[1] (In the name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful)

The meaning

More explanation

[One of the associaters among the people of Mecca said: “God, if this [Quran] is indeed the truth [coming] from You, then rain down on us [a shower of] stones out of the sky, or bring us a painful chastisement!"

He said this in a way of mocking and denying the apostle-hood of Mohammed; therefore, this soora was revealed in reply to his requesting the chastisement:]

[2] 1. No^a, I swear by this city [of Mecca: I shall not bring the punishment on this city.]

[3] 2. As long as you [Mohammed] are dwelling in this city^b.

[4] 3. And [as long as there are believers therein of] old parents and their children.^c

[5] 4. Surely, We created man [: Adam] inside [a grave^d; and his progeny inside the womb.]

[These ayat were revealed concerning Abu Aswad son of Kilda:]

[6] 5. Does he^e think none [of creatures] is stronger than him?^f

[7] 6. He says [to his people]: "I have expended abundant wealth [in charity.]"^g

[Therefore, God – be glorified – said in reply to him:]

[8] 7. Does he think that none [of Our angels^h] has seen him?

[9] 8. Have We not made to him two eyes [with which he sees],

[10] 9. And a tongue and two lips [with which he speaksⁱ]?

[11] 10. And acquainted him about the two ways [of the truth and the falsehood]?^j

[12] 11. But he cannot assault the obstacle^k [in order to enter into Paradise.]

[13] 12. But do you know what [righteous work, makes to man a way in] the obstacle^l?

[Then God – be glorified – described the deeds by which he may traverse such obstacle, and He said:]

[14] 13. [It is] to free a believer from captivity or slavery.

[15] 14. Or to feed in the time of starvation:

[16] 15. An orphan of the relatives.^m

[17] 16. Or [to feed] a poor man who sits on the dust [because of his extreme poverty.]

[18] 17. In addition to be one of those who believe and advise each other to be steadfast [about the distress and affliction], and advise each other to be merciful [to the poor and the weak.]

[19] 18. It is such [believers just mentioned] that will have 'success and happiness'.ⁿ

[20] 19. But those who disbelieve in Our revelations will [after their death] receive the bad omen [of the chastisement.]^o

[21] 20. A fire in which they will be locked up^p.

^{1 a} This swearing is for the future. [The word ‘no’ implies that the punishment will settle on them in the future, not at the time of revealing this soora or chapter.]

^{2 b} It means: I will not send down the punishment on the people of Mecca as long as you are dwelling or residing in it.

^{3 c} It means: And as long as there are old men and children of the believers; I will not send down the chastisement lest it should fall on them.

The indication of this is His saying – be glorified – in the Quran 8: 33, which means:

(But God does not torment them while you [Mohammed] are dwelling among them; nor did God torment them [in the past] while they asked Him to forgive.)

^{4 d} God created man, i.e. Adam, inside the mountain, i.e. in an old grave which was on that mountain; and for this reason, Iblies [or Satan] refused to prostrate himself to Adam and said: as in the Quran 15: 33, which means:

("I am not to prostrate myself to a human being whom You create out of a black putrid clay.")

That is:

Ø because the rain water came down into that grave and mixed with the decayed remnants [in that grave] which became a black putrid clay or mud,

Ø and because the creation of bodies does not take place on the surface of the earth and under direct sun rays, but it must occur in a dark place to which sun rays do not reach; therefore, God – be glorified – said in the Quran 39: 6, which means:

(He does create you in your mothers' wombs: creation after creation, in three shadows.)

While His saying – be glorified – in the Quran 2: 35, which means:

(And We said: "O Adam! Dwell together with your wife in the garden);

the ‘garden’ here means the garden which was on one of the northern mountains of Iraq [and not ‘heaven’ or the ethereal or spiritual Garden of the Next Life.]

By the way, Noah also dwelt near Mosul in Iraq, as did Abraham dwell near Nasiriyya in the southern part of Iraq.

^{5 e} i.e. this man who has a self-conceit with his strength.

^{5 f} Are not the angels stronger and more powerful than him?

^{6 g} That is because when he heard the word of God – be glorified – in the Quran 83: 22, which means:

(Surely, the pious [shall prosper] in the prosperity [of Paradise.])

He said: “If the pious prospers in Paradise as does Mohammed claim, so I have spent much money on the poor, so I shall be admitted to Paradise and prosper in it.”

