بَادِى

11:62; 34:51; 50:17.

27:63.

Important Words:

اجیب (I answer) and فلیستجیبوا (they should hearken) are both derived from the same root جاب meaning, he cut a cloth, etc. اجابه means, he answered him or answered his question. اجابت الارض means, the earth brought forth its vegetation, i.e. responded to sowing. استجابه means, he answered him or responded to him. استجاب له means, he obeyed him or complied with his wish and did what he was asked to do (Aqrab & Lane).

یرشدون (may follow the right way) is derived from رشد meaning, he was rightly guided and became steadfast in his guidance; he took or followed the right way. رشد (rushd) and رشد (rashad) and رشاد mean, true guidance; following the right way with firmness and steadfastness; rectitude; maturity of intellect. رشید and راشد mean, one who is rightly guided, one who takes or follows the right way. رشید is more intensive of the two and is also applied to God when it means, "Director to the right way; One Who follows a perfect course in His decrees" (Aqrab & Lane).

Commentary:

When the Faithful came to know of the blessings of the month of Ramadan and of fasting therein, they naturally became eager to derive as much benefit from it as possible and asked the Holy Prophet as to the particular attitude of God in this month, i.e. whether He came nearer to His servants in respect of grace and mercy, and whether He accepted more prayers in Ramadan and so on. The verse provides an answer to this question.

The words, My servants, do not obviously refer to all people but to only such men as believe in God and are willing to obey Him, particularly Muslims who follow His commandments regarding Prayers, Fasting, etc. In fact atheists or, for that matter, rebellious people are never spoken of as "My servants" in the Quran.

The clause, I am near, does not, and indeed cannot, refer to bodily nearness. The preceding verses told us that the command to fast was given with a view to purifying us, and that in giving it God desired our own welfare and meant no torture. The conception of such a loving God naturally creates the desire in the minds of all men to attain spiritual nearness to Him. Hence the present verse contains the glad tidings that access to God is not beyond human power nor is His nearness the monopoly of any particular people. The attainment of union with Him is within the reach of every man and woman, and the door of His mercy and grace is also open to all.

The words, I answer the prayers of the supplicant, point to the fact that it is not only the true believers and the righteous who have their prayers accepted by God but that God hears and accepts the prayers of all. As a matter of fact, the acceptance of prayer is an expression of God’s grace and mercy which encompass Muslims as well as non-Muslims. It would be unjust to think that God, Who is "the Lord of the worlds," accepts the prayers of Muslims alone. It is natural, however, that He should show greater favour to those who obey Him and hold fast to truth and act righteously. He therefore listens more to their prayers than to those of others, and He certainly rejects such prayers as are offered against His beloved ones. Nor does He accept such prayers as may lead to results that are detrimental to the cause of truth. But He is the Lord of all and listens to all.

The clause, so they should hearken to Me, means that they should believe in God (for without believing there can be no hearkening, and no response to His calls) and obey Him. God promises acceptance of prayers to "His servants" but He also expects that His creatures should believe in Him and obey His commandments. This will make their prayers all the more entitled to acceptance.

The words, and believe in Me, do not here refer to a belief in the existence of God; for this idea is included in the preceding clause, they should hearken to Me, it being impossible that one should hearken to God and obey His commandments without believing in His existence. The words, believe in Me, therefore refer here to belief in the power of God to accept prayers and belief in the fact that if appealed to, He will certainly come to our help.

The final clause, that they may follow the right way, means that if men would act upon the guidance contained in this commandment they would (1) attain God’s nearness, and (2) find God inclined to accept their prayers more and more.

But as with all other things, there are limitations and conditions attached to the acceptance of prayers also, to some of which the verse under comment refers. They may be briefly stated as follows:

(1) One should be a servant of God, accepting His dominion over him and worshipping Him, alone, as the words, My servants, indicate.

(2) One should call on God alone for help and turn to no other being or thing opposed to Him, as the words, when he prays to Me, show. There are indeed many who, while seemingly praying to God, put their real trust in other things or sometimes even turn to false deities for help. Such men cannot expect their prayers to be accepted.

