40.Ghafir (Forgiving)/al mumin

Mecca 60 [85 verses]

Asad’s Version:

40:17 On that Day will every human being be requited for what he has earned: no wrong [will be done] on that Day: verily, swift in reckoning is God!

(40:18) Hence, warn them of that Day which draws ever nearer, when the hearts will chokingly come up to the throats: no loving friend will the evildoers have, nor any intercessor who would be heeded: 15

(40:19) [for] He is aware of the [most] stealthy glance, and of all that the hearts would conceal. 14

40:20 And God will judge in accordance with truth and justice, whereas those [beings] whom they invoke beside Him 15 cannot judge at all: for, verily, God alone is all-hearing, all-seeing.

The Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:

الْيَوْمَ تُجْزَى كُلُّ نَفْسٍ بِمَا كَسَبَتْ...

40: 17. That Day will every soul be requited for what it earned;

... لَا ظُلْمَ الْيَوْمَ ...

no injustice will there be that Day,

... إِنَّ اللَّهَ سَرِيعُ الْحِسَابِ ﴿١٧﴾

for Allah is Swift in taking account.

C4380. Swift in several senses;

- the time of the present life or of the interval before Judgment. i.e., before the restoration of true values, is so short as compared to Eternity, that it may be counted as negligible: in the next verse the Day is characterized as "(ever) drawing near";

- in spite of the great concourse of souls to be judged, the process of Judgment will be almost instantaneous, "in the twinkling of an eye" (16:77), because everything is already known to Allah; and yet not the least injustice will be done.

وَأَنذِرْهُمْ يَوْمَ الْآزِفَةِ إِذِ الْقُلُوبُ لَدَى الْحَنَاجِرِ كَاظِمِينَ...

40: 18. Warn them of the Day that is (ever) drawing near, when the Hearts will (come) right up to the Throats to choke (them);

C4381. Hearts will come right up to the Throats to choke them:

an idiom implying that the whole of their life-functions will be choked up with terror.

But a more subtle meaning emerges from further analysis.

The heart (or the breast) is the seat of affection, emotion, and every kind of feeling, such as terror, pain, despair, etc. These things will as it were overflow right up to the throat and choke it. The throat is the vehicle for the voice; their voice will be choked, and they will be able to say nothing. The throat is the channel for food, which goes to the stomach and maintains a healthy functioning of life; the choking means that the healthy functioning will stop, and there will be nothing but woe.

... مَا لِلظَّالِمِينَ مِنْ حَمِيمٍ وَلَا شَفِيعٍ يُطَاعُ ﴿١٨﴾

no intimate friend nor intercessor will the wrongdoers have, who could be listened to.

C4382. In that enforcement of personal responsibility, what sympathy or intercession can the wrong-doers get?

Is Hamim in any way connected with the Abbreviated letters Ha Mim attached to this Surah?

See Introduction.

يَعْلَمُ خَائِنَةَ الْأَعْيُنِ ...

40: 19. (Allah) knows of (the tricks) that deceive with the eyes,

C4383. Men may be taken in by tricks that deceive with the eyes, but Allah's perfect knowledge penetrates through all mysteries.

"Deceive with the eyes" may mean several things;

- a sleight of hand (literally or figuratively) may deceive in respect of the eyes of beholders, for the things that they see do not actually happen;

- it may be the deceiver's own eyes that play false, because, for example, they show love when hatred is meant; or

- it may be that the eyes of the beholder play him false, in that he sees things that he should not see, and thus sins with his eyes.

... وَمَا تُخْفِي الصُّدُورُ ﴿١٩﴾

and all that hearts (of men) conceal.

C4384. Here we come into the region of evil motives and thoughts which may be concealed in the hearts, breast, or mind, but which are all perfectly known to Allah.

وَاللَّهُ يَقْضِي بِالْحَقِّ...

40: 20. And Allah will judge with (Justice and) Truth:

... وَالَّذِينَ يَدْعُونَ مِن دُونِهِ لَا يَقْضُونَ بِشَيْءٍ...

but those whom (men) invoke besides Him, will not (be in a position) to judge at all.

... إِنَّ اللَّهَ هُوَ السَّمِيعُ الْبَصِيرُ ﴿٢٠﴾

Verily it is Allah (alone) Who hears and sees (all things).

C4385. If men build their hopes or their faith in anything except the Divine Grace, they will find themselves deserted. Any pretences that they make will be known to Allah. On the other hand every single good act, or word, or motive, or aspiration of their win, will reach Allah's Throne of Mercy.