَا وَقُلۡنَا مَا نَزَّلَ ٱللَّهُ مِن شَيۡءٍ إِنۡ أَنتُمۡ إِلَّا فِي ضَلَٰلࣲ كَبِيرࣲ ٩They say: Yea, verily, a warner came unto us; but we denied and said: Allah hath naught revealed; ye are in naught but a great error.InsightAccording to Elmalılı, this answer contains both an admission of Allah’s grace and justice and a confession of their own fault: the warning had come with signs that both enlighten and alarm, but they denied it.10وَقَالُواْ لَوۡ كُنَّا نَسۡمَعُ أَوۡ نَعۡقِلُ مَا كُنَّا فِيٓ أَصۡحَٰبِ ٱلسَّعِيرِ ١٠And they say: Had we been wont to listen or have sense, we had not been among the dwellers in the flames.InsightElmalılı sees two paths here: listening to revelation where reason cannot reach, and using reason well where there is no report. Allah had given them both ears and minds; they chose deafness and followed their own desires.11فَٱعۡتَرَفُواْ بِذَنۢبِهِمۡ فَسُحۡقࣰا لِّأَصۡحَٰبِ ٱلسَّعِيرِ ١١So they acknowledge their sins; but far removed (from mercy) are the dwellers in the flames.InsightAccording to Elmalılı, this confession shows there was no lack in Allah’s grace and justice: eyes, ears and minds were given, messengers sent, signs revealed. The lack was in those who did not use them.12إِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ يَخۡشَوۡنَ رَبَّهُم بِٱلۡغَيۡبِ لَهُم مَّغۡفِرَةࣱ وَأَجۡرࣱ كَبِيرࣱ ١٢Lo! those who fear their Lord in secret, theirs will be forgiveness and a great reward.InsightElmalılı explains “bil-ghayb” in two ways: being mindful before the punishment arrives, or revering Allah sincerely from within the heart, not as a show for others. The reward belongs to these, not to those who only fear once they see it.13وَأَسِرُّواْ قَوۡلَكُمۡ أَوِ ٱجۡهَرُواْ بِهِۦٓۖ إِنَّهُۥ عَلِيمُۢ بِذَاتِ ٱلصُّدُورِ ١٣And keep your opinion secret or proclaim it, lo! He is Knower of all that is in the breasts (of men).InsightAccording to Elmalılı, hidden and open are the same to Allah. He fully knows a person’s inner world, even what the person is unaware of. So one should revere Him equally in private and in public.14أَلَا يَعۡلَمُ مَنۡ خَلَقَ وَهُوَ ٱللَّطِيفُ ٱلۡخَبِيرُ ١٤Should He not know what He created? And He is the Subtile, the Aware.InsightElmalılı reasons: whoever does something cannot hide it from himself, however hard he tries. Allah, who creates hearts, thoughts and feelings, knows them before and better. Without His creating, no hand would move and no tongue would speak.15هُوَ ٱلَّذِي جَعَلَ لَكُمُ ٱلۡأَرۡضَ ذَلُولࣰا فَٱمۡشُواْ فِي مَنَاكِبِهَا وَكُلُواْ مِن رِّزۡقِهِۦۖ وَإِلَيۡهِ ٱلنُّشُورُ ١٥He it is Who hath made the earth subservient unto you, so Walk in the paths thereof and eat of His providence. And unto Him will be the resurrection (of the dead).InsightElmalılı says “dhalul” here does not mean lowliness but ease and gentleness, like a docile mount you can guide as you wish. It is Allah who prepared the earth for people in this way.16ءَأَمِنتُم مَّن فِي ٱلسَّمَآءِ أَن يَخۡسِفَ بِكُمُ ٱلۡأَرۡضَ فَإِذَا هِيَ تَمُورُ ١٦Have ye taken security from Him Who is in the heaven that He will not cause the earth to swallow