(3) One should hearken to God’s call, i.e. not only believe in Him but also obey His commandments, accepting His Messengers and acting righteously in accordance with His Law, as the words, hearken to Me, point out.

(4) One should have firm belief in the fact that God not only has the power to accept one’s prayers but would actually accept them if one could only persist in asking, as the words, believe in Me, signify. There are indeed many who pray for a time and then get tired of it. These really do not believe; for if they had believed, they would willingly have waited. Says the Holy Prophet: "God would accept one’s prayer if only one did not show impatience, by saying, 'I have prayed and I have not been answered' " (Muslim).

(5) The prayers of those who are rebellious against God, rejecting His commandments and opposing His will, are not accepted, particularly such prayers in which something against His will or something likely to injure the cause of His beloved ones is solicited. Says God: "The prayer of the rebellious ones is nothing but wasted" (40:51).

A saying of the Holy Prophet very beautifully explains the philosophy of prayer. He is reported to have said: "Every Muslim who prays to God and whose prayer does not consist in anything which is a sin, i.e. anything against God’s will or against His commandments or against His way, or anything which involves an injustice or unkindness to a relative, will have his prayer accepted. But the acceptance of prayer may take three forms: (a) either God will grant to the supplicant his request in this very life; or (b) He will store the thing for him in the next; or (c) He will ward off a like evil from him" (Bukhari).

The Holy Founder of the Ahmadiyya Movement says: "God treats His servants like friends. A friend would sometimes accept the request of his friend and would sometimes expect him to accept his will. So does God. But even when God seemingly rejects the prayer of a believer, He is very often acting in his interests" (Haqiqat, p. 19).

Commentary:

As in the foregoing verses an implied reference was made to the migration, the believers in this verse are comforted that if life in their own native place has been made unbearable for them, the earth of God is vast and spacious and if they have to leave their hearths and homes for the sake of God, they will find "abundant place of refuge and plentifulness (4:101)."

23:25.

26:112.

Important Words:

بادی الرأی (to all outward appearance) is made up of two Arabic words بادی and الرأی. The word بادی has two possible derivations. It may be derived from بدأ (bad’a) which means, he or it began or he or it came into existence. بدأ به means, he began with it; he made it to be the first. Or the word بادی may be derived from بدأ (of which the aorist is یبدو) which means, it appeared or it showed itself. According to these two different roots the word بادی would mean: (1) that which or he who is first or that which or he who begins; (2) that which or he who appears. And the word الرأی means sight or perception or opinion. So the compound expression بادی الرأی would mean: (1) at first thought or on the first opinion; (2) at the appearance of opinion or according to the appearance of opinion, which may mean either inconsiderately or insincerely (Lane, under بدا & بدأ).

Commentary:

The Arabic expression بادی الرأی (to all outward appearance) is capable of three interpretations according to the rules of Arabic grammar. First, it may be taken as referring to the words ونراك (and we see). In this case, the verse would mean that the followers of Noah appear to us to be the meanest of us at first thought or on the first opinion, i.e. so far as our opinion is concerned we consider them to be mean. If, however, there is any hidden good in them, it may be known to Noah only.

Secondly, the expression بادی الرأی may be taken to refer to the words اراذلنا (the meanest of us). In this case the verse would mean that the followers of Noah were apparently low and mean.

Thirdly, the expression بادی الرأی may be taken as qualifying the words اتبعك (have followed thee). In this case the verse would mean that those who have accepted Noah have done so only outwardly or without proper thinking i.e. their faith was either insincere or inconsiderate, being based on mere cursory thinking.

To sum up, the words اراذلنا بادی الرأی mean: (1) the followers of Noah are mean to all outward appearance; or (2) their faith in Noah is insincere; or (3) their faith is the result of only superficial thinking.

