Surah Fatir ayat 37 Tafsir Quran 35:37

﴿وَهُمْ يَصْطَرِخُونَ فِيهَا رَبَّنَا أَخْرِجْنَا نَعْمَلْ صَالِحًا غَيْرَ الَّذِي كُنَّا نَعْمَلُ ۚ أَوَلَمْ نُعَمِّرْكُم مَّا يَتَذَكَّرُ فِيهِ مَن تَذَكَّرَ وَجَاءَكُمُ النَّذِيرُ ۖ فَذُوقُوا فَمَا لِلظَّالِمِينَ مِن نَّصِيرٍ﴾
[ فاطر: 37]

35:37 And they will cry out therein, "Our Lord, remove us; we will do righteousness - other than what we were doing!" But did We not grant you life enough for whoever would remember therein to remember, and the warner had come to you? So taste [the punishment], for there is not for the wrongdoers any helper.

While therein they will be crying out calling for help in distress howling and saying ‘Our Lord! Bring us forth from it and we will act righteously other than how we used to act’. But it will be said to them ‘Did We not give you long life enough time in which to take heed for him who would take heed? And moreover the warner the Messenger came to you but you did not respond to his call so taste now this chastisement! For the evildoers the disbelievers have no helper’ to ward off from them the chastisement.

While in the abysm of Hell, they shall implore Allah in a loud and excited voice, thus: O Allah, our Creator, deliver us out of it. We will imprint our deeds with wisdom and piety contrary to the wrong and the evil We did before. But they shall be told. Did We not give you life long enough to give a chance to him who was willing to open his hearts ears and to lift to Allah his inward sight!. You received Allahs Messengers who warned you of this unbearable Eventful Event! Therefore, you taste the fatal consequences and do not expect any one to afford you help

