463 Page Notes

39 Surah Az-Zumar (continued)

Page 463 - Related Hadith/Sunnah

Translation of the meaning by Sahih International.

Page 463 - Related Hadiths and Sunnah

Page 463 of the Quran spans Surah Az-Zumar (39), Verses 41 through 47. This section addresses deep theological and existential themes: the personal nature of responsibility, the spiritual reality of sleep as a "minor death," the futility of seeking false intercessors, and the severe regret of the disbelievers on the Day of Judgment.

The Sunnah and classical Hadith literature provide profound context, prayers, and explanations that directly align with these verses.

1. The Core Purpose of Revelation (Verse 41)

"Indeed, We sent down to you the Book for the people in truth. So whoever is guided – it is for his soul; and whoever goes astray only goes astray to its detriment. And you are not a manager over them."

This verse defines the Prophet’s role strictly as a conveyor of message rather than a forced controller of hearts. The Sunnah records that the Prophet strictly abided by this, focusing on preaching while maintaining deep concern for his people without forcing conviction.

• The Connected Prophetic Instruction: In his Farewell Sermon and across several Hadiths, the Prophet emphasized personal accountability in alignment with this verse:
  "Behold! Every custom of Jahiliyyah (pre-Islamic ignorance) is under my feet... Your blood, your property, and your honor are sacred to one another... You will appear before your Lord, and He will demand from you an account of your actions."
  (Cited in: Sahih Muslim, Book 15 [The Book of Pilgrimage], Hadith 1218).

2. The Soul During Sleep and Death (Verse 42)

"Allah takes the souls at the time of their death, and those that do not die during their sleep. Then He keeps those for which He has decreed death and releases the others for a specified term..."

This is one of the most heavily cited verses regarding the Islamic theology of the soul (Ruh). It establishes that sleep is a "lesser death" where souls leave the body and enter a metaphysical realm, and waking up is a literal resurrection.

The Prophet integrated this verse seamlessly into the daily Sunnah through morning and night supplications (Adhkar):

A. The Sunnah of Going to Sleep

The Prophet taught his companions to acknowledge that their soul is entirely in Allah's hands when they lie down:

Abu Hurayrah narrated that the Prophet said: "When any one of you goes to bed, he should shake off his bedsheet... then he should say: 'In Your Name, my Lord, I lay down my side, and by You I raise it. If You retain my soul, have mercy on it, and if You send it back, protect it as You protect Your righteous servants.'" ($بِاسْمِكَ رَبِّي وَضَعْتُ جَنْبِي...) $

Source Citation: Sahih al-Bukhari, Book 80 (Book of Invocations), Hadith 6320; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2714.

B. The Sunnah of Waking Up

Upon waking, the Prophet immediately thanked Allah for "returning" the soul and giving life after a temporary death:

Hudhaifah bin al-Yaman narrated: "Whenever the Prophet got up from sleep, he used to say: 'All praise is due to Allah Who gave us life after He caused us to die, and to Him is the resurrection.'" ($الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ الَّذِي أَحْيَانَا بَعْدَ مَا أَمَاتَنَا وَإِلَيْهِ النُّشُورُ$)

Source Citation: Sahih al-Bukhari, Book 80, Hadith 6324.

3. The Rejection of Idols as Intercessors (Verses 43–44)

"Or have they taken other than Allah as intercessors? Say, 'Even though they do not possess [power over] anything, nor do they reason?' Say, 'To Allah belongs [the right to allow] intercession entirely...'"

The Quraysh justified their idol worship by claiming these statues were not creators, but merely intermediaries that brought them closer to God. Verses 43–44 shatter this logic, stating that intercession (Shafa'ah) belongs entirely to Allah.

The Sunnah clarifies that true intercession on the Day of Judgment is a specialized gift granted by Allah to the Prophet, and it can only be achieved through strict monotheism, not through idols:

Abu Hurayrah asked the Prophet: "O Messenger of Allah! Who will be the luckiest person to gain your intercession on the Day of Resurrection?" The Prophet replied: "The luckiest person to gain my intercession... will be the one who says 'La ilaha illallah' (None has the right to be worshipped but Allah) sincerely from the bottom of his heart."

Source Citation: Sahih al-Bukhari, Book 3 (Book of Knowledge), Hadith 99.

4. Aversion to the Mention of Allah Alone (Verse 45)

"And when Allah is mentioned alone, the hearts of those who do not believe in the Hereafter shrink with aversion, but when those [worshipped] other than Him are mentioned, immediately they rejoice."

This verse describes a psychological condition of the polytheists—their hearts literally felt restricted or disgusted (Ishma'azzat) when Tawhid (pure monotheism) was declared, but lit up when their pagan traditions or idols were brought up.

The Sunnah tracks how the physical response of the polytheists matched this exact description when they heard the Call to Prayer (Adhan):

The Prophet said: "When the Adhan is pronounced, Satan takes to his heels and passes wind with noise so as not to hear the Adhan..."

Abu Hurayrah noted in related narrations that the polytheists would similarly cover their ears or make noise to drown out the pure mention of Allah.