The words, We see in thee nothing but a man like ourselves, mean, "There is nothing extraordinary in your outward appearance to distinguish you from us. You are just a human being like any other mortal. When therefore, there is nothing extraordinary in your outward appearance, how should we know that inwardly you have been endowed with exceptional powers which have helped you to gain access to Divine presence, while we cannot ?"

This is the common objection raised by the opponents of the Prophets. The enemies of Noah purported to say that if he possessed some special inward power from God, that ought to have caused some difference in his outward appearance and as a result of it he should have acquired knowledge of some worldly sciences also, but they saw no evidence of this. How could they then believe that his internal powers were different from, and superior to, theirs. In support of this argument the opponents of Noah might possibly have shown to him pictures of their holy men having extraordinary exteriors, such as the Hindu saints are believed to possess, for instance, a number of heads and several hands. In olden days, men could not conceive that a Prophet was like ordinary mortals in appearance. So the enemies of Noah, arguing that the outward must correspond with the inward and that there must be harmony between the two, raised against him the objection that if he was really a true Prophet, his outward appearance must have been different from theirs. Silly though the argument is, it must have won endorsement from the contemporaries of Noah.

The enemies of Noah further reinforce their argument by saying that while he himself possessed no special powers, and was a mortal like themselves, his followers were even worse than him. What success could he achieve, they asked, with adher-ents who, to all outward appearance, were the meanest of the society? The enemies of Noah thus argued that neither his own personal qualities nor those of his followers gave him the appearance of "superiority" over them.

The words, we believe you to be liars, embody the result of the arguments brought forward by Noah’s opponents, which is that he was a liar, for he had asserted his truth and superiority without any basis or proof.

It is a pity that men test the claims of a heavenly Messenger by their self-devised standards and, when he does not satisfy those standards, they deceive themselves with the idea that they had weighed up his claims dispassionately and with an open mind and had found them to be false. Even in the present age when man has made great progress in knowledge, science and culture and has known many Prophets, he presumes to test the claims of God’s Messengers’ not by criteria laid down by Him but by his own false standards.

2:275; 13:23; 16:76.

2:255; 43:68.

Commentary:

The verse purports to say that if believers desire the "good tree" (v. 25) to yield its fruit soon, they should faithfully observe the Divine commandment regarding the saying of Prayers and the spending of a part of their property in the cause of God, both secretly and openly.

17:66; 34:22.

7:19; 17:64; 38:86.

Important Words:

سلطان (power) is derived from سلط (saluta) meaning, he or it overcame or prevailed or predominated; or became established in superior power. سلطان among other things, means, might or power; possession of superior power; predominance; absolute dominion or authority; sovereign or ruling power. It also means, proof, evidence or argument (Lane).

Commentary:

This verse mentions another group of people who, too, are protected from the temptations of Satan. They do not belong to the category of Prophets or of those other specially chosen servants of God, referred to in v. 41 who get their guidance directly from God, but they, nevertheless, find out the truth through the help of God’s Elect and His Prophets. With regard to such people the verse purports to say that they enjoy Divine protection to the extent that Satan has no سلطان (sovereign or dominating power) over them, though they are subject to his occasional attacks. There are to be found among them such weak of faith as sometimes choose to follow the suggestions of Satan and, consequently, falter and fall. But this happens only when they have actually become "erring ones," whereas before the actual commission of sin such people also enjoy Divine protection.

Incidentally, the verse also suggests that human nature is intrinsically pure. Only such men lose the right path as themselves defile their nature and choose to follow Satan. This idea has been further explained in the words قد خاب من دساھا which mean that he alone perishes who destroys his own soul and buries it in the dust of sin (91:11).

5:99.

