Surah Fatir - سورة فاطر

Tafsir Ibn Kathir (Ibn Kathir explanation) for verse 15 of Surah

Fatir - تفسير بن كثير للآية 15 من سورة فاطر

يأَيُّهَا النَّاسُ أَنتُمُ الْفُقَرَآءُ إِلَى اللَّهِ وَاللَّهُ هُوَ الْغَنِىُّ الْحَمِيدُ

 O mankind! it is you who stand in need of Allah. But Allah is the Rich, Worthy of all praise.

Allah tells us that He has no need of anyone or anything else, but all of creation is in need of Him and is in a position of humility before Him. He says:

يأَيُّهَا النَّاسُ أَنتُمُ الْفُقَرَآءُ إِلَى اللَّهِ

(O mankind! it is you who stand in need of Allah.) meaning, they need Him in all that they do, but He has no need of them at all. Allah says:

وَاللَّهُ هُوَ الْغَنِىُّ الْحَمِيدُ

But Allah is the Rich, Worthy of all praise. meaning, He is unique in His being Free of all needs, and has no partner or associate, and He is Worthy of all praise in all that He does, says, decrees and legislates.

Surah Fatir - سورة فاطر

Muhammad Muhsin Khan - Muhammad Taqi-ud-Din al-Hilali Translation

1. All the praises and thanks be to Allah, the (only) Originator [or the (only) Creator] of the heavens and the earth, Who made the angels messengers with wings, - two or three or four. He increases in creation what He wills. Verily, Allah is Able to do all things.
2. Whatever of mercy (i.e.of good), Allah may grant to mankind, none can withhold it, and whatever He may withhold, none can grant it thereafter. And He is the All Mighty, the All Wise.
3. O mankind! Remember the Grace of Allah upon you! Is there any creator other than Allah who provides for you from the sky (rain) and the earth? La ilaha illa Huwa (none has the right to be worshipped but He). How then are you turning away (from Him)?
4. And if they belie you (O Muhammad SAW), so were Messengers belied before you. And to Allah return all matters (for decision).
5. O mankind! Verily, the Promise of Allah is true. So let not this present life deceive you, and let not the chief deceiver (Satan) deceive you about Allah.
6. Surely, Shaitan (Satan) is an enemy to you, so take (treat) him as an enemy. He only invites his Hizb (followers) that they may become the dwellers of the blazing Fire.
7. Those who disbelieve, theirs will be a severe torment; and those who believe (in the Oneness of Allah Islamic Monotheism) and do righteous good deeds, theirs will be forgiveness and a great reward (i.e. Paradise).
8. Is he, then, to whom the evil of his deeds made fair-seeming, so that he considers it as good (equal to one who is rightly guided)? Verily, Allah sends astray whom He wills, and guides whom He wills. So destroy not yourself (O Muhammad SAW) in sorrow for them. Truly, Allah is the All Knower of what they do!
9. And it is Allah Who sends the winds, so that they raise up the clouds, and We drive them to a dead land, and revive therewith the earth after its death. As such (will be) the Resurrection!
10. Whosoever desires honour, power and glory then to Allah belong all honour, power and glory [and one can get honour, power and glory only by obeying and worshipping Allah (Alone)]. To Him ascend (all) the goodly words, and the righteous deeds exalt it (the goodly words i.e. the goodly words are not accepted by Allah unless and until they are followed by good deeds), but those who plot evils, theirs will be severe torment. And the plotting of such will perish.
11. And Allah did create you (Adam) from dust, then from Nutfah (male and female discharge semen drops i.e. Adam's offspring), then He made you pairs (male and female). And no female conceives or gives birth, but with His Knowledge. And no aged man is granted a length of life, nor is a part cut off from his life (or another man's life), but is in a Book (AlLauh AlMahfuz) Surely, that is easy for Allah.
12. And the two seas (kinds of water) are not alike, this fresh sweet, and pleasant to drink, and that saltish and bitter. And from them both you eat fresh tender meat (fish), and derive the ornaments that you wear. And you see the ships cleaving (the seawater as they sail through it), that you may seek of His Bounty, and that you may give thanks.
13. He merges the night into the day (i.e. the decrease in the hours of the night are added to the hours of the day), and He merges the day into the night (i.e. the decrease in the hours of the day are added to the hours of the night). And He has subjected the sun and the moon, each runs its course for a term appointed. Such is Allah your Lord; His is the kingdom. And those, whom you invoke or call upon instead of Him, own not even a Qitmir (the thin membrane over the datestone).
14. If you invoke (or call upon) them, they hear not your call, and if (in case) they were to hear, they could not grant it (your request) to you. And on the Day of Resurrection, they will disown your worshipping them. And none can inform you (O Muhammad SAW) like Him Who is the All Knower (of each and everything).
15. O mankind! it is you who stand in need of Allah, but Allah is Rich (Free of all wants and needs), Worthy of all praise.
16. If He will, He could destroy you and bring about a new creation.
17. And that is not hard for Allah.
18. And no bearer of burdens shall bear another's burden, and if one heavily laden calls another to (bear) his load, nothing of it will be lifted even though he be near of kin. You (O Muhammad SAW) can warn only those who fear their Lord unseen, and perform As-Salat (IqamatasSalat). And he who purifies himself (from all kinds of sins), then he purifies only for the benefit of his ownself. And to Allah is the (final) Return (of all).
