مُسْلِم

Commentary:

Solomon’s letter constitutes a beautiful specimen of how great and comprehensive meaning can be condensed in a few brief words devoid of all useless bombast and verbosity. The letter was at once a warning against the futility of revolt which seemed to be then raising its head in some parts of the country and an invitation to the Queen to submit to Solomon to avoid unnecessary bloodshed and also to give up idolatry and accept the true faith.

Commentary:

عرشھا (a throne for her) signifies the throne which Solomon had ordered to be built for the Queen in accordance with the custom of the day. It seemed to be a practice in vogue at that time that when the ruler of a State paid a visit to another ruler, a throne was built for the reception of the royal guest. Solomon also ordered a throne to be built for the reception of the Queen. It is called 'her throne' because it was specially built for her use.

The expression یأتینی (will bring me) means, will prepare for me.

Commentary:

The words, "We had been given knowledge before this," signify that the Queen had already become conversant with the great power and resources of Solomon and had made up her mind to give her allegiance to him.

30:44; 106:4.

Commentary:

One of the major causes of the opposition of Meccans to the Holy Prophet was that they believed that if idol worship disappeared from Arabia, Mecca (or the Ka‘bah) being the repository of all their well-known idols will lose its importance and consequently they will also lose the prestige and influence they had enjoyed in Arabia as the custodians of the Ka‘bah. The present verse disabuses their minds of this false notion and purports to say that being the centre of a world movement and of the last message for all mankind, Mecca, far from losing its importance, will, on the contrary, immeasurably add to its prestige and will continue to be respected and revered till the end of time.

Important Words:

مناسکنا (our ways of worship). The word مناسك is the plural of منسك which is derived from نسك which means, he devoted himself to religious worship; he performed acts of worship for God; he slaughtered animals of sacrifice to win God’s pleasure. مناسك الحج means, the religious rites or ceremonies of Pilgrimage; and also the places where these ceremonies are performed (Aqrab & Lane).

Commentary:

Having built the House, Abraham and his son Ishmael turn towards God with the supplication that He may afford them the power to lead a life of devotion and submissiveness and show them the ways of such worship as may be performed in the Ka‘bah.

This prayer of Abraham and Ishmael also brings out the very important point that even such righteous persons who stand high in the estimation of God need constant prayer for the further purification of their souls and for the consecration of their good deeds by God, because, however noble and righteous the deeds of man may outwardly appear to be, they sometimes lack the true inner spirit and lead to evil consequences.

Abraham and Ishmael here use the words مسلم (Muslim) for themselves and also pray that from among their posterity too there may be bornمسلم (Muslim) people who may be sub­missive and resigned to the will of God. This helps to explain another verse of the Quran which says of Abraham that it was he who first gave the name "Muslim" to the believers in the Holy Prophet (22:79). It is not of course meant that Abraham used the word مسلم in the above quoted verse as a proper name, but his using that word in his prayer certainly suggests that from among his progeny would be born a people who would not only bear that name but would also possess the spirit of اسلام i.e. submission to the will of God.

Important Words:

اله (God) is derived from اله (alaha) which means, he worshipped. So اله means, a thing or person or being worshipped, whether true or false; a deity (Aqrab).

Commentary:

Jacob or Israel was the son of Isaac who was a son of Abraham. Thus Ishmael was the uncle of Jacob, and yet the children of Jacob here include Ishmael among their "fathers" which proves two things: firstly, that the word اب (father) is also used of uncle; and secondly, that up to the time of Jacob’s sons, Ishmael was held in due respect by the Israelites. Nay, the children of Israel mention the name of Ishmael even before that of their own grandfather, Isaac, and do not mention any other son of Abraham.

The words, were you present when death came to Jacob, signify that the principle of submission to the will of God is not an innovation introduced by Islam, but has been recognized by good and righteous people in all times and even Israel, the founder of the Jewish tribes, acted upon that principle, so much so, that the only thought that came to his mind when death approached him was to enjoin the same noble principle upon his children. Israel wished his sons to become pious Muslims; will not the Jews of the Holy Prophet’s day act upon that principle?