^{7 h} Those who write down the words and record the work of people; for truly he lied with his words, and he did not spend his wealth on the poor, but he expended it on a woman, named Sumáa whom he loved.

^{9 i} So as to realize about God’s might and wisdom.

The meaning: The One Who has made for him two eyes with which he can see and a mouth with which he can speak; is not He All-Able to perform the ‘sending to the Next Life’?

Then why does this associater deny the ‘sending to the Next Life’ and the ‘Requital’, so he mocks, about Paradise and the reward, by saying: “I have expended abundant money”?

^{10 j} It means: We guided him to the way of the truth, but he refused to take it, and We warned him of the way of the falsehood, but he did not refrain from it.

^{11 k} It means: He will not be admitted into Paradise, because Paradise cannot be attained unless after assaulting the obstacle.

The ‘assaulting’ is the entering into the region of danger, while the ‘obstacle’ is the gaseous layer where the ultraviolet rays stop.

It has been mentioned in the interpretation of the Quran 72: 17, which means:

(And whoso turns away from the remembrance of his Lord [and does not thank Him], He will drive him up [in the sky] to be chastised [in the fatal gaseous layers.])

So the believer after his death will assault that gaseous layer and force his way through it to the Garden of Refuge, to which the souls of righteous believers will resort in the Barzakh world [or the Afterlife.]

This is confirmed by His saying – be glorified – in the Quran 7: 40, which means:

(Those that deny Our signs and are arrogant against [accepting] them – the gates of [the gaseous] heaven shall not be opened to them, nor shall they enter Paradise.)

It means: There will not be opened for them any way in the suffocating gaseous heavens through which they may ascend to Paradise.

The reason for this is that Paradise (or the Garden) is in the space above the suffocating gaseous layers; therefore, anyone who wants to ascend to Paradise should go through these gaseous layers so as to reach to Paradise.

Therefore, the ‘obstacle’ is the gaseous layer which impedes the disbelievers, and prevents them from going up to the Gardens (or Paradises.)

^{12 l} So that he may traverse such obstacle, and ascend from it to Paradise.

^{15 m} It means: to feed an orphan, that is one of his kindred.

^{18 n} For they will be admitted into Paradise.

^{19 o} It means: We tell them, following their death, that they will face the chastisement.

^{20 p} So that they cannot get out of it.

By God's help, the interpretation of the soora 90 of the Quran is completed;

So (praise be to God: Lord of the worlds.)

[2] 1. لَا أُقْسِمُ بِهَذَا الْبَلَدِ

[3] 2. وَأَنتَ حِلٌّ بِهَذَا الْبَلَدِ

[4] 3. وَوَالِدٍ وَمَا وَلَدَ

[5] 4. لَقَدْ خَلَقْنَا الْإِنسَانَ فِي كَبَدٍ

[6] 5. أَيَحْسَبُ أَن لَّن يَقْدِرَ عَلَيْهِ أَحَدٌ

[7] 6. يَقُولُ أَهْلَكْتُ مَالًا لُّبَدًا

[8] 7. أَيَحْسَبُ أَن لَّمْ يَرَهُ أَحَدٌ

[9] 8. أَلَمْ نَجْعَل لَّهُ عَيْنَيْنِ

[10] 9. وَلِسَانًا وَشَفَتَيْنِ

[11] 10. وَهَدَيْنَاهُ النَّجْدَيْنِ

[12] 11. فَلَا اقْتَحَمَ الْعَقَبَةَ

[13] 12. وَمَا أَدْرَاكَ مَا الْعَقَبَةُ

[15] 14. أَوْ إِطْعَامٌ فِي يَوْمٍ ذِي مَسْغَبَةٍ

[16] 15. يَتِيمًا ذَا مَقْرَبَةٍ

[17] 16. أَوْ مِسْكِينًا ذَا مَتْرَبَةٍ

[18] 17. ثُمَّ كَانَ مِنَ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَتَوَاصَوْا بِالصَّبْرِ وَتَوَاصَوْا بِالْمَرْحَمَةِ

[19] 18. أُوْلَئِكَ أَصْحَابُ الْمَيْمَنَةِ

[20] 19. وَالَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا بِآيَاتِنَا هُمْ أَصْحَابُ الْمَشْأَمَةِ

[21] 20. عَلَيْهِمْ نَارٌ مُّؤْصَدَةٌ