you when lo! it is convulsed.InsightElmalılı relates that some commentators take “He who is in the heaven” as the angels, while most of the early scholars understood it as Allah. He stresses that Allah needs no place and encompasses everything; the phrase expresses His exaltedness.17أَمۡ أَمِنتُم مَّن فِي ٱلسَّمَآءِ أَن يُرۡسِلَ عَلَيۡكُمۡ حَاصِبࣰاۖ فَسَتَعۡلَمُونَ كَيۡفَ نَذِيرِ ١٧Or have ye taken security from Him Who is in the heaven that He will not let loose on you a hurricane? But ye shall know the manner of My warning.InsightAccording to Elmalılı, this verse answers those who say: “Do stones rain from the sky? What do natural disasters have to do with us?” If you do not believe today, you will be forced to know later.18وَلَقَدۡ كَذَّبَ ٱلَّذِينَ مِن قَبۡلِهِمۡ فَكَيۡفَ كَانَ نَكِيرِ ١٨And verily those before them denied, then (see) the manner of My wrath (with them).InsightElmalılı recalls the peoples of Noah, ‘Ad, Thamud, Pharaoh and Lot: all denied their warners and perished in an unheard-of way. The past is a lesson for today.19أَوَلَمۡ يَرَوۡاْ إِلَى ٱلطَّيۡرِ فَوۡقَهُمۡ صَـٰٓفَّـٰتࣲ وَيَقۡبِضۡنَۚ مَا يُمۡسِكُهُنَّ إِلَّا ٱلرَّحۡمَٰنُۚ إِنَّهُۥ بِكُلِّ شَيۡءِۭ بَصِيرٌ ١٩Have they not seen the birds above them spreading out their wings and closing them? Naught upholdeth them save the Beneficent. Lo! He is Seer of all things.InsightElmalılı invites reflection on how birds, heavier than air, rise and glide, and how they find their provision. Even the causes that keep them aloft are part of the order the Most Merciful created.20أَمَّنۡ هَٰذَا ٱلَّذِي هُوَ جُندࣱ لَّكُمۡ يَنصُرُكُم مِّن دُونِ ٱلرَّحۡمَٰنِۚ إِنِ ٱلۡكَٰفِرُونَ إِلَّا فِي غُرُورٍ ٢٠Or who is he that will be an army unto you to help you instead of the Beneficent? The disbelievers are in naught but illusion.InsightAccording to Elmalılı, everything a person relies on, whether weapons, power or other people, is useless unless Allah protects. Without His mercy, every effort turns against a person.21أَمَّنۡ هَٰذَا ٱلَّذِي يَرۡزُقُكُمۡ إِنۡ أَمۡسَكَ رِزۡقَهُۥۚ بَل لَّجُّواْ فِي عُتُوࣲّ وَنُفُورٍ ٢١Or who is he that will provide for you if He should withhold His providence? Nay, but they are set in pride and frowardness.InsightElmalılı does not see provision only as food: water, air, light, even the power to digest are provision. Even if a morsel is put in one’s mouth, it is Allah who gives the strength to eat and digest it.22أَفَمَن يَمۡشِي مُكِبًّا عَلَىٰ وَجۡهِهِۦٓ أَهۡدَىٰٓ أَمَّن يَمۡشِي سَوِيًّا عَلَىٰ صِرَٰطࣲ مُّسۡتَقِيمࣲ ٢٢Is he who goeth groping on his face more rightly guided, or he who walketh upright on a straight road.InsightElmalılı likens the one crawling on his face to a person whose eyes are fixed only on the low and the worldly, seeing no one but himself. The believer walks straight with faith and knowledge. A person should think about whom to follow.23قُلۡ هُوَ ٱلَّذِيٓ أَنشَأَكُمۡ وَجَعَلَ لَكُمُ ٱلسَّمۡعَ وَٱلۡأَبۡصَٰرَ وَٱلۡأَفۡـِٔدَةَۚ قَلِيلࣰا مَّا تَشۡكُرُونَ ٢٣Say (unto them, O Muhammad): He it is who gave you being, and hath assigned unto you ears and eyes and hearts. Small