The Punishment of the Disbeliever and what Their State will be in Hell Having told us how the blessed will be ( in Paradise ), Allah now starts to tell us what the state of doomed will be.
He says: وَالَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ لَهُمْ نَارُ جَهَنَّمَ لاَ يُقْضَى عَلَيْهِمْ فَيَمُوتُواْ ( But those who disbelieve, for them will be the fire of Hell.
Neither will it have a complete killing effect on them so that they die ) This is like the Ayah: لاَ يَمُوتُ فِيهَا وَلاَ يَحْيَى ( Wherein he will neither die nor live ) ( 20:74 ).
It was reported in Sahih Muslim that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
«أَمَّا أَهْلُ النَّارِ الَّذِينَ هُمْ أَهْلُهَا، فَلَا يَمُوتُونَ فِيهَا وَلَا يَحْيَوْن»
( As for the people of Hell who will dwell therein, they will neither live nor die there.
) And Allah says: وَنَادَوْاْ يمَـلِكُ لِيَقْضِ عَلَيْنَا رَبُّكَ قَالَ إِنَّكُمْ مَّـكِثُونَ ( And they will cry (to the keeper of Hell ): "O Malik! Let your Lord make an end of us." He will say: "Verily, you shall abide forever.") ( 43:77 ).
When they are in this state, they will think that if only they could die, it would be a time of rest for them, but that can never happen to them.
Allah says: لاَ يُقْضَى عَلَيْهِمْ فَيَمُوتُواْ وَلاَ يُخَفَّفُ عَنْهُمْ مِّنْ عَذَابِهَا ( Neither will it have a complete killing effect on them so that they die nor shall its torment be lightened for them.
) This is like the Ayat: إِنَّ الْمُجْرِمِينَ فِى عَذَابِ جَهَنَّمَ خَـلِدُونَ - لاَ يُفَتَّرُ عَنْهُمْ وَهُمْ فِيهِ مُبْلِسُونَ ( Verily, the criminals will be in the torment of Hell to abide therein forever.
(That ) will not be lightened for them, and they will be plunged into destruction with deep regrets, sorrows and in despair therein.) ( 43:74-75 ). كُلَّمَا خَبَتْ زِدْنَاهُمْ سَعِيرًا ( whenever it abates, We shall increase for them the fierceness of the Fire ) ( 17:97 ), and فَذُوقُواْ فَلَن نَّزِيدَكُمْ إِلاَّ عَذَاباً ( So taste you.
No increase shall We give you, except in torment. ) ( 78:30 ).
Then Allah says: كَذَلِكَ نَجْزِى كُلَّ كَفُورٍ ( Thus do We requite every disbeliever! ) meaning, this is the recompense of everyone who disbelieved in his Lord and denied the truth. وَهُمْ يَصْطَرِخُونَ فِيهَا ( Therein they will cry ) means, they will call out in the Fire, beseeching Allah with their voices: رَبَّنَآ أَخْرِجْنَا نَعْمَلْ صَـلِحاً غَيْرَ الَّذِى كُـنَّا نَعْمَلُ ( "Our Lord! Bring us out, we shall do righteous good deeds, not that we used to do." ) which means, they will ask to go back to the worldly life so that they can do something different to the first deeds they did.
But Allah, may He be glorified, knows that if He sent them back to this world, they would go back to what they had been forbidden to do, and He knows that they are lying, so He will not respond to their plea.
This is like the Ayah where Allah tells us that they will say: فَهَلْ إِلَى خُرُوجٍ مِّن سَبِيلٍذَلِكُم بِأَنَّهُ إِذَا دُعِىَ اللَّهُ وَحْدَهُ كَـفَرْتُمْ وَإِن يُشْرَكْ بِهِ تُؤْمِنُواْ ( Then is there any way to get out (of the Fire ).
( It will be said ): "This is because, when Allah Alone was invoked you disbelieved ( denied ), but when partners were joined to Him, you believed!) ( 40:11,12 ) i.e., `there will be no response for you because you were like that; if you were to return to this world, you would just go back to that which you had been forbidden to do.' Allah says here: أَوَلَمْ نُعَمِّرْكُمْ مَّا يَتَذَكَّرُ فِيهِ مَن تَذَكَّرَ وَجَآءَكُمُ النَّذِيرُ ( Did We not give you lives long enough, so that whosoever would receive admonition could receive it And the warner came to you. ) meaning, `did you not live for long enough in the world that if you were to be among those who would benefit from the truth, you would have benefited from it during your lifetimes' Imam Ahmad recorded that Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, said that the Prophet said:
