أَلَّا تَعْبُدُوٓا۟ إِلَّا ٱللَّهَ إِنَّنِى لَكُم مِّنْهُ نَذِيرٌ وَبَشِيرٌ · وَأَنِ ٱسْتَغْفِرُوا۟ رَبَّكُمْ ثُمَّ تُوبُوٓا۟ إِلَيْهِ يُمَتِّعْكُم مَّتَٰعًا حَسَنًا إِلَىٰٓ أَجَلٍ مُّسَمًّى وَيُؤْتِ كُلَّ ذِى فَضْلٍ فَضْلَهُۥ · إِلَى ٱللَّهِ مَرْجِعُكُمْ وَهُوَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَىْءٍ قَدِيرٌ
allā taʿbudū illā'llāh, innanī lakum minhu nadhīrun wa bashīr · wa ani'staghfirū rabbakum thumma tūbū ilayhi yumattiʿkum matāʿan ḥasanan ilā ajalin musamman wa yuʾti kulla dhī faḍlin faḍlah · wa in tawallaw fa-innī akhāfu ʿalaykum ʿadhāba yawmin kabīr · ilā'llāhi marjiʿukum wa huwa ʿalā kulli shayʾin qadīr
"That you serve none but God. I am to you, from Him, a warner and a bearer of good news. · And ask forgiveness of your Lord, then turn back to Him, and He will grant you good enjoyment until an appointed term and give every possessor of merit his merit. If you turn away, I fear for you the punishment of a great Day. · Your return is to God; and He has power over all things."
| # | Command | Field |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | allā taʿbudū illā'llāh | Whom to serve |
| 2 | istaghfirū rabbakum thumma tūbū ilayh | What is to be done |
And the second command will become the most repeated sentence in the sūra: Hūd (52), Ṣāliḥ (61) and Shuʿayb (90) will speak the same sentence to their peoples. The second verse of the sūra, that is, is placed in the mouths of three prophets. This was tabulated in the section on the backbone.
The two words occur together, and in the Qurʾān the order most often begins with bashīr (bashīran wa nadhīrā — al-Furqān 25/56, Fuṣṣilat 41/4). Here it is reversed: nadhīr first.
I record this as an observation about the word order, and I issue no ruling. The whole of the sūra is six narratives of destruction; that the warning should stand first is consistent with the subject of the sūra. This is an explanation.
The particle that came between uḥkimat and fuṣṣilat in the first verse comes here between istighfār and tawba.
The root غ-ف-ر — to cover, to put a covering over the top; mighfar, the helmet, is from the same root — was treated at Nūḥ 71/7 and, as noted there, in al-Naṣr. I do not repeat it here.
The order of the two verbs is worth recording, and I give it as an observation: istighfār looks to the past (the covering over of what has been), tawba to the future (the change of direction). And thumma sets a distance between them: asking forgiveness and changing direction are not the same moment.
The root م-ت-ع: to draw benefit from a thing; and to last long. Matāʿ — provision, the thing one draws benefit from.
The construction ajalin musammā has been treated in many places across this series (al-Raʿd 13/2, al-Aḥqāf 46/3, al-Zumar 39/42, Fāṭir 35/45, Luqmān 31/29, al-ʿAnkabūt 29/53). I do not repeat it here.
And the side of the sentence that must be recorded is this: the return is promised in this world. ilā ajalin musammā — until an appointed term; that is, for the length of a lifetime.
The same line will run again in Hūd's mouth (52): yursili'l-samāʾa ʿalaykum midrāran wa yazidkum quwwatan ilā quwwatikum — rain and strength. This is a link repeated within the sūra and it can be verified from the text.
A limit, per the method (Method): no rule such as "the believer will grow rich in this world" is to be drawn from this. What the verse says is matāʿun ḥasan — "good enjoyment"; an adjective that reports quality, not quantity.
| Occurrence | Expression | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | kulla dhī faḍlin | The person who possesses merit |
| 2 | faḍlah | The return that is to be given to him |
| Reading | To whom the pronoun in faḍlahū belongs |
|---|---|
| 1 | To the person — each receives the return for his own merit |
| 2 | To God — each is given out of His bounty |
In the sentence ilā'llāh has been brought forward. In Arabic the normal order would be marjiʿukum ilā'llāh.
That fronting reports restriction (ḥaṣr) has been recorded in many places across this series. That is: "your return is to God alone."