Surah 42

Surah 42:15

"So call (them) to that, and go straight as you have been commanded, and do not follow their (vain) desires, but say: ‘I believe in whatever Book God has sent down, and I have been commanded to act fairly among you. God is our Lord and your Lord. To us our deeds and to you your deeds. (There is) no argument between us and you. God will gather us together. To Him is the (final) destination.’"
The Command to The Messengers to unite Verses 42:15
Show Full Scripture Context (42:15) — 1 Verse
Verse 15

فَلِذَٰلِكَ فَٱدۡعُۖ وَٱسۡتَقِمۡ كَمَآ أُمِرۡتَۖ وَلَا تَتَّبِعۡ أَهۡوَآءَهُمۡۖ وَقُلۡ ءَامَنتُ بِمَآ أَنزَلَ ٱللَّهُ مِن كِتَٰبٖۖ وَأُمِرۡتُ لِأَعۡدِلَ بَيۡنَكُمُۖ ٱللَّهُ رَبُّنَا وَرَبُّكُمۡۖ لَنَآ أَعۡمَٰلُنَا وَلَكُمۡ أَعۡمَٰلُكُمۡۖ لَا حُجَّةَ بَيۡنَنَا وَبَيۡنَكُمُۖ ٱللَّهُ يَجۡمَعُ بَيۡنَنَاۖ وَإِلَيۡهِ ٱلۡمَصِيرُ

So call (them) to that, and go straight as you have been commanded, and do not follow their (vain) desires, but say: ‘I believe in whatever Book God has sent down, and I have been commanded to act fairly among you. God is our Lord and your Lord. To us our deeds and to you your deeds. (There is) no argument between us and you. God will gather us together. To Him is the (final) destination.’

This Ayah includes ten separate and independent ideas, each of which is a ruling on its own. They (the scholars) said that there is nothing else like it in the Qur'an, apart from Ayat Al-Kursi [2:255], which also includes ten ideas.

{So unto this then invite (people),} means, 'so call people to this which We have revealed to you and which We enjoined upon all the Prophets before you,' the Prophets of major ways (of Shari'ah) that were followed, such as the Messengers of strong will, and others.

{and stand firm as you are commanded,} means, 'adhere firmly, you and those who follow you, to the worship of Allah as He has commanded you.'

{and follow not their desires} means, the desires of the idolators, in the falsehoods that they have invented and fabricated by worshipping idols.

Quoted Scripture
"but say: "I believe in whatsoever Allah has sent down of the Book...""

means, 'I believe in all the Books that have been revealed from heaven to the Prophets; we do not differentiate between any of them.'

{and I am commanded to do justice among you.} means, when judging according to the commands of Allah.

{Allah is our Lord and your Lord.} means, 'He is the One Who is to be worshipped, and there is no true God but He. We affirm this willingly, and even though you do not do so willingly, everyone in the universe prostrates to Him obediently and willingly.'

{For us our deeds and for you your deeds.} means, 'we have nothing to do with you.' This is like the Ayah:

Quoted Scripture
"[And if they deny you, say: "For me are my deeds and for you are your deeds! You are innocent of what I do, and I am innocent of what you do!"](quran/10/41)"

{There is no dispute between us and you.} Mujahid said, "This means, no argument." As-Suddi said, "This was before Ayah of the sword was revealed." This fits the context, because this Ayah was revealed in Makkah, and Ayah of the sword [22:39-40] was revealed after the Hijrah.

{Allah will assemble us (all),} means, on the Day of Resurrection. This is like the Ayah:

Quoted Scripture
"[Say: "Our Lord will assemble us all together, then He will judge between us with truth. And He is the just judge, the All-Knower of the true state of affairs."](quran/34/26)}."

{and to Him is the final return.} means, the final return on the Day of Reckoning.

— from Tafsir Ibn Kathir (Vol. 8, Page 574-576)

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.