Source Citation: Sahih al-Bukhari, Book 10 (Book of Call to Prayer), Hadith 608.

5. Prophetic Supplication for Absolute Truth (Verse 46)

"Say, 'O Allah, Creator of the heavens and the earth, Knower of the unseen and the witnessed, You will judge between your servants concerning that over which they used to differ.'"

Because human beings constantly argue and differ over theological truths, Allah commands the Prophet in this verse to make a specific declaration of surrender to God's ultimate judgment.

The Prophet utilized the core text of this exact Quranic verse to open his late-night voluntary prayers (Tahajjud), turning it into a beautiful Sunnah formula to seek guidance during times of human confusion:

Aisha (the wife of the Prophet) was asked: "With what did the Messenger of Allah start his prayer when he woke up at night?" She said: "He would open his prayer with: 'O Allah, Lord of Jibril, Mika'il, and Israfil, Creator of the heavens and the earth, Knower of the unseen and the witnessed, You judge between Your servants concerning that over which they used to differ. Guide me in that regarding which there is dispute concerning the truth, by Your permission...'"

Source Citation: Sahih Muslim, Book 6 (The Book of Prayer - Travelers), Hadith 770.

Surah Az-Zumar (39), Verse 47 reads:

"And if those who did wrong had all that is in the earth entirely and the like of it with it, they would [attempt to] ransom themselves thereby from the worst of the punishment on the Day of Resurrection. And there will appear to them from Allah that which they had not taken into account."

This verse addresses two profound psychological and theological realities regarding the Day of Judgment: the worthlessness of worldly wealth when trying to escape divine justice, and the terrifying realization of facing sins or outcomes a person completely miscalculated.

The Sunnah and classical Hadith corpuses provide direct textual commentary on both halves of this verse.

1. The Futility of the Ransom (The "Earth Full of Gold" Hadith)

The first part of the verse explains that a wrongdoer would willingly give up the entire wealth of the earth—and as much again—to escape the punishment. The Prophet explicitly detailed this exact cosmic scene in a famous, highly authenticated narration:

Anas bin Malik narrated that the Prophet said:

"Allah will say to that person of the Fire who will have the least punishment on the Day of Resurrection: 'If you had everything that is on the earth, would you give it to ransom yourself?' He will reply, 'Yes.' Then Allah will say, 'While you were in the loins of Adam, I asked you for much less than this: that you should not associate partners with Me in worship, but you insisted on associating partners with Me.'"

Source Citation: Sahih al-Bukhari, Book 60 (Book of Prophets), Hadith 3334; Sahih Muslim, Book 52 (Characteristics of Judgment Day), Hadith 2805.

This Hadith directly illustrates the tragic irony of Verse 47: a person would trade an impossible fortune to purchase safety on Judgment Day, yet they refused to give up simple idolatry or arrogance to secure it during their life on earth.

2. "And there will appear to them from Allah that which they had not taken into account"

The second half of the verse refers to a terrifying psychological shock ($وَبَدَا لَهُم مِّنَ اللَّهِ مَا لَمْ يَكُونُوا يَحْتَسِبُونَ$). Scholars of Hadith and Tafsir point out that this applies to two categories of people: those who thought their minor sins were meaningless, and those whose good deeds were secretly ruined by insincerity or showing off (Riyaa').

A. The Accumulation of "Insignificant" Sins

People often minimize small misdeeds, thinking they will never face accountability for them. The Sunnah strongly warns against this exact mindset, showing how minor sins build up to create the sudden, unexpected ruin described in the verse:

Abdullah bin Mas'ud narrated that the Messenger of Allah said:

"Beware of minor sins! For they gather upon a person until they destroy him." The Messenger of Allah gave an analogy: "Like a group of people who camp in a desert valley. One man brings a stick, another brings a stick, until they have gathered enough to bake their bread."

Source Citation: Musnad Ahmad, Hadith 22302; authenticated as Sahih (authentic) by Al-Albani in Sahih al-Jami', Hadith 2687.

B. The Ruin of Insincerity (Riyaa')

The great early Islamic scholar Sufyan al-Thawri used to weep when reciting this specific verse. He noted that it applies heavily to people who performed actions they assumed were righteous, only to find them rejected by Allah because they were done to impress others:

"Ruined are those who did good deeds only to pretend their piety before people... They did good deeds to impress people, who took them to be good. But once they are in the life after death, the punishment comes upon them suddenly against their expectation." (Recorded in Al-Qurtubi's Tafsir of 39:47).

This is firmly rooted in a cornerstone Hadith regarding the first three people dragged into the Hellfire—a scholar, a wealthy donor, and a warrior. All three believed their deeds would guarantee salvation, yet they experienced a terrifying reality they had not taken into account:

Abu Hurayrah narrated that the Prophet said regarding the scholar who taught only to be praised by men:

"You have lied. You learned knowledge so that it would be said, 'He is a scholar,' and you recited the Quran so that it would be said, 'He is a reciter.' And so it was said. Then he will be ordered to be dragged on his face until he is cast into the Fire."

Source Citation: Sahih Muslim, Book 33 (Book of Leadership), Hadith 1905.