39. Surah Az-Zumar

The Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:

فَاعْبُدُوا مَا شِئْتُم مِّن دُونِهِ...

39:15 . "Serve ye what ye will besides Him."

C4264. This is not a command or permission but a reproach and warning. The address of the Prophet of Allah may be paraphrased thus:

'Whatever happens I will follow the command of Allah. He has revealed Himself, and I know that He is One, supreme over all creatures. Him alone will I serve. Is there any so ignorant as to seek anyone else? Let him do so and see the result. The loss will be his own. For he falls from Grace into Evil.' (R).

... قُلْ إِنَّ الْخَاسِرِينَ الَّذِينَ خَسِرُوا أَنفُسَهُمْ وَأَهْلِيهِمْ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ...

Say:

"Truly, those in loss are those who lose their own souls and their People on the Day of Judgement:

C4265. The cult of Evil results in the destruction of all that is best and most valuable in us, as well as poisons all the affections which link us to our families, friends, and people, in the Final Adjustment, which we call the Day of Judgment.

... أَلَا ذَلِكَ هُوَ الْخُسْرَانُ الْمُبِينُ ﴿١٥﴾

Ah!

that is indeed the (real and) evident Loss!"

لَهُم مِّن فَوْقِهِمْ ظُلَلٌ مِّنَ النَّارِ وَمِن تَحْتِهِمْ ظُلَلٌ...

39:16. They shall have layers of fire above them, and layers (of fire) below them:

C4266. The consequences of Sin when Judgment comes are aptly figured by Layers upon Layers of Fire, which hem in the sinners above and below.

It is also suggested that the Layers, though of Fire, have something dark in them-the scorching quality of Sin.

... ذَلِكَ يُخَوِّفُ اللَّهُ بِهِ عِبَادَهُ...

with this doth Allah warn off His servants:

C4267. But Allah does not leave mankind without warning. Man has been granted a limited amount of free-will, and in order to help him in its right use, all the consequences of his action are clearly explained to him.

To those who will listen to Reason are given arguments which can be apprehended by their own intelligence; to those who are swayed by affections and emotion, an appeal is made in the name of the love of Allah; to those who understand nothing but fear, the warning is conveyed by a portrayal of the dreadful consequences of wrong-doing.

... يَا عِبَادِ فَاتَّقُونِ ﴿١٦﴾

"O My servants! Then fear ye Me!"

Asad’s Version:

(39: 15) and [it is up to you, O sinners, to] worship whatever you please instead of Him!" Say: "Behold, the [true] losers will be they who shall have lost their own selves and their kith and kin on Resurrection Day: 18 for is not this, this, the [most] obvious loss?

(39: 16) Clouds of fire will they have above them, and [similar] clouds beneath them...." In this way does God imbue His servants with fear. 19 O you servants of Mine! Be, then, conscious of Me –