Surah 34

Surah 34:23

"Intercession will be of no benefit with Him, except for the one to whom He gives permission – until, when terror is removed from their hearts, they say, ‘What did your Lord say?,’ and they say, ‘The truth. He is the Most High, the Great.’"
The Helplessness of the gods of the Idolators Verses 34:22-23
Show Full Scripture Context (34:22-23) — 2 Verses
Verse 22

قُلِ ٱدۡعُواْ ٱلَّذِينَ زَعَمۡتُم مِّن دُونِ ٱللَّهِ لَا يَمۡلِكُونَ مِثۡقَالَ ذَرَّةٖ فِي ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ وَلَا فِي ٱلۡأَرۡضِ وَمَا لَهُمۡ فِيهِمَا مِن شِرۡكٖ وَمَا لَهُۥ مِنۡهُم مِّن ظَهِيرٖ

Say: ‘Call on those whom you claim (as gods) instead of God! They do not possess (even) the weight of a speck in the heavens or on the earth. They have no partnership in (the creation of) either of them, nor has He any support from them.’

Verse 23

وَلَا تَنفَعُ ٱلشَّفَٰعَةُ عِندَهُۥٓ إِلَّا لِمَنۡ أَذِنَ لَهُۥۚ حَتَّىٰٓ إِذَا فُزِّعَ عَن قُلُوبِهِمۡ قَالُواْ مَاذَا قَالَ رَبُّكُمۡۖ قَالُواْ ٱلۡحَقَّۖ وَهُوَ ٱلۡعَلِيُّ ٱلۡكَبِيرُ

Intercession will be of no benefit with Him, except for the one to whom He gives permission – until, when terror is removed from their hearts, they say, ‘What did your Lord say?,’ and they say, ‘The truth. He is the Most High, the Great.’

Here Allah states clearly that He is the One and Only God, the Self-Sufficient Master, Who has no peer or partner; He is independent in His command and there is no one who can intercede with Him except by His leave.

{And ftere are many angels in the heavens, whose intercession will avail nothing except after Allah has given leave Jbr whom He wills and is pleased with.} (53:26)
{and they cannot intercede except Jbr him with whom He is pleased. And they stand in awe Jbr fear of Him} (21:28).

It was reported in the Two Sahihs through more than one chain of narration that the Messenger of Allah who is the leader of the sons of Adam and the greatest intercessor before Allah, will go to stand in Al-Maqam Al-Mahmud (the praised position) to intercede for all of mankind when their Lord comes to pass judgement upon them. He said:
“Then I will prostrate to Allah, may He be exalted, and He will leave me (in that position), as long as Allah wills, and He will inspire me to speak words of praise which I cannot mention now. Then it will be said, "O Muhammad, raise your head. Speak, you will be heard; ask, you will be given; intercede, your intercession will be accepted ..."”

Quoted Scripture
"So much so that when fear is banished from their hearts, they say: "What is it that your Lord has said?" They say the truth."

This also refers to the great degree of His might and power. When He speaks words of revelation, the inhabitants of the heavens hear what He says, and they tremble with fear (of Allah) so much that they swoon. This was the view of Ibn Mas “rid, may Allah be pleased with him, Masruq and others.

Quoted Scripture
"So much so that when fear is banished from their hearts,"

means, when the fear leaves their hearts. Ibn ‘Abbas, Ibn Umar, Abu ‘Abdur-Rahman As-Sulami, Ash-Sha'bi, Ibrahim An-Nakha‘i, Ad-Dhahhak, Al-Hasan and Qatadah said concerning the Ayah,

Quoted Scripture
"So much so that when fear is banished from their hearts, they say: "Wltat is it that your Lord has said?” They say the truth."

“When the fear is lifted from their hearts.” When this happens, some of them say to others, “What did your Lord say?” Those (angels) who are carrying the Throne tell those who are next to them, then they in turn pass it on to those who are next to them, and so on, until the news reaches the inhabitants of the lowest heaven. Allah says,
{They say the truth.} meaning, they report what He said, without adding or taking away anything.

Quoted Scripture
"And He is the Most High, the Most Great."

In his Tafstr of this Ayah in his Sahth, Al-Bukhari recorded that Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him said, “The Prophet of Allah said:
“Wh en Allah decrees a matter in heaven, the angels beat their xvings in submission to His Words, making a sound like a chain striking a smooth rock. When the fear is banished from their hearts, they say, "Wlmt is it that your Lord has said?” They say the truth, and He is the Most High, the Most Great. Then the one who is listening out hears that, and those who are listening out are standing one above the other ” - Sufyan [one of the narrators] demonstrated with his hand, holding it vertically with the fingers outspread. “So he hears what is said and passes it on to the one below him, and that one passes it to the one ivho is beloiv him, and so on until it reaches the lips of the soothsayer or fortune-teller. Maybe a meteor will hit him before he can pass anything on, or maybe he will pass it on before he is hit. He tells a hundred lies alongside it, but it toill be said, "Did he not tell us that on such and such a day, such and such would happen?” So they believe him because of the one thing which zuas heard from heaven ”

This was recorded by Al-Bukhari, not by Muslim. Abu Dawud, At-Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah also recorded it. And Allah knows best.

About this Source & Scholarly Authority (Tafsir Ibn Kathir)

Universal Sunni Consensus: Tafsir al-Qur'an al-Azim by Hafiz Ibn Kathir (701–774 AH / 1301–1373 AD) is universally regarded across all major schools of Sunni Islam (traditional, Salafi, Ash'ari) as the most authoritative classical exegesis. It is prized because it relies on Tafsir bil-Ma'thur—interpreting the Quran using the Quran itself, authentic Hadiths of Prophet Muhammad, and recorded statements of the early Companions (Sahabah).

Standard English Edition: This text is from the standard 10-volume English abridgment published by Dar-us-Salam Publications (supervised by Shaykh Safiur-Rahman Al-Mubarakpuri), which is the official, most widely distributed English Quranic commentary in mosques and Islamic libraries worldwide today.