19. Not alike are the blind (disbelievers in Islamic Monotheism) and the seeing (believers in Islamic Monotheism).
20. Nor are (alike) the darkness (disbelief) and the light (Belief in Islamic Monotheism).
21. Nor are (alike) the shade and the sun's heat.
22. Nor are (alike) the living (believers) and the dead (disbelievers). Verily, Allah makes whom He will hear, but you cannot make hear those who are in graves.
23. You (O Muhammad SAW) are only a warner (i.e. your duty is to convey Allah's Message to mankind but the guidance is in Allah's Hand).
24. Verily! We have sent you with the truth, a bearer of glad tidings, and a warner. And there never was a nation but a warner had passed among them.
25. And if they belie you, those before them also belied. Their Messengers came to them with clear signs, and with the Scriptures, and the book giving light.
26. Then I took hold of those who disbelieved, and how terrible was My denial (punishment)!
27. See you not that Allah sends down water (rain) from the sky, and We produce therewith fruits of varying colours, and among the mountains are streaks white and red, of varying colours and (others) very black.
28. And of men and AdDawab (moving living creatures, beasts, etc.), and cattle, in like manner of various colours. It is only those who have knowledge among His slaves that fear Allah. Verily, Allah is All Mighty, Oft Forgiving.
29. Verily, those who recite the Book of Allah (this Quran), and perform AsSalat (IqamatasSalat), and spend (in charity) out of what We have provided for them, secretly and openly, hope for a (sure) tradegain that will never perish.
30. That He may pay them their wages in full, and give them (even) more, out of His Grace. Verily! He is OftForgiving, Most Ready to appreciate (good deeds and to recompense).
31. And what We have inspired in you (O Muhammad SAW), of the Book (the Quran), it is the (very) truth [that you (Muhammad SAW) and your followers must act on its instructions], confirming that which was (revealed) before it. Verily! Allah is indeed All Aware, and All Seer of His slaves.
32. Then We gave the Book the Quran) for inheritance to such of Our slaves whom We chose (the followers of Muhammad SAW). Then of them are some who wrong their ownselves, and of them are some who follow a middle course, and of them are some who are, by Allah's Leave, foremost in good deeds. That (inheritance of the Quran), that is indeed a great grace.
33. 'Adn (Eden) Paradise (everlasting Gardens) will they enter, therein will they be adorned with bracelets of gold and pearls, and their garments there will be of silk (i.e. in Paradise).
34. And they will say: "All the praises and thanks be to Allah, Who has removed from us (all) grief. Verily, our Lord is indeed Oft Forgiving, Most Ready to appreciate (good deeds and to recompense).
35. Who, out of His Grace, has lodged us in a home that will last forever; there, toil will touch us not, nor weariness will touch us."
36. But those who disbelieve, (in the Oneness of Allah - Islamic Monotheism) for them will be the Fire of Hell. Neither it will have a complete killing effect on them so that they die, nor shall its torment be lightened for them. Thus do We requite every disbeliever!
37. 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."
38. Verily, Allah is the All Knower of the unseen of the heavens and the earth. Verily! He is the All Knower of that is in the breasts.
39. He it is Who has made you successors generations after generations in the earth, so whosoever disbelieves (in Islamic Monotheism) on him will be his disbelief. And the disbelief of the disbelievers adds nothing but hatred with their Lord. And the disbelief of the disbelievers adds nothing but loss.
40. Say (O Muhammad SAW): "Tell me or inform me (what) do you think about your (so called) partner gods to whom you call upon besides Allah, show me, what they have created of the earth? Or have they any share in the heavens? Or have We given them a Book, so that they act on clear proof therefrom? Nay, the Zalimun (polytheists and wrongdoers, etc.) promise one another nothing but delusions."
41. Verily! Allah grasps the heavens and the earth lest they move away from their places, and if they were to move away from their places, there is not one that could grasp them after Him. Truly, He is Ever Most Forbearing, Oft Forgiving.
42. And they swore by Allah their most binding oath, that if a warner came to them, they would be more guided than any of the nations (before them), yet when a warner (Muhammad SAW) came to them, it increased in them nothing but flight (from the truth),
43. (They took to flight because of their) arrogance in the land and their plotting of evil. But the evil plot encompasses only him who makes it. Then, can they expect anything (else), but the Sunnah (way of dealing) of the peoples of old? So no change will you find in Allah's Sunnah (way of dealing), and no turning off will you find in Allah's Sunnah (way of dealing).
44. Have they not travelled in the land, and seen what was the end of those before them, and they were superior to them in power? Allah is not such that anything in the heavens or in the earth escapes Him. Verily, He is All Knowing, All Omnipotent.
45. And if Allah were to punish men for that which they earned, He would not leave a moving (living) creature on the surface of the earth, but He gives them respite to an appointed term, and when their term comes, then verily, Allah is Ever All Seer of His slaves.