Overview (Verses 39 - 41)

Lessons to Reflect Upon
 
It is He who made you inherit the earth. Hence, anyone who denies the truth will bear the consequences of his unbelief. In denying Him the unbelievers will have nothing but an increase of their loathsomeness in God’s sight; and in denying Him the unbelievers will only add to their loss. (Verse 39)
 
One generation of humanity inherits another; one state disappears to allow another to rise in its place; one flame is extinguished and one is lit: it is all the same continuous, progressive movement. If we contemplate this endless round, lessons clearly present themselves. Indeed, we feel that soon we ourselves will belong to the past and that future generations will look at the traces we leave behind in the same way as we read about those who passed before us. We then realize that age determination belongs to the One who allows the heirs to inherit those that have served their term. Thus everything goes its way and disappears. It is God alone who is everlasting, unaffected by the passage of time.
 
The person who knows that he stays for a while and goes, like a tourist on holiday, leaving those who succeed him to look at what he has done, should endeavour to make his short stay worthwhile. He should leave behind what earns for him good remembrance and do what benefits him in his ultimate destination for all return to the One who holds everyone accountable for whatever they say and do. Such too is how mankind moves from one generation to another: “It is He who made you inherit the earth.” (Verse 39)
 
Then follows a reminder of individual responsibility. None will be made to bear any part of another person’s burden; none will protect another in any way. This verse also refers to their persistent denial of the truth and its ultimate results: “Hence, anyone who denies the truth will bear the consequences of his unbelief In denying Him the unbelievers will have nothing but an increase of their loathsomeness in God’s sight; and in denying Him the unbelievers will only add to their loss.” (Verse 39) The Arabic word, maqt, which is translated here as ‘loathsomeness’, indicates the highest degree of hate. If a person incurs God’s hate, his loss exceeds all that we can imagine.
 
The second round takes us across the heavens and the earth to look for evidence of those whom they allege to be God’s partners. However, neither the heavens nor the earth bare any trace of them: Say: ‘Have you considered those beings whom you claim to be partners with God and whom you call upon beside Him? Show me what it is that they have created on earth! Or do they have a share in the heavens?’ Have We ever vouchsafed them a book on which they could rely as evidence? No. What the unbelievers promise one another is nothing but delusion. (Verse 40)
 
The argument is strong and the evidence is clear. This is the earth, stretched before us in all directions. Which part of it, and which creature on it, can anyone claim to have been created by other than God? Should anyone dare to make such a claim, everything on earth will rebut it loud and clear. Indeed, everything tells the same thing: all have been created by God Almighty. Everything bears the mark of the inimitable work of the Maker.
 
“Or do they have a share in the heavens?” (Verse 40) This is even more evident. No one claims that such alleged deities have any part in the creation or ownership of the heavens. Not a single one makes such a claim, not even for the jinn or the angels. All that they can claim is that they sought the jinn’s help to bring them news from on high. All they hope for is that the angels will intercede with God on their behalf. Yet at no time did they claim that their alleged deities had a portion of the heavens.
 
“Have We ever vouchsafed them a book on which they could rely as evidence?” (Verse 40) Their alleged partners cannot even reach this stage of having a book given them by God and of which they are certain to be true. The question, however, admits another possibility whereby it is addressed to the idolaters themselves. Their persistence with false claims that God has partners may suggest that their faith is based on solid proof in the form of a book given to them by God. Again this is untrue, and they cannot claim it. If we take the question in this second sense, it implies that faith can only be based on a book given by God: this is the only reliable source. Again, they can make no such claim.
 
The Prophet, on the other hand, has a book given him by God which he presents to them. Why, then, are they turning away from it when it is the only source of true faith?
 
“No. What the unbelievers promise one another is nothing but delusion.” (Verse 40) The wrongdoers are quick to promise each other that their methods are the correct ones and that they will eventually prevail. They are indeed deluded. Moreover, they live in worthless delusion.
 
Sustaining the Universe
 
The third round reveals the limitless nature of God’s power as He is the One who holds the heavens and the earth and sustains them in place. No one else has any say or role in all this: It is God alone who holds the celestial bodies and the earth, lest they deviate [from their courses]. If they should ever deviate, no one else could uphold them after Him. He is indeed Ever-Forbearing, Much-Forgiving. (Verse 41)
 
A glance at the heavens and the earth, and the celestial bodies moving in their orbits, without error or deviation, maintaining their speeds without the slightest increase or decrease, should open our minds to the mighty hand that holds them all in position. Should these celestial bodies or the heavens or the earth deviate from their courses and scatter no one would ever be able to hold them back. This is indeed the time frequently mentioned in the Qur’ān as signalling the end of the world: a point when the system holding all celestial bodies in position is broken, and destruction ensues. It is the time God has appointed for reckoning and reward for whatever takes place in this present life. This signals a transfer to the next world which is totally different from the world we currently live in.
 
Hence the statement that God holds the universe in place ends with the comment: “He is indeed Ever-Forbearing, Much-Forgiving.” (Verse 41) He forbears allowing people time. He does not put an end to their world or hold them to account before the term He has appointed. He gives them chances to repent, begin the good work and prepare for their future lives. Nor does He make people account for everything they do. On the contrary, He forgives much of their wrongdoing when they show any inclination to do well. This statement, then, should make people seize the opportunity provided before it is too late.