«لَقَدْ أَعْذَرَ اللهُ تَعَالَى إِلَى عَبْدٍ أَحْيَاهُ حَتْى بَلَغَ سِتِّينَ أَوْ سَبْعِينَ سَنَةً، لَقَدْ أَعْذَرَ اللهُ تَعَالَى إِلَيْهِ، لَقَدْ أَعْذَرَ اللهُ تَعَالَى إِلَيْه»
( Allah has left no excuse for the person who lives to be sixty or seventy years old; Allah has left no excuse for him; Allah has left no excuse for him. ) Imam Al-Bukhari also recorded, in the Book of Riqaq in his Sahih, that Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, said, "The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
«أَعْذَرَ اللهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ إِلَى امْرِىءٍ أَخَّرَ عُمْرَهُ حَتْى بَلَغَ سِتِّينَ سَنَة»
( Allah has left no excuse for a man who reaches the age of sixty. )" Ibn Jarir recorded that Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, said, "The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
«مَنْ عَمَّرَهُ اللهُ تَعَالَى سِتِّينَ سَنَةً فَقَدْ أَعْذَرَ إِلَيْهِ فِي الْعُمْر»
( Whoever is granted a long life until the age of sixty, Allah has left no excuse for him. )" This was also recorded by Imam Ahmad and An-Nasa'i in Ar-Riqaq.
Because this is the age at which Allah removes any excuse from His servants, this is the usual age of people in this Ummah, as was reported in the Hadith of Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, who said, "The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
«أَعْمَارُ أُمَّتِي مَا بَيْنَ السِّتِّينَ إِلَى السَّبْعِينَ، وَأَقَلُّهُمْ مَنْ يَجُوزُ ذَلِك»
( The usual life span in my Ummah is between sixty and seventy years, and only a few pass this age. )" This was also recorded by At-Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah in the Book of Zuhd of his Sunan. وَجَآءَكُمُ النَّذِيرُ ( And the warner came to you.
) It was reported that Ibn `Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, `Ikrimah, Abu Ja`far Al-Baqir, may Allah be pleased with him, Qatadah and Sufyan bin `Uyaynah said, "This means grey hair." As-Suddi and `Abdur-Rahman bin Zayd bin Aslam said, "This means the Messenger of Allah ﷺ " and Ibn Zayd recited, هَـذَا نَذِيرٌ مِّنَ النُّذُرِ الاٍّوْلَى ( This is a warner of the (series of ) warners of old.) ( 53:56 ).
This is the correct view according to Shayban who narrated that Qatadah said, "Proof will be established against them by the fact that they lived long enough and that Messengers came to them." This is also the view favored by Ibn Jarir, and it is the apparent meaning of the Ayah: وَنَادَوْاْ يمَـلِكُ لِيَقْضِ عَلَيْنَا رَبُّكَ قَالَ إِنَّكُمْ مَّـكِثُونَ - لَقَدْ جِئْنَـكُم بِالْحَقِّ وَلَـكِنَّ أَكْثَرَكُمْ لِلْحَقِّ كَـرِهُونَ ( And they will cry (to the keeper of Hell ): "O Malik! Let your Lord make an end of us." He will say: "Verily, you shall abide forever." Indeed We have brought the truth to you, but most of you have a hatred for the truth.)( 43:77-78 ) meaning: `We showed you the truth clearly through the Messengers, but you rejected it and opposed it.' And Allah says: وَمَا كُنَّا مُعَذِّبِينَ حَتَّى نَبْعَثَ رَسُولاً ( And We never punish until We have sent a Messenger ) ( 17:15 ). تَكَادُ تَمَيَّزُ مِنَ الغَيْظِ كُلَّمَا أُلْقِىَ فِيهَا فَوْجٌ سَأَلَهُمْ خَزَنَتُهَآ أَلَمْ يَأْتِكُمْ نَذِيرٌ - قَالُواْ بَلَى قَدْ جَآءَنَا نَذِيرٌ فَكَذَّبْنَا وَقُلْنَا مَا نَزَّلَ اللَّهُ مِن شَىْءٍ إِنْ أَنتُمْ إِلاَّ فِى ضَلَـلٍ كَبِيرٍ ( Every time a group is cast therein, its keepers will ask: "Did no warner come to you" They will say: "Yes, indeed a warner did come to us, but we denied him and said: `Allah never sent down anything; you are only in great error'." ) ( 67:8-9 ). فَذُوقُواْ فَمَا لِلظَّـلِمِينَ مِن نَّصِيرٍ ( So taste you.
For the wrongdoers there is no helper. ) means, `taste the punishment of the Fire, as a recompense for your going against the Prophets in all your deeds, for today you will have no helper to save you from your fate of punishment and chains.' إِنَّ اللَّهَ عَـلِمُ غَيْبِ السَّمَـوَتِ وَالاٌّرْضِ إِنَّهُ عَلِيمٌ بِذَاتِ الصُّدُورِ

