The Forgiver (Ghafir)
Verses 38-44 GROUP_1238 40.38-44
38
وَقَالَ الَّذِي آمَنَ يَا قَوْمِ اتَّبِعُونِ أَهْدِكُمْ سَبِيلَ الرَّشَادِ
The believer said, ‘My people, follow me! I will guide you to the right path.
39
يَا قَوْمِ إِنَّمَا هَذِهِ الْحَيَاةُ الدُّنْيَا مَتَاعٌ وَإِنَّ الْآخِرَةَ هِيَ دَارُ الْقَرَارِ
O my people, the life of this world is only a temporary provision; and the Hereafter is the permanent abode.
40
مَنْ عَمِلَ سَيِّئَةً فَلَا يُجْزَى إِلَّا مِثْلَهَا وَمَنْ عَمِلَ صَالِحًا مِّن ذَكَرٍ أَوْ أُنثَى وَهُوَ مُؤْمِنٌ فَأُوْلَئِكَ يَدْخُلُونَ الْجَنَّةَ يُرْزَقُونَ فِيهَا بِغَيْرِ حِسَابٍ
Whoever does evil will be requited with evil; but whoever does good, whether male or female, and is a believer, will enter the Garden; where they will be provided for without measure.
41
وَيَا قَوْمِ مَا لِي أَدْعُوكُمْ إِلَى النَّجَاةِ وَتَدْعُونَنِي إِلَى النَّارِ
My people! How is it that I call you to salvation, while you call me to the Fire?
42
تَدْعُونَنِي لِأَكْفُرَ بِاللَّهِ وَأُشْرِكَ بِهِ مَا لَيْسَ لِي بِهِ عِلْمٌ وَأَنَا أَدْعُوكُمْ إِلَى الْعَزِيزِ الْغَفَّارِ
You call upon me to deny God and to serve other deities about which I have no knowledge, while I call you to the Almighty, the Forgiver.
43
لَا جَرَمَ أَنَّمَا تَدْعُونَنِي إِلَيْهِ لَيْسَ لَهُ دَعْوَةٌ فِي الدُّنْيَا وَلَا فِي الْآخِرَةِ وَأَنَّ مَرَدَّنَا إِلَى اللَّهِ وَأَنَّ الْمُسْرِفِينَ هُمْ أَصْحَابُ النَّارِ
Surely that to which you call me has no say in this world or in the life to come, that our return is to God alone, and that the transgressors shall be the inmates of the Fire.
44
فَسَتَذْكُرُونَ مَا أَقُولُ لَكُمْ وَأُفَوِّضُ أَمْرِي إِلَى اللَّهِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ بَصِيرٌ بِالْعِبَادِ
Soon you will remember what I say to you! I shall entrust my affair to God, for God is observant of all [His] servants.’
No class discussions published for this verse group yet.
Commentary
(a) This speech made by the true believer of Pharaoh’s court is very clear. A model sermon, which shows what the mode of address of a preacher should be. (b) In other words the sentence, ‘I call you towards the Lord of the Universe, whereas you call me towards one who is quite ineffectual both in this world and in the Hereafter.’ This presents the gist of the speech of a true believer. This gives an idea of what was being discussed in Pharaoh’s court. The discussion was on whether God or other man-made deities should be invoked. The true believer said that God is a living and dominant entity. Calling upon Him amounts to calling upon the real God. As opposed to this, he said that their deities were only the creation of their imagination or objects of superstition, and were of no avail either in this world or in the world Hereafter. When they (the deities) have no real existence, how can they confer any real advantage? (Tafsir ibn Kathir, vol. IV, p. 80).