إِنس

2:84; 4:37; 6:152; 17:24; 19:15; 31:15; 46:16.

Commentary:

The alpha and omega of all religious teachings is God’s Unity. Man’s loyalty, first and last is to his Creator. All other loyalties proceed from, and are subject to, this supermost of all loyalties. Even man’s loyalty to his parents is not allowed to clash with it. No other Divine Scripture has laid so much emphasis on God’s Oneness as the Quran.

The immediate cause of the revelation of this verse is reported to have been that when Sa‘d bin Waqqas accepted Islam, his mother threatened to starve herself to death if he did not renounce the new Faith. There was a clash of loyalties, and Sa‘d, a firm believer as he was, refused to succumb to his mother’s entreaties and threats.

Commentary:

The reason why the Law is revealed is that man is by nature weak and cannot himself find out the ways of spiritual advancement. So God has taken this burden from him. It was far from God to entrust man with a work which he could not discharge.

The verse also constitutes refutation of the Christian doctrine of Atone-ment which rejects the Law (Shari‘ah) on the ground of human weakness. As a matter of fact, Islam declares human weakness to be the very reason for the revelation of the Law, so that it may help man to fulfil his high destiny. The Law is not, therefore, a curse but a help and a blessing.

6:152; 19:33; 29:9; 46:16.

Commentary:

This and the next verse form a parenthetical clause and refer to the second most important duty of man, after his duty to God—his obligations to mankind, which begin with his obligations to his parents. He is told that he must be good and kind to his parents. Luqman only referred to man’s duty to God, but God Himself supplements his exhortation by adding man’s duty to his parents and also gives the reason for doing so, viz. that parents undergo all sorts of sacrifice for their children, particularly the mother. She has, therefore, secured a special mention here.

25:32.

Important Words:

زخرف (gilded). They say زخرف البیت i.e. he adorned, decorated or embellished the house. زخرف الکلام means, he arranged or put into a right state the speech or language; he embellished it with lies, etc. زخرف means, gold; any ornament or decoration or embellishment; also anything adorned, decorated or embellished; anything embellished with false colouring or with lies (Aqrab).

For غرورا (in order to deceive) see 4:121.

Commentary:

The words, men and jinn, which occur in many verses of the Quran do not refer to two different species of God’s creatures, but only to two classes of human beings, i.e. "men" denoting the masses or the common folk, and jinn standing for the big people who often remain aloof from the common people and do not mix with them, practically remaining concealed from public gaze. See also 6:101.

Those of the common people and the big people who lead the opposition to the Prophets of God have been styled Shayatin (evil ones), for an explanation of which see note on 2:15. This word shows that those who lead lives of sin before the advent of a Prophet generally increase in sinfulness as a punishment for their evil deeds, so that when a Prophet makes his appearance, they assume the role of arch-enemies to him and become leaders of opposition. It is a law of God, in both the physical and spiritual worlds, that the powers of man develop in the direction in which they are exercised. So, as such men employ their powers in the wrong way, the result is that at the advent of a Prophet they become still greater sinners and become leaders of men in opposing the truth. Again, in order to augment their mischief, these leaders suggest, as hinted in the words, gilded speech, such arguments to one another as appear to be sound and true but are really false and hollow, and their object in suggesting such things is to deceive the weak-minded.

7:39-40; 10:29; 34:32.

Important Words:

معشر (company) is derived from عشر. They say عشر المال i.e. he took one-tenth of the property. عشرھم means, he took one from among them, they being ten. عشرة and عشر mean, ten. معشر means, a company; a collective body; a community; a family. It is so called because a company or community consists of many individuals, the word عشرة (ten) being that large and perfect number after which there is no number but what is composed of the units comprised in it (Lane).

الجن (jinn) is derived from جن (janna). They say جنه i.e. he veiled, concealed, hid, covered or protected him or it. That is the primary significance which is retained in all the derivations of the word. Thus a garden is known as جنة (jannat) because its trees cover or conceal the ground. A child in its mother’s womb is known as جنن because it lies concealed in the womb. The heart is known as جنان because it lies concealed in the bosom. A grave is known as جنن because it conceals the dead body. The piece of cloth worn by a woman is known as جنة (junnah) because it covers her head and bosom. A shield is known مجنة as because it covers and protects the fighter. Madness or insanity is known as جنون because it obscures and, as it were, veils the faculty of reason. A serpent is known as جان because it generally lies concealed in holes or dark corners. Similarly, جن (jinn) are so called because they are considered to be invisible bodies concealed from human sight. جن also means the prime or first part of a thing, probably because it covers or conceals the main body that follows (Lisan & Taj). For a fuller discussion of the word and an explanation of the jinn see note on 15:28. See also 6:101.

استکثرتم (you sought to make subservient to yourselves a great many) is derived from کثر which means, it was or became much or abundant or many or numerous. استکثر من الشیء means, he desired or wished much of the thing; or he reckoned it much, abundant or many (Lane). استکثرتم منھم signifies, you have misled many of them; or you have made many of them follow you; or you have made them subservient to yourselves (Kashshaf).

مثوی (abode) is derived from ثوی. They say ثوی بالمکان i.e. he remained, stayed, or abode in the place; or he stayed or dwelt long in it; he settled in the place; he alighted at the place. So مثوی means, a place where one remains, stays, dwells or abides; an abode or a dwelling; a place of alighting (Lane).