In corroboration of what the Quran says about Jacob’s will to his sons, Rodwell quotes the following from Midrash Rabbah: "At the time when our father Jacob quitted this world, he summoned his twelve sons and said to them, Hearken to your father Israel (Gen. 49:2). Have you any doubts in your hearts concerning the Holy One, blessed be He. They said, Hear, o Israel, our father, as there is no doubt in thy heart, so neither is there in ours. For the Lord is our God, and He is One" (Midr. Rabbah on Gen. par. 98, and on Deut. par. 2). Compare also Targ. Jer. on Deut. 6:4.

3:85.

2:286; 3:85; 4:153.

Important Words:

اسباط (children) is derived from سبط. They say سبط الشعر i.e. the hair was or became loose and hanging. سبط المطر means, the rain was copious and extensive. سبط signifies the idea of length and extensiveness. شعر سبط means, hair that is long and not curly. سبط الکفین means, a generous man, literally one possessing long and open hands, because his helping hand extends to every needy person. A grandson is also called سبط (sibt) because his birth signifies increase of progeny. In a still wider sense, the word might signify progeny generally. The expression here refers to the twelve tribes of Israel named after the twelve sons of Jacob: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, Joseph, Benjamin, Dan, Naphtali, Gad and Asher (Gen. 35:23-26; 49:28).

Commentary:

The verse is addressed to Muslims who are enjoined to reply to Jews and Christians by saying that the central point in religion is belief in, and submission to, God; and so everything that comes from God must be accepted and it is simply foolish to say that a people believing in some Prophets of God need not believe in others. All Messengers of God and all revelations coming from Him must be accepted and no distinction is to be made between this Prophet and that or between this revelation and that, so far as belief in them is concerned. One Prophet may be higher in status than another and one revelation may be more important than another; but all of them must be accepted without discrimination. The words, to Him we submit ourselves, have been used as an argument in support of the above assertion. When we submit to God, everything coming from Him must be accepted.

It indeed redounds to the great credit of Islam that it is the only religion which recognizes the Prophets of all countries and all nations, whereas other faiths limit prophethood only to their own respective spheres. Naturally the Quran mentions only the names of those Prophets who were known to the Arabs to whom the message of Islam was first given; but it makes a general remark to the effect that, there is no people to whom a warner has not been sent (35:25).

As already pointed out, this verse should not be understood to mean that the Quran regards all Prophets to be equal in rank. In fact, the Quran clearly states that different Prophets possess different ranks, some of them being spiritually higher than others (2:254). The sentence, We make no difference between any of them, thus only means that a Muslim makes no distinction between the different Prophets in respect of their prophethood.

Some Christian critics have objected to the verse under comment and have demanded proof of the prophethood of Ishmael. But what proof is there, it may be asked, of the prophethood of Isaac? If the Bible testifies to the prophethood of Isaac, the Quran testifies to the prophethood of Ishmael. If the testimony of the Quran cannot be accepted as a proof for the prophethood of Ishmael, there is no earthly reason why the testimony of the Bible be accepted as a proof for Isaac’s prophethood. And even the Bible is not without evidence of the fact that God made a number of promises to Abraham about the future greatness of Ishmael and his progeny (see note on 2:130).

13:37; 39:12-13; 72:21.

Commentary:

The verse means to say that when prophecies about the revelation of the Quran and the Holy Prophet are recited to them—"the People of the Book," the God-fearing among them believe in it—the Quran—saying that they had already expected such a revelation to come.

5:112; 61:15.

Important Words:

الحواریون (disciples) is the plural of حواری (a disciple) which is derived from حار which means, he or it returned; or he became perplexed. حار الثوب means, he washed the cloth and rendered it white. حواری means: (1) one who whitens clothes by washing them, i.e. a washerman; (2) one who has been tried and found to be free from vice or fault; (3) a person of pure and unsullied character; (4) one who advises or counsels or acts honestly and faithfully; (5) a true and sincere friend or helper; (6) a select friend and helper of a Prophet; (7) a relation. The disciples of Jesus were called حواریون because they helped him in his work, or because they were white or pure of heart, or because they made the hearts of other people white and pure by their noble teachings and good example, or (as some have thought) because some of them were washermen by profession (Lane, Aqrab & Mufradat). The Quran has used the word in the sense of helpers, as the words that follow indicate.

