What is Islam

AL JATHIYAH (The Kneeling Down).

1 Ha. Mim.
2 The revelation of the Book is from Allah the Exalted in Power, Full of Wisdom.
3 Verily in the heavens and the earth, are Signs for those who believe.
4 And in the creation of yourselves and the fact that animals are scattered (through the earth), are Signs for those of assured Faith.
5 And in the alternation of Night and Day, and the fact that Allah sends down Sustenance from the sky, and revives therewith the earth after its death, and in the change of the winds, are Signs for those that are wise.
6 Such are the Signs of Allah, which We rehearse to thee in truth: then in what exposition will they believe after (rejecting) Allah and His Signs?
7 Woe to each sinful dealer in Falsehoods:
8 He hears the Signs of Allah rehearsed to him, yet is obstinate and lofty, as if he had not heard them: then announce to him a Penalty Grievous!
9 And when he learns something of Our Signs, he takes them in jest: for such there will be a humiliating Penalty.
10 In front of them is Hell: and of no profit to them is anything they may have earned, nor any protectors they may have taken to themselves besides Allah: for them is a tremendous Penalty.
11 This is (true) Guidance: and for those who reject the Signs of their Lord, is a grievous Penalty of abomination.
12 It is Allah Who has subjected the sea to you, that ships may sail through it by His command, that ye may seek of His Bounty, and that ye may be grateful.
13 And He has subjected to you, as from Him, all that is in the heavens and on earth: behold, in that are Signs indeed for those who reflect.
14 Tell those who believe, to forgive those who do not look forward to the Days of Allah; it is for Him to recompense (for good or ill) each People according to what they have earned.
15 If any one does a righteous deed, it enures to the benefit of his own soul; if he does evil, it works against (His own soul). In the end will ye (all) be brought back to your Lord.
16 We did aforetime grant to the Children of Israel the Book, the Power of Command, and Prophethood; We gave them, for Sustenance, things good and pure; and We favored them above the nations.
17 And We granted them Clear Signs in affairs (of Religion): it was only after knowledge had been granted to them that they fell into schisms, through insolent envy among themselves verily thy Lord will judge between them on the Day of Judgment as to those matters in which they set up differences.
18 Then we put thee on the (right) Way of Religion: so follow thou that (Way), and follow not the desires of those who know not.
19 They will be of no use to thee in the sight of Allah: it is only wrongdoers (that stand as) protectors, one to another: but Allah is the Protector of the Righteous.
20 These are clear evidences to men, and a Guidance and Mercy to those of assured Faith.
21 What! do those who seek after evil ways think that We shall hold them equal with those who believe and do righteous deeds, that equal will be their life and their death? Ill is the judgment that they make.
22 Allah created the heavens and the earth for just ends, and in order that each soul may find the recompense of what it has earned, and none of them be wronged.
23 Then seest thou such a one as takes as his god his own vain desire? Allah has, knowing (him as such), left him astray, and sealed his hearing and his heart (and understanding), and put a cover on his sight. Who, then, will guide him after Allah (has withdrawn Guidance)? Will ye not then receive admonition?
24 And they say: What is there but our life in this world? We shall die and we live, and nothing but Time can destroy us. But of that they have no knowledge: they merely conjecture:
25 And when Our Clear Signs are rehearsed to them, their argument is nothing but this: they say, Bring (back) our forefathers, if what ye say is true!
26 Say: It is Allah Who gives you life, then gives you death; then He will gather you together for the Day of Judgment about which there is no doubt: but most men do not understand.
27 To Allah belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth, and the Day that the Hour of judgment is established that Day will the dealers in Falsehood perish!
28 And thou wilt see every sect bowing the knee: every sect will be called to its Record: This Day shall ye be recompensed for all that ye did!
29 This Our Record speaks about you with truth: for We were wont to put on record all that ye did.
30 Then, as to those who believed and did righteous deeds, their Lord will admit them to His Mercy: that will be the Achievement for all to see.
31 But as to those who rejected Allah, (to them will be said): Were not Our Signs rehearsed to you? But ye were arrogant, and were a people given to sin!
32 And when it was said that the promise of Allah was true, and that the Hour there was no doubt about its (coming), ye used to say, We know not what is the Hour: we only think it is an idea, and we have no firm assurance.
26th Section (Juzu')
33 Then will appear to them the evil (fruits) of what they did, and they will be completely encircled by that which they used to mock at!
34 It will also be said: This Day We will forget you as ye forgot the meeting of this Day of yours! And your abode is the Fire, and no helpers have ye!
35 This, because ye used to take the Signs of Allah in jest, and the life of the world deceived you: (from) that Day, therefore, they shall not be taken out thence, nor shall they be received into Grace.
36 Then Praise be to Allah, Lord of the heavens and Lord of the earth, Lord and Cherisher of all the worlds!
37 To Him be Glory throughout the heavens and the earth: and He is Exalted in Power, Full of Wisdom!

