Surah Az-Zumar (39) — Ayah 45

(Ayah 45) ➊ {وَ اِذَا ذُكِرَ اللّٰهُ وَحْدَهُ … : ’’اِشْمَأَزَّ‘‘} Filled with hatred, became distressed. This is a common trait among all the polytheists of the world, even if they are Muslims by name, that when someone mentions Allah alone and His greatness and oneness, their hearts fill with hatred and become distressed, and signs of displeasure and aversion become apparent on their faces. They say this person does not believe in saints and elders, that is why he keeps mentioning only Allah, neither does he mention the power and authority of any saint who (in their view) can turn back the arrow of Allah’s decree from its path, nor does he mention the help or relief provided by any helper, granter of treasures, or remover of difficulties, as Allah has said elsewhere: « وَ اِذَا ذَكَرْتَ رَبَّكَ فِي الْقُرْاٰنِ وَحْدَهٗ وَلَّوْا عَلٰۤى اَدْبَارِهِمْ نُفُوْرًا» [ بني إسرائیل : ۴۶ ] “And when you mention your Lord alone in the Quran, they turn their backs in aversion.”

➋ { الَّذِيْنَ لَا يُؤْمِنُوْنَ بِالْاٰخِرَةِ :} That is, the reason for their hearts becoming distressed at the mention of Allah alone is their lack of belief in the Hereafter. If they believed in the Hereafter and had faith that they would have to appear before Him alone on that day and give account of their deeds, they would never do so.

➌ {وَ اِذَا ذُكِرَ الَّذِيْنَ مِنْ دُوْنِهٖۤ … : ’’ يَسْتَبْشِرُوْنَ‘‘} In the form of “Istif‘al” (باب استفعال), due to the increase in letters, there is also an increase in meaning, that is, they become very happy, just as in {’’ اشْمَاَزَّتْ ‘‘} the increase in letters expresses the greater intensity of their aversion and distress of heart. The words of {’’اِشْمِئْزَازٌ‘‘} and {’’اِسْتِبْشَارٌ‘‘} show that in their distress at the mention of Allah alone and in their happiness at the mention of others besides Allah, they reach the extreme. {’’ اِذَا ‘‘} is for suddenness, “suddenly,” meaning when, along with Allah or without Him, the mention of other beings is made and their true or false miracles begin to be narrated, suddenly happiness spreads over their faces. The commentator Alusi has written in Ruh al-Ma‘ani about his own experience that one day he said to a man who was seeking help from a deceased person in his difficulty and was calling out, “O so-and-so! Help me.” He said to him, “Say ‘O Allah,’ because Allah has said: « وَ اِذَا سَاَلَكَ عِبَادِيْ عَنِّيْ فَاِنِّيْ قَرِيْبٌ اُجِيْبُ دَعْوَةَ الدَّاعِ اِذَا دَعَانِ » [ البقرۃ : ۱۸۶ ] ‘And when My servants ask you concerning Me, indeed I am near. I respond to the call of the supplicant when he calls upon Me.’” So that person became very angry. Later, people told him that he said, “This person denies the saints.” Some people also told him that he said, “Saints hear more quickly than Allah.” May Allah protect us from misguidance.

45. 1. Or disbelief and arrogance, the meaning is that when it is said to the polytheists that there is only one deity, their hearts are not ready to accept this at all. 45. 1. Yes, when it is said that so-and-so are also deities or that they too are, after all, righteous servants of Allah, they also possess some authority, they too can remove difficulties and fulfill needs, then the polytheists become very happy. The same is the condition of the deviants even today: when it is said to them, "Say only 'O Allah, help,' because no one besides Him is capable of helping," they become enraged; this sentence is very unpleasant for them. But when "O Ali, help" or "O Messenger of Allah, help" is said, or similarly, seeking help and aid from other men, for example, "O Sheikh Abdul Qadir, give something for Allah's sake," etc., then the flowers of their hearts bloom. فتشابھت قلوبھم.

45. And when Allah alone is mentioned, the hearts of those who do not believe in the Hereafter shrink with aversion, but when others besides Him are mentioned, they rejoice.

[61]
A Definite Sign of the Polytheists: Aversion to Pure Monotheism:

In this verse, a definite trait of the polytheists is mentioned. Whether these polytheists are worshippers of idols, graves, or saints, or belong to any era, all of them possess this trait: if only the attributes of Allah alone are mentioned, His miraculous deeds are described, and the explanation of His wisdom-filled verses is given, it does not bring comfort to the hearts of the polytheists; rather, it creates constriction and suffocation within them. And often, they begin to accuse the speaker of denying idols or the friends of Allah. Instead, if the miracles of saints are narrated, and it is said that such-and-such elder took revenge for his disrespect in such a way, or that a certain person was not destined to have even a single son, but such-and-such elder insisted and pleaded with Allah and made Him agree to grant seven sons to that person—thus, seven sons were born to him—when such fabricated stories are told, the listeners begin to exclaim "Subhan Allah!" and become very pleased. However, it is true that if the name of Allah happens to come up in the stories of their elders, they tolerate it. But their real love is only for their saints.