(35:37) They will cry out in Hell and say: 'Our Lord, let us out so that we may act righteously, different from what we did before.' (They will be told): 'Did we not grant you an age long enough for anyone to take heed if he had wanted to take heed? *63Besides, there came a warner to you. So have a taste of the torment now. None may come to the help of the wrong-doers.'

And they will cry out therein, "Our meaning

*63) This implies every such age of life in which a person may be able to distinguish between good and evil, truth and falsehood, if he likes to, and turn to right guidance instead of deviation, if he wishes.
If a person has died before attaining such an age, he will not be called to any account according to this verse.
However, the one who has attained this age will certainly be held answerable for his actions.
Then, as long as he lives after attaining this age and gets more and more opportunities for choosing and adopting the right path, his responsibility also will increase accordingly; so much so that the one who does not adopt right guidance even in old age will have no chance left for making any excuse.
This same thing has been reported by Hadrat Abu Hurairah and Hadrat Sahl bin Sa'd as-Sa'idi in a Hadith, saying: " The one who lives a short life has an excuse to offer, but there is no room for making an excuse for him who lives for 60 years or more. " ( Bukhari Ahmad, Nasa'i, Ibn Jarir, Ibn Abi Hatim ).

 

The Punishment of the Disbeliever and what Their State will be in Hell Having told us how the blessed will be ( in Paradise ), Allah now starts to tell us what the state of doomed will be.
He says: وَالَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ لَهُمْ نَارُ جَهَنَّمَ لاَ يُقْضَى عَلَيْهِمْ فَيَمُوتُواْ ( But those who disbelieve, for them will be the fire of Hell.
Neither will it have a complete killing effect on them so that they die ) This is like the Ayah: لاَ يَمُوتُ فِيهَا وَلاَ يَحْيَى ( Wherein he will neither die nor live ) ( 20:74 ).
It was reported in Sahih Muslim that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: «أَمَّا أَهْلُ النَّارِ الَّذِينَ هُمْ أَهْلُهَا، فَلَا يَمُوتُونَ فِيهَا وَلَا يَحْيَوْن» ( As for the people of Hell who will dwell therein, they will neither live nor die there.
) And Allah says: وَنَادَوْاْ يمَـلِكُ لِيَقْضِ عَلَيْنَا رَبُّكَ قَالَ إِنَّكُمْ مَّـكِثُونَ ( And they will cry (to the keeper of Hell ): "O Malik! Let your Lord make an end of us." He will say: "Verily, you shall abide forever.") ( 43:77 ).
When they are in this state, they will think that if only they could die, it would be a time of rest for them, but that can never happen to them.
Allah says: لاَ يُقْضَى عَلَيْهِمْ فَيَمُوتُواْ وَلاَ يُخَفَّفُ عَنْهُمْ مِّنْ عَذَابِهَا ( Neither will it have a complete killing effect on them so that they die nor shall its torment be lightened for them.
) This is like the Ayat: إِنَّ الْمُجْرِمِينَ فِى عَذَابِ جَهَنَّمَ خَـلِدُونَ - لاَ يُفَتَّرُ عَنْهُمْ وَهُمْ فِيهِ مُبْلِسُونَ ( Verily, the criminals will be in the torment of Hell to abide therein forever.
(That ) will not be lightened for them, and they will be plunged into destruction with deep regrets, sorrows and in despair therein.) ( 43:74-75 ). كُلَّمَا خَبَتْ زِدْنَاهُمْ سَعِيرًا ( whenever it abates, We shall increase for them the fierceness of the Fire ) ( 17:97 ), and فَذُوقُواْ فَلَن نَّزِيدَكُمْ إِلاَّ عَذَاباً ( So taste you.
No increase shall We give you, except in torment. ) ( 78:30 ).
