سُوْرَةُ الدُّخَانِ
Surah Ad-Dukhaan (44) — Ayah 29
فَمَا بَكَتْ عَلَيْهِمُ ٱلسَّمَآءُ وَٱلْأَرْضُ وَمَا كَانُوا۟ مُنظَرِينَ ﴿29﴾
Translation by Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan & Dr. Taqi-ud-Din al-Hilali
And the heavens and the earth wept not for them, nor were they given a respite.
Word by Word — Arabic, Transliteration & Meaning
فَمَا
famā
And not
بَكَتْ
bakat
wept
عَلَيْهِمُ
ʿalayhimu
for them
ٱلسَّمَآءُ
l-samāu
the heaven
وَٱلْأَرْضُ
wal-arḍu
and the earth
وَمَا
wamā
and not
كَانُوا۟
kānū
they were
مُنظَرِينَ
munẓarīna
given respite
Tafsir al-Quran al-Karim — Hafiz Abdus Salam Bin Muhammad Bhutvi
Tafsir al-Quran al-Karim is a 4-volume Quran commentary by Hafiz Abdus Salam bin Muhammad Bhutvi, a renowned Salafi (Ahl al-Hadith) scholar and Sheikh ul-Hadith from Pakistan. Based on over 45 years of teaching and research, this tafsir follows the methodology of Tafsir bil-Ma'thur — interpreting the Quran through authentic Hadith, statements of the Companions, and the understanding of the early generations (Salaf). It is distinguished by its complete avoidance of Israeliyyat (Judeo-Christian narratives) and unverified reports. The tafsir is originally written in Urdu, translated to English by tohed.com.
(Ayah 29) ➊ {فَمَا بَكَتْ عَلَيْهِمُ السَّمَآءُ وَ الْاَرْضُ :} There are three opinions regarding the interpretation of this verse, and whichever of the three is intended, it is correct. One is that before {’’ السَّمَآءُ ‘‘}, the word {’’أَهْلٌ‘‘} is omitted, just as the brothers of Yusuf (peace be upon him) went to their father and told him that your son has stolen, because of which the Aziz of Egypt has kept him with himself. Then, to assure him, they said: « وَ سْـَٔلِ الْقَرْيَةَ الَّتِيْ كُنَّا فِيْهَا وَ الْعِيْرَ الَّتِيْۤ اَقْبَلْنَا فِيْهَا» [ یوسف : ۸۲ ] "And you may ask the town in which we were, and the caravan with which we came." The meaning is that you may ask the people of that town. Similarly, here it means that neither did the inhabitants of the heavens weep for them nor the inhabitants of the earth; rather, everyone breathed a sigh of relief, and this is the fate of every tyrannical ruling group.
The second opinion is that this refers to their humiliation and mockery. Among the Arabs, when a great man died, to express the magnitude of the calamity, they would say that the sky wept for him, the earth wept, and the mountains trembled. The meaning is that those with such grandeur and who proclaimed divinity died just like those people who have no status and no one cares about their death. The third opinion is that, according to the apparent words of the verse, the heavens and the earth weep over the death of righteous people, but neither the heavens nor the earth wept over their death. This meaning is also not far-fetched, just as Allah Almighty has mentioned that rivers gush forth from stones out of His fear, they split apart, and fall down out of Allah's fear (see Baqarah: 74), and just as the trunk of the date-palm tree (Hannana) wept when the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) left it to deliver the sermon from the pulpit.
➋ { وَ مَا كَانُوْا مُنْظَرِيْنَ:} Nor were they given respite so that they could repent; rather, they were drowned in an instant.
The second opinion is that this refers to their humiliation and mockery. Among the Arabs, when a great man died, to express the magnitude of the calamity, they would say that the sky wept for him, the earth wept, and the mountains trembled. The meaning is that those with such grandeur and who proclaimed divinity died just like those people who have no status and no one cares about their death. The third opinion is that, according to the apparent words of the verse, the heavens and the earth weep over the death of righteous people, but neither the heavens nor the earth wept over their death. This meaning is also not far-fetched, just as Allah Almighty has mentioned that rivers gush forth from stones out of His fear, they split apart, and fall down out of Allah's fear (see Baqarah: 74), and just as the trunk of the date-palm tree (Hannana) wept when the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) left it to deliver the sermon from the pulpit.
➋ { وَ مَا كَانُوْا مُنْظَرِيْنَ:} Nor were they given respite so that they could repent; rather, they were drowned in an instant.
