وَلَقَدْ صَدَّقَ عَلَيْهِمْ إِبْلِيسُ ظَنَّهُۥ فَٱتَّبَعُوهُ إِلَّا فَرِيقًۭا مِّنَ ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ ٢٠
“Indeed, Iblis’ assumption about them has come true, so they all follow him, except a group of true believers.” (34:20)
وَمَا كَانَ لَهُۥ عَلَيْهِم مِّن سُلْطَـٰنٍ إِلَّا لِنَعْلَمَ مَن يُؤْمِنُ بِٱلْـَٔاخِرَةِ مِمَّنْ هُوَ مِنْهَا فِى شَكٍّۢ ۗ وَرَبُّكَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَىْءٍ حَفِيظٌۭ ٢١
“He does not have any authority over them, but Our Will is only to distinguish those who believe in the Hereafter from those who are in doubt about it. And your Lord is a vigilant Keeper over all things.” (34:21)
For 19 Ayahs thus far, Allah opened up with how magnificent He is. He provided us with parallels of the prophets Dawood (AS) and Sulayman (AS) of their gratitude, versus the ingratitude of the people of Saba.
The reason we put in effort to learn the Deen of Allah is because of Shaytaan’s efforts to derail us.
The people of ingratitude follow only their own whims and desires. At the creation of Adam (AS), Shaytaan promised to mislead the offspring of Adam (AS). This was a promise of the attacks he constantly makes on the believer’s life, of which are intended to make us ungrateful to Allah. Shaytaan’s goal is to make us lose our gratitude to Him.
قُلِ ٱدْعُوا۟ ٱلَّذِينَ زَعَمْتُم مِّن دُونِ ٱللَّهِ ۖ لَا يَمْلِكُونَ مِثْقَالَ ذَرَّةٍۢ فِى ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَلَا فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ وَمَا لَهُمْ فِيهِمَا مِن شِرْكٍۢ وَمَا لَهُۥ مِنْهُم مِّن ظَهِيرٍۢ ٢٢
“Say, O Prophet, “Call upon those you claim to be divine besides Allah. They do not possess even an atom’s weight either in the heavens or the earth, nor do they have any share in governing them. Nor is any of them a helper to Him.”” (34:22)
وَلَا تَنفَعُ ٱلشَّفَـٰعَةُ عِندَهُۥٓ إِلَّا لِمَنْ أَذِنَ لَهُۥ ۚ حَتَّىٰٓ إِذَا فُزِّعَ عَن قُلُوبِهِمْ قَالُوا۟ مَاذَا قَالَ رَبُّكُمْ ۖ قَالُوا۟ ٱلْحَقَّ ۖ وَهُوَ ٱلْعَلِىُّ ٱلْكَبِيرُ ٢٣
“No intercession will be of any benefit with Him, except by those granted permission by Him. At last, when the dread of Judgement Day is relieved from their hearts because they are permitted to intercede, they will excitedly ask the angels, “What has your Lord just said?” The angels will reply, “The truth! And He is the Most High, All-Great.”” (34:23)
The disbelievers rely on their gods and idols. They try to take help and benefit from them, and believe they will intercede for them.
As believers, however, we are at risk of relying greatly on the people around us, magnifying them in our lives, when it is only Allah Who is our true provider of everything.
وَمَآ أَرْسَلْنَـٰكَ إِلَّا كَآفَّةًۭ لِّلنَّاسِ بَشِيرًۭا وَنَذِيرًۭا وَلَـٰكِنَّ أَكْثَرَ ٱلنَّاسِ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ ٢٨
“We have sent you O Prophet only as a deliverer of good news and a warner to all of humanity, but most people do not know.” (34:28)
قُل لَّكُم مِّيعَادُ يَوْمٍۢ لَّا تَسْتَـْٔخِرُونَ عَنْهُ سَاعَةًۭ وَلَا تَسْتَقْدِمُونَ ٣٠
“Say, O Prophet, “A Day has already been appointed for you, which you can neither delay nor advance by a single moment.”” (34:30)
The doubt of the disbelievers was that they questioned Qiyamah and the Aakhirah. Yet for the believer, a great risk is the illusion of the words “I have time”. We think we have a lot of time in our lives until the Day, but it is written for us. This is a juncture in which we have to bring ‘Iman into everything we do.