Then Allah says: كَذَلِكَ نَجْزِى كُلَّ كَفُورٍ ( Thus do We requite every disbeliever! ) meaning, this is the recompense of everyone who disbelieved in his Lord and denied the truth. وَهُمْ يَصْطَرِخُونَ فِيهَا ( Therein they will cry ) means, they will call out in the Fire, beseeching Allah with their voices: رَبَّنَآ أَخْرِجْنَا نَعْمَلْ صَـلِحاً غَيْرَ الَّذِى كُـنَّا نَعْمَلُ ( "Our Lord! Bring us out, we shall do righteous good deeds, not that we used to do." ) which means, they will ask to go back to the worldly life so that they can do something different to the first deeds they did.
But Allah, may He be glorified, knows that if He sent them back to this world, they would go back to what they had been forbidden to do, and He knows that they are lying, so He will not respond to their plea.
This is like the Ayah where Allah tells us that they will say: فَهَلْ إِلَى خُرُوجٍ مِّن سَبِيلٍذَلِكُم بِأَنَّهُ إِذَا دُعِىَ اللَّهُ وَحْدَهُ كَـفَرْتُمْ وَإِن يُشْرَكْ بِهِ تُؤْمِنُواْ ( Then is there any way to get out (of the Fire ).
( It will be said ): "This is because, when Allah Alone was invoked you disbelieved ( denied ), but when partners were joined to Him, you believed!) ( 40:11,12 ) i.e., `there will be no response for you because you were like that; if you were to return to this world, you would just go back to that which you had been forbidden to do.' Allah says here: أَوَلَمْ نُعَمِّرْكُمْ مَّا يَتَذَكَّرُ فِيهِ مَن تَذَكَّرَ وَجَآءَكُمُ النَّذِيرُ ( Did We not give you lives long enough, so that whosoever would receive admonition could receive it And the warner came to you. ) meaning, `did you not live for long enough in the world that if you were to be among those who would benefit from the truth, you would have benefited from it during your lifetimes' Imam Ahmad recorded that Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, said that the Prophet said: «لَقَدْ أَعْذَرَ اللهُ تَعَالَى إِلَى عَبْدٍ أَحْيَاهُ حَتْى بَلَغَ سِتِّينَ أَوْ سَبْعِينَ سَنَةً، لَقَدْ أَعْذَرَ اللهُ تَعَالَى إِلَيْهِ، لَقَدْ أَعْذَرَ اللهُ تَعَالَى إِلَيْه» ( Allah has left no excuse for the person who lives to be sixty or seventy years old; Allah has left no excuse for him; Allah has left no excuse for him. ) Imam Al-Bukhari also recorded, in the Book of Riqaq in his Sahih, that Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, said, "The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: «أَعْذَرَ اللهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ إِلَى امْرِىءٍ أَخَّرَ عُمْرَهُ حَتْى بَلَغَ سِتِّينَ سَنَة» ( Allah has left no excuse for a man who reaches the age of sixty. )" Ibn Jarir recorded that Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, said, "The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: «مَنْ عَمَّرَهُ اللهُ تَعَالَى سِتِّينَ سَنَةً فَقَدْ أَعْذَرَ إِلَيْهِ فِي الْعُمْر» ( Whoever is granted a long life until the age of sixty, Allah has left no excuse for him. )" This was also recorded by Imam Ahmad and An-Nasa'i in Ar-Riqaq.
Because this is the age at which Allah removes any excuse from His servants, this is the usual age of people in this Ummah, as was reported in the Hadith of Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, who said, "The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: «أَعْمَارُ أُمَّتِي مَا بَيْنَ السِّتِّينَ إِلَى السَّبْعِينَ، وَأَقَلُّهُمْ مَنْ يَجُوزُ ذَلِك» ( The usual life span in my Ummah is between sixty and seventy years, and only a few pass this age. )" This was also recorded by At-Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah in the Book of Zuhd of his Sunan. وَجَآءَكُمُ النَّذِيرُ ( And the warner came to you.