thanks give ye.InsightAccording to Elmalılı, ears were given to hear, eyes to see and hearts to understand. Their creator is neither parents nor state nor anything else, but Allah alone. Thanking Him for them means using them for their purpose.24قُلۡ هُوَ ٱلَّذِي ذَرَأَكُمۡ فِي ٱلۡأَرۡضِ وَإِلَيۡهِ تُحۡشَرُونَ ٢٤Say: He it is Who multiplieth you in the earth, and unto Whom ye will be gathered.InsightElmalılı says that people being spread over this valley and that land is also Allah’s doing. Wherever they are, in whatever society, all will finally be gathered before Him.25وَيَقُولُونَ مَتَىٰ هَٰذَا ٱلۡوَعۡدُ إِن كُنتُمۡ صَٰدِقِينَ ٢٥And they say: When (will) this promise (be fulfilled), if ye are truthful.InsightAccording to Elmalılı, this is the mocking question of those who do not value the gifts of hearing, sight and understanding. The real question is not “when”, but whether one is ready.26قُلۡ إِنَّمَا ٱلۡعِلۡمُ عِندَ ٱللَّهِ وَإِنَّمَآ أَنَا۠ نَذِيرࣱ مُّبِينࣱ ٢٦Say: The knowledge is with Allah only, and I am but a plain warner.InsightElmalılı draws a fine distinction: knowing that something will happen is one thing, knowing when is another. The Prophet clearly tells that it will surely come, but only Allah knows its time.27فَلَمَّا رَأَوۡهُ زُلۡفَةࣰ سِيٓـَٔتۡ وُجُوهُ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ وَقِيلَ هَٰذَا ٱلَّذِي كُنتُم بِهِۦ تَدَّعُونَ ٢٧But when they see it nigh, the faces of those who disbelieve will be awry, and it will be said (unto them): This is that for which ye used to call.InsightAccording to Elmalılı, when the signs of death and the return come right up to them, the faces of the mockers change. But understanding at that moment no longer helps.28قُلۡ أَرَءَيۡتُمۡ إِنۡ أَهۡلَكَنِيَ ٱللَّهُ وَمَن مَّعِيَ أَوۡ رَحِمَنَا فَمَن يُجِيرُ ٱلۡكَٰفِرِينَ مِنۡ عَذَابٍ أَلِيمࣲ ٢٨Say (O Muhammad): Have ye thought: Whether Allah causeth me (Muhammad) and those with me to perish or hath mercy on us, still, who will protect the disbelievers from a painful doom.InsightElmalılı explains this as an answer to the Meccan idolaters who hoped to be rid of the warning when the Prophet died: the warning does not depend on the Prophet’s life, for it comes from Allah, who never dies.29قُلۡ هُوَ ٱلرَّحۡمَٰنُ ءَامَنَّا بِهِۦ وَعَلَيۡهِ تَوَكَّلۡنَاۖ فَسَتَعۡلَمُونَ مَنۡ هُوَ فِي ضَلَٰلࣲ مُّبِينࣲ ٢٩Say: He is the Beneficent. In Him we believe and in Him we put our trust. And ye will soon know who it is that is in error manifest.InsightAccording to Elmalılı, the believers’ strength does not come from their numbers or any other means, but from the help of the Most Merciful. Trust (tawakkul) is giving oneself to Him and relying on Him.30قُلۡ أَرَءَيۡتُمۡ إِنۡ أَصۡبَحَ مَآؤُكُمۡ غَوۡرࣰا فَمَن يَأۡتِيكُم بِمَآءࣲ مَّعِينِۭ ٣٠Say: Have ye thought: If (all) your water were to disappear into the earth, who then could bring you gushing water.InsightElmalılı sees water as the most vital substance of life. If it sank away, no person, no state and no science could create it. None but the Most Merciful could bring it; this is one of the plainest truths.