Commentary:

The verse definitely proves that at least here the Quran does not use the word jinn to signify a species other than mankind. The very words and the only possible signification of the verse contradict that sense. The word as used in this verse, which thus holds a sort of key position, cannot but mean great and powerful men as opposed to the weak and poor classes. The word جن as shown under Important Words is derived from a root which means to hide or conceal. As the beings properly known as jinn are hidden from the eyes of men, therefore, they have been called جن. The great men have also been called jinn because they very rarely mix with the general public and remain, as it were, hidden from them.

The sentence قد استکثرتم من الانس (you have sought to make subservient to yourselves a great many from among men) has two meanings: (1) you have taken to yourselves many from among the masses, i.e. you have won them over to your side and made them follow you and have thus misled them; (2) you have reckoned the masses to be many (as against God), i.e. you have attached more importance to the masses than to God; you did not accept the truth out of fear of the masses, lest they should desert you and cease to hold you in honour. It is indeed strange that just as the weak do not sometimes accept the truth out of fear of the great, lest they should inflict loss or pain on them, similarly the great are sometimes afraid of their humbler followers and do not accept the truth, fearing lest the latter should turn away from them and desert them. Heraclius, for instance, was convinced of the truth of the Holy Prophet but did not openly acknowledge it out of the fear of his subjects who, he thought, were bitterly opposed to Islam and would rebel against him, if he declared his faith (Bukhari).

The words, we profited from one another, imply that the friendships of disbelievers are also transitory and that they will fall out among themselves on the Day of Judgement. The poor will say: "We led lives of humiliation in subjection to the big ones who derived profit from us. So, o Lord, inflict upon them a double punishment." This also shows that the word jinn, here, does not refer to any creatures separate from human beings but to a special class of men; for if taken in that sense the above-quoted words cannot apply to them, for human beings do not profit from the genii nor the genii from human beings. It is only one class of man that profits by the other, i.e. the great profit by the poor and vice versa.

The words, The Fire is your abode, are addressed to the humble class of people who pleaded that they were merely tools in the hands of the great. They are told that no pleading can do them any good now, and that they must enter the Fire and remain there until God is pleased to deliver them therefrom. Both the big and the poor are alike guilty.

39:72; 40:51; 67:9-10.

7:38.

Commentary:

The words, Messengers from among yourselves, supply further evidence of the fact that the word jinn does not here refer to a separate creation but to only a section of human beings. We learn from the Quran that Moses and the Holy Prophet were sent as Messengers to jinn also (46:30-33; 72:2-16) and we find no trace of any separate Messengers having ever been raised from among jinn, which shows that the word jinn here refers only to a special class of men. It may also be noted here that this word when applied to the great and powerful persons from among men is generally used in a bad sense, being applied to the wicked among them.

6:3; 15:27; 37:12.

Commentary:

In this and the next few verses an illustration is given of how Islam from its very small beginnings will, as the result of its present renaissance, spread and become a mighty force. The illustration is to be found in the creation of man. Man’s origin is from mere clay and after going through a long process of development he is born a full-fledged human being, the apex and pride of the whole creation. In the same way, the verse implies that Islam will rise from its present very insignificant beginnings and will march from strength to strength. For a detailed explanation of how, starting from mere earth or clay and going through different stages of evolution, man takes his birth, see. 23:13, 15.

38:62.

Important Words:

ادارکوا (successively arrived) is derived from درك. They say درك المطر i.e. the rain dropped with close consecutiveness. ادرکهmeans, he attained, reached or overtook him. ادارکوا which is the same as تدارکوا means, they attained, reached, overtook or came up with one another; or the last of them attained, reached, overtook or came up with the first of them. The expression حتی اذا ادارکوافیھا جمیعا means, until when they have overtaken one another; or until they have successively arrived therein all together (Lane).

Commentary:

The words, For each preceding party there shall be double punishment, are explained in a saying of the Holy Prophet which is to the effect that he who starts a good practice, i.e. he who does a good deed in such a manner that others copy and follow him, shall have a double reward, and he who starts a bad practice shall have a double punishment. In fact, a person who does a good or a bad deed not only benefits or suffers by it himself, but leaves it as an example to follow for those who come after him. He, therefore, deserves a double reward or punishment as the case may be. The above-quoted words of the verse are also intended to point to the fact that each party that follows another also precedes the one that follows it. So there is no question of awarding double punishment to one and letting the other go with only single punishment.

See 39:9.

Commentary:

It is human nature that when man is involved in trouble he prays to God, but when he is in affluent circumstances he consigns Him to oblivion and attributes all his success in life to his own ability and knowledge. This attitude of conceit and arrogance has always proved a stumbling block in the way of disbelievers to appreciate and accept truth.

2:8; 22:47; 45:24.

25:45.

Important Words:

The particle ل in the expression لجھنم is used to denote "end or result" and not "object" of the creation of the jinn and men. Such use is in perfect conformity with the idiom of the Arabic language, the لام in such a case being known as لام عاقبة(Lane).

Commentary:

The verse does not at all mean that men and jinn were created to be thrown into Hell. The use of the word "many" also belies that inference. Their creation, in fact, is intended to serve a great purpose (see 51:57). The present verse has thus nothing to do with the object of man’s creation, but only mentions the regrettable end of the life of many a man and jinn, the latter word also meaning a special class of men, i.e. rulers or chiefs or great men. They lead an evil life, the inevitable result of which is Hell. But from the way in which they spend their days in sin and iniquity it seems as if they were only created for Hell. The verse gives a brief but perfect description of those destined for Hell. They are the people whom God had endowed with