Commentary:

In the previous verses two classes of men were mentioned: firstly, those who had incurred the displeasure of God by their evil deeds and thus had made themselves deserving of punishment; secondly, the righteous who had attained salvation. The verse under comment is addressed to both these classes of men under the common appellation of "My servants" which contains a message of hope and good cheer for both of them. To sinners the verse says that they should not despair of God’s mercy because, being الغفور (Most Forgiving), He can forgive all their sins, no matter how serious and numerous they may be. And the righteous are told that they should not become content with the good works they have already done, but should continue to excel in such deeds for, God being الرحیم (Merciful), the more they advance in virtue the greater measure of mercy will they receive at His hands in the form of an increased reward of their deeds. For the full meaning of the Divine attribute الرحیم (Merciful) see 1:1.

21:81.

Important Words:

محاریب (palaces) is the plural of محراب which among other things means, a palace; a mosque (Lane & Aqrab). See also 3:38.

جفان (basins) is the plural of جفنة which is an infinitive noun from جفن. They say جفن الناقة i.e. he slaughtered the she-camel and gave the flesh for food to the people in bowls. جفنة means, a large bowl or receptacle, particularly used for food; a small well; a generous man. جفنة غراء means, a generous man who entertains many guests and feeds many. He is so called because people are fed by him in the جفنة (Lane & Aqrab).

جواب (reservoirs) is the plural of جابیة which is derived from جبا. They say جبا الخراج i.e. he collected the tribute. جبا الماء فی الحوضmeans, he collected the water in the pond. جواب is the plural of جابیة which means, a large watering-trough in which water is collected for camels, a water reservoir; a company of men (Lane & Aqrab).

راسیات (fixed) is the plural of راسیة which is derived from رسا which means, it was or became fixed, firm, stable. قدر راسیةmeans, a cooking pot that will not be removed from its place on account of its large size and heaviness. جبال راسیة means, firm mountains (Lane & Aqrab). See also 16:16.

Commentary:

The verse shows that besides being a highly prosperous, powerful and civilized monarch, Solomon was the prince of builders among Israelite rulers. He had a special taste for architecture which had greatly developed under him. The Temple of Jerusalem bears an eloquent testimony to his fine architectural taste.

16:126; 23:97; 41:35.

7:201; 12:101; 41:37.

Commentary:

In v. 16:126 which was actually revealed after the Surah under comment in order of revelation, we have, call unto the way of thy Lord with wisdom and goodly exhortation, and reason with them in a way that is best. The order in which the three precepts to be followed in preaching have been mentioned in these words has been closely observed in the teaching given in the present Surah. This constitutes a strong argument in favour of the contention that the chapters and verses of the Quran have been arranged in an intelligent order and not placed haphazard. Verses 24-40 of the present Surah embody some of the excellent teachings of the Quran and end with the words, this is part of that wisdom which thy Lord has revealed to thee (v. 40). These words correspond to the first injunction contained in 16:126, viz. call unto the way of thy Lord with wisdom. Verses 40-53 begin with the theme "set not up with Allah any other god" and proceed to give teachings concerning the Unity of God. This corresponds to the second precept contained in 16:126 and is expressed by the words "goodly exhortation." A discourse on the Unity of God makes a natural appeal to the sentiments of man. The third principle mentioned in 16:126 was, reason with them in a way that is best. This corresponds to the third injunction, beginning with the verse under comment, viz. say to My servants that they should speak that which is best.

The verse also contains the hint that if Muslims desire to hasten the day of the spiritual resurrection referred to in the previous verse when the whole of Arabia would become Muslim, they should adopt a manner of discourse best calculated to help disbelievers accept Islam.

15:41; 38:84.

Commentary:

The verse purports to say that man is amenable to the enticement of Satan so long as he is not "resurrected" i.e. as long as his faith does not attain its full stature. The verse also teaches man the secret of becoming safe from the attacks of Satan. It is that he should give himself up wholly to the care and protection of God and, instead of depending upon his own resources and efforts, should rely upon Him alone, for Satan can cause no harm to one who is under the guardianship of God.

29:69; 33:9; 48:14; 76:5.

Commentary:

The verse speaks of those people who look upon Jesus as their saviour and as the Son of God and to whom reference has already been made in the beginning of this chapter. This shows that the foregoing verses also deal with the same people—Christian nations of the west.