وَقَالَ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ لَن نُّؤْمِنَ بِهَـٰذَا ٱلْقُرْءَانِ وَلَا بِٱلَّذِى بَيْنَ يَدَيْهِ ۗ وَلَوْ تَرَىٰٓ إِذِ ٱلظَّـٰلِمُونَ مَوْقُوفُونَ عِندَ رَبِّهِمْ يَرْجِعُ بَعْضُهُمْ إِلَىٰ بَعْضٍ ٱلْقَوْلَ يَقُولُ ٱلَّذِينَ ٱسْتُضْعِفُوا۟ لِلَّذِينَ ٱسْتَكْبَرُوا۟ لَوْلَآ أَنتُمْ لَكُنَّا مُؤْمِنِينَ ٣١
“The disbelievers vow, We will never believe in this Quran, nor in those Scriptures before it.” If only you could see when the wrongdoers will be detained before their Lord, throwing blame at each other! The lowly followers will say to the arrogant leaders, “Had it not been for you, we would certainly have been believers.”” (34:31)
قَالَ ٱلَّذِينَ ٱسْتَكْبَرُوا۟ لِلَّذِينَ ٱسْتُضْعِفُوٓا۟ أَنَحْنُ صَدَدْنَـٰكُمْ عَنِ ٱلْهُدَىٰ بَعْدَ إِذْ جَآءَكُم ۖ بَلْ كُنتُم مُّجْرِمِينَ ٣٢
“The arrogant will respond to the lowly, “Did we ever hinder you from guidance after it came to you? In fact, you were wicked on your own.”” (34:32)
وَقَالَ ٱلَّذِينَ ٱسْتُضْعِفُوا۟ لِلَّذِينَ ٱسْتَكْبَرُوا۟ بَلْ مَكْرُ ٱلَّيْلِ وَٱلنَّهَارِ إِذْ تَأْمُرُونَنَآ أَن نَّكْفُرَ بِٱللَّهِ وَنَجْعَلَ لَهُۥٓ أَندَادًۭا ۚ وَأَسَرُّوا۟ ٱلنَّدَامَةَ لَمَّا رَأَوُا۟ ٱلْعَذَابَ وَجَعَلْنَا ٱلْأَغْلَـٰلَ فِىٓ أَعْنَاقِ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ ۚ هَلْ يُجْزَوْنَ إِلَّا مَا كَانُوا۟ يَعْمَلُونَ ٣٣
“The lowly will say to the arrogant, “No! It was your plotting by day and night–when you ordered us to disbelieve in Allah and to set up equals with Him.” They will all hide their remorse when they see the torment. And We will put shackles around the necks of the disbelievers. Will they be rewarded except for what they used to do?” (34:33)
There will always be people to hinder the believer on their path to Allah.
When they are all arguing on the Day of Qiyamah, Allah will test them on not the best of what they had, but their Amal. They will be punished for their actions in this world. And those who did good acts will be rewarded.
وَمَآ أَرْسَلْنَا فِى قَرْيَةٍۢ مِّن نَّذِيرٍ إِلَّا قَالَ مُتْرَفُوهَآ إِنَّا بِمَآ أُرْسِلْتُم بِهِۦ كَـٰفِرُونَ ٣٤
“Whenever We sent a warner to a society, its elite would say, “We truly reject what you have been sent with.”” (34:34)
وَقَالُوا۟ نَحْنُ أَكْثَرُ أَمْوَٰلًۭا وَأَوْلَـٰدًۭا وَمَا نَحْنُ بِمُعَذَّبِينَ ٣٥
“Adding, “We are far superior to the believers in wealth and children, and we will never be punished.”” (34:35)
Another trick of Shaytaan is that he fosters the illusion that those who have wealth in this world are successful. Here, Allah wants us to understand that the warner, Muhammad (SAW), came to us to change this mentality.
There are times we speak to people who are successful and intelligent by societal standards. And yet as much as they are these things, they cannot see the Truth because of their wealth and comforts; because of the fact Allah has given them so much.
قُلْ إِنَّ رَبِّى يَبْسُطُ ٱلرِّزْقَ لِمَن يَشَآءُ وَيَقْدِرُ وَلَـٰكِنَّ أَكْثَرَ ٱلنَّاسِ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ ٣٦
“Say, O Prophet, “Surely it is my Lord Who gives abundant or limited provisions to whoever He wills. But most people do not know.”” (34:36)
وَمَآ أَمْوَٰلُكُمْ وَلَآ أَوْلَـٰدُكُم بِٱلَّتِى تُقَرِّبُكُمْ عِندَنَا زُلْفَىٰٓ إِلَّا مَنْ ءَامَنَ وَعَمِلَ صَـٰلِحًۭا فَأُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ لَهُمْ جَزَآءُ ٱلضِّعْفِ بِمَا عَمِلُوا۟ وَهُمْ فِى ٱلْغُرُفَـٰتِ ءَامِنُونَ ٣٧
“It is not your wealth or children that bring you closer to Us. But those who believe and do good–it is they who will have multiplied reward for what they did, and they will be secure in elevated mansions.” (34:37)
And so those who do good actions and engage in Salaah and Ibadah are the ones Allah will not just reward, but give reward upon reward for their efforts; it will be multiplied. Allah sees every effort in the path towards Him.
We have to break the illusion of this world; that it is a place of forever. That as long as we have particular things in life, we are safe and secure. It is only the Truth that sets the believers free from this superficial trap.
وَلَوْ تَرَىٰٓ إِذْ فَزِعُوا۟ فَلَا فَوْتَ وَأُخِذُوا۟ مِن مَّكَانٍۢ قَرِيبٍۢ ٥١
“If only you could see when they will be horrified with no escape on Judgement Day! And they will be seized from a nearby place.” (34:51)
وَقَالُوٓا۟ ءَامَنَّا بِهِۦ وَأَنَّىٰ لَهُمُ ٱلتَّنَاوُشُ مِن مَّكَانٍۭ بَعِيدٍۢ ٥٢
“They will then cry, “We do now believe in it all.” But how could they possibly attain faith from a place so far-off from the world,” (34:52)
وَقَدْ كَفَرُوا۟ بِهِۦ مِن قَبْلُ ۖ وَيَقْذِفُونَ بِٱلْغَيْبِ مِن مَّكَانٍۭ بَعِيدٍۢ ٥٣
“while they had already rejected it before, guessing blindly from a place equally far-away from the Hereafter?” (34:53)
وَحِيلَ بَيْنَهُمْ وَبَيْنَ مَا يَشْتَهُونَ كَمَا فُعِلَ بِأَشْيَاعِهِم مِّن قَبْلُ ۚ إِنَّهُمْ كَانُوا۟ فِى شَكٍّۢ مُّرِيبٍۭ ٥٤
“They will be sealed off from whatever they desire, as was done to their counterparts before. Indeed, they were all in alarming doubt.” (34:54)