) It was reported that Ibn `Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, `Ikrimah, Abu Ja`far Al-Baqir, may Allah be pleased with him, Qatadah and Sufyan bin `Uyaynah said, "This means grey hair." As-Suddi and `Abdur-Rahman bin Zayd bin Aslam said, "This means the Messenger of Allah ﷺ " and Ibn Zayd recited, هَـذَا نَذِيرٌ مِّنَ النُّذُرِ الاٍّوْلَى ( This is a warner of the (series of ) warners of old.) ( 53:56 ).
This is the correct view according to Shayban who narrated that Qatadah said, "Proof will be established against them by the fact that they lived long enough and that Messengers came to them." This is also the view favored by Ibn Jarir, and it is the apparent meaning of the Ayah: وَنَادَوْاْ يمَـلِكُ لِيَقْضِ عَلَيْنَا رَبُّكَ قَالَ إِنَّكُمْ مَّـكِثُونَ - لَقَدْ جِئْنَـكُم بِالْحَقِّ وَلَـكِنَّ أَكْثَرَكُمْ لِلْحَقِّ كَـرِهُونَ ( And they will cry (to the keeper of Hell ): "O Malik! Let your Lord make an end of us." He will say: "Verily, you shall abide forever." Indeed We have brought the truth to you, but most of you have a hatred for the truth.)( 43:77-78 ) meaning: `We showed you the truth clearly through the Messengers, but you rejected it and opposed it.' And Allah says: وَمَا كُنَّا مُعَذِّبِينَ حَتَّى نَبْعَثَ رَسُولاً ( And We never punish until We have sent a Messenger ) ( 17:15 ). تَكَادُ تَمَيَّزُ مِنَ الغَيْظِ كُلَّمَا أُلْقِىَ فِيهَا فَوْجٌ سَأَلَهُمْ خَزَنَتُهَآ أَلَمْ يَأْتِكُمْ نَذِيرٌ - قَالُواْ بَلَى قَدْ جَآءَنَا نَذِيرٌ فَكَذَّبْنَا وَقُلْنَا مَا نَزَّلَ اللَّهُ مِن شَىْءٍ إِنْ أَنتُمْ إِلاَّ فِى ضَلَـلٍ كَبِيرٍ ( Every time a group is cast therein, its keepers will ask: "Did no warner come to you" They will say: "Yes, indeed a warner did come to us, but we denied him and said: `Allah never sent down anything; you are only in great error'." ) ( 67:8-9 ). فَذُوقُواْ فَمَا لِلظَّـلِمِينَ مِن نَّصِيرٍ ( So taste you.
For the wrongdoers there is no helper. ) means, `taste the punishment of the Fire, as a recompense for your going against the Prophets in all your deeds, for today you will have no helper to save you from your fate of punishment and chains.' إِنَّ اللَّهَ عَـلِمُ غَيْبِ السَّمَـوَتِ وَالاٌّرْضِ إِنَّهُ عَلِيمٌ بِذَاتِ الصُّدُورِ

( And they ) i.e. the disbelievers ( cry for help there ) in the Fire, and implore and beseech, ( (saying ): Our Lord!) O our Lord! ( Release us ) from the Fire and return us to the life of the world, for we will believe in You; and ( we will do right ) sincerely believing in You, ( not (the wrong ) that we used to do) in our state of idolatry. Allah will say to them: ( Did not We grant you a life ) did We not give you, O group of disbelievers, in the life of the world a respite ( long enough for who reflected to reflect ) long enough for reflection ( therein ) for anyone who wanted to reflect? ( And the warner ) Muhammad ( pbuh ) ( came unto you ) with the Qur’an and warned you against this day, but you did not believe him. ( Now taste (the flavour of your deeds )) taste the torment of the Fire, ( for evil-doers ) the disbelievers ( have no helper ) to save them from Allah’s chastisement.

Therein they will cry: "Our Lord! Bring us out, we shall do righteous good deeds, not (the evil deeds) that we used to do." (Allah will reply): "Did We not give you lives long enough, so that whosoever would receive admonition, - could receive it? And the warner came to you. So taste you (the evil of your deeds). For the Zalimun (polytheists and wrongdoers, etc.) there is no helper."

Page 438 English transliteration