Commentary:

In this verse, the Quran has cleared the disciples of Jesus of the serious lapses ascribed to them in the Gospels. They were sincere helpers in the cause of God, believing in the mission of Jesus and making no secret of their faith.

The word حواری as explained under Important Words above, signifies a reliable helper and disciple of a Prophet. From an authentic saying of the Holy Prophet, the word appears to have also been once applied by him to one of his trustworthy and distinguished Companions, Zubair bin ‘Awwam, who, on an occasion of great danger, went alone boldly in the enemy camp during an extremely cold and dark night and brought back necessary information (Bukhari).

9:31.

Important Words:

اربابا (Lords) is the plural of رب (Lord) for which see 1:2. رب means, lord, master or owner; a chief or ruler to whom obedience is rendered; one who fosters, brings up, or nourishes (Lane & Aqrab).

Commentary:

This verse is wrongly considered by some to provide a basis for a compromise between Islam on the one hand and Christianity and Judaism on the other. It is argued that if these faiths become united in the doctrine of the Oneness of God, the verse permits the sacrifice of other Islamic teachings as being of comparatively little importance. Nothing can be farther from the truth. The Quran, the Hadith and the facts of history are all united in belying this ridiculous assumption. It is simply unthinkable that compromise in matters of faith could be allowed by any religion worth the name, particularly with a people who, in the immediately preceding verses, have been severely condemned for their beliefs and who are so forcefully challenged to a prayer contest to invoke the curse of God upon those who lie in their beliefs. The Holy Prophet, while writing his missionary epistle to Heraclius, used this very verse, yet he forcefully invited the latter to accept Islam and threatened him with Divine punishment if he refused to do so (Bukhari). This shows beyond doubt that the mere fact of his believing in the Oneness of God could not, according to the Holy Prophet, save Heraclius from God’s punishment. Elsewhere the Quran emphatically declares that, Surely the (true) religion with Allah is Islam, (i.e. complete submission); and whoso seeks a religion other than Islam, it shall not be accepted from him, and in the life to come he shall be among the losers (3:20 & 86). Can anything be clearer?

The truth is that this verse is intended to suggest an easy and simple method by which Jews and Christians can arrive at a right decision regarding the truth of Islam. Christians, in spite of claiming belief in the Unity of Godhead, felt satisfied in believing in the divinity of Jesus; and Jews, notwithstanding their claim to be monotheists, gave blind allegiance to their priests and divines, practically placing them in the position of God Himself. The verse exhorts both these communities to come back to their original belief in the Oneness of God and give up the worship of false deities who stand in the way of their accepting Islam. Thus, instead of seeking a compromise with these faiths, the verse virtually invites Christians and Jews to the faith of Islam, by drawing their attention to the doctrine of the Oneness of God which being, at least in its outer form, the common fundamental doctrine of all, could serve as a meeting ground for further approach.

It was exactly on these lines that Ahmad, the Promised Messiah, in his "Message of Peace", made an offer to the Hindus of India to enter into an agreement with the Muslims of his way of thinking to the effect that they (Hindus) would respect and honour the Holy Prophet of Islam and would look upon him as a true Messenger of God, even as he and his followers believed in Rama and Krishna as God’s Elect.

Special emphasis has been laid in the verse under comment on the Oneness of God—a doctrine on which in theory all revealed religions seem to agree, but regarding the details, of which no two Faiths are found to concur. Most religions claim to be monotheistic; but under the outer veneer of monotheism, polytheism very often lies hidden in most hideous forms. It is the simple faith of Islam alone which is really and truly monotheistic in all its aspects and which strongly condemns the association with God of anything or any being in His person, attributes, worship or works. It is most unfortunate, however, that in spite of Islam being such a strictly monotheistic faith, a section of present-day Muslims has drifted away into the quagmire of what cannot but be termed idol-worship in the wider sense of the word.

Incidentally, it may be noted that the letter mentioned by Bukhari and other Muslim traditionists as having been addressed by the Holy Prophet to Heraclius in the words of this verse inviting him to accept Islam has recently been discovered and found to contain the exact words quoted by Bukhari (R. Rel. vol. V. No. 8). This furnishes a strong proof of the essential authenticity of Bukhari and, for that matter, of other accepted works of Hadith.