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Explination of the Surah

Name It is derived from the sentence wa taraa kulla ummat-in jathiyat-un of verse 28, implying thereby that it is the Surah in which the word jathiyah has occurred. Period of Revelation The period of the revelation of this Surah also has not been mentioned in any authentic tradition, but its subject matter clearly shows that it was revealed consecutively after Surah Ad Dukhaan. The close resemblance between the contents of the two Surahs makes them look like the twin Surahs. Subject Matter and Topics It answers the doubts and objections of the disbelievers of Makkah about Tauhid and the Hereafter and warns them for their attitude that they had adopted against the message of the Qur'an. The discourse begins with the arguments for Tauhid. In this connection, reference has been made to the countless Signs that are found in the world, from man's own body to the earth and heavens, and it is pointed out that everywhere around him man finds things which testify to tauhid which he refuses to acknowledge. If man sees carefully the variety of animals, the day and night, the rainfall and the vegetation thereby, the winds and his own creation, and ponders over them intelligently, without prejudice, he will find these Signs sufficiently convincing of the truth that this universe is not Godless, nor under the control of many gods, but it has been created by One God, and He alone is its Controller and Ruler. However, the case of the person who is determined not to acknowledge and wants to remain involved in doubts and suspicions is different. He cannot be blessed with the faith and conviction from anywhere in the world. A little below, in the beginning of the second section, it has been reiterated that the things man is exploiting in the world, and the countless forces and agencies that are serving his interests in the universe, did not come into being just accidentally, nor have they been provided by the gods and goddesses, but it is One God alone, Who has supplied and subjected these to him from Himself. If only a person uses his mind properly and rightly, his own intellect will proclaim that God alone is man's real Benefactor and He alone deserves that man should pay obeisance to Him. After this, the disbelievers of Makkah have been taken to task and reproved for their stubbornness, arrogance, mockery and insistence on disbelief with which they were resisting the invitation of the Qur'an they have been warned that this Qur'an has brought the same blessing which had been granted to the children of Israel before, by virtue of which they became distinguished above all the people of the world. Then, when they failed to recognize the true worth of this blessing and disputed their religion and lost it, this blessing now has been sent to them. This is such a code of guidance which shows the clear highway of Religion to man. The people who would turn it down by their own folly, would only prepare for their own doom, and only such people would become worthy of God's succor and mercy who would adopt obedience to it and lead a life of piety and righteousness. In this connection, the followers of the Holy Prophet have been instructed that they should forbear and pardon the absurd and foolish behavior towards them of the people fearless of God, for if they showed patience God Himself would deal with their opponents and would reward them for their fortitude. Then, there is a criticism of the erroneous ideas that the disbelievers hold about the Hereafter. They said that life was only this worldly life there was no life hereafter. Man dies in the course of time just as a watch stops functioning suddenly. The body is not survived by any soul, which might be seized and then breathed again into the human body some time in the future. In this regard, they challenged the Holy Prophet, saying: "If you lay a claim to this, then raise our dead forefathers back to life. " In answer to this, Allah has given the following arguments (1) "You do not say this on the basis of any knowledge but are uttering this grave thing on the basis of conjecture. Do you really have the knowledge that there is no other life after death, and the souls are not seized but are annihilated? " (2) "Your this claim rests mainly on this that you have not seen any dead person rising back to life and returning to the world. Is this basis strong enough for a person to make a claim that the dead people will never rise to life? When you do not experience and observe a thing, does it mean that you have the knowledge that it does not exist at all? (3) It is utterly against reason and justice that the good and the bad, the obedient and the disobedient, the oppressor and the oppressed, should be made equal ultimately. Neither a good act should bear a good result nor an evil act an evil result; neither the grievances of the oppressed be redressed nor the oppressor be punished, but everyone should meet with the same fate ultimately. Whoever has formed this view about the universe of God, has formed a patently wrong view. The unjust and wicked people adopt this view because they do not want to face the evil results of their deeds, but this world of God is not a lawless kingdom; it is rather a system based on the Truth, in which there can be no question of the injustice of regarding the good and the bad as equal. (4) That the creed of the denial of the Hereafter is highly destructive of morals. This is adopted only by such people as are the slaves of their lusts, and for the reason that they should have full freedom to serve their lusts. Then, when they have adopted this creed, it goes on making them more and more perverse till at last their moral sense becomes dead and all avenues of guidance are closed against them. After giving these arguments Allah says most emphatically: "Just as you did not become living of your own accord, but became living by Our power, so you do not die of your own accord, but die when We send death on you. And a time is certainly coming when you will all be gathered together. If you do not believe in this because of your ignorance and folly today, you may not; when the time arrives, you will see for yourself that you are present before your God and your whole book of conduct is ready accurately, which bears evidence against each of your misdeeds. Then you will come to know how dearly has your denial of the Hereafter and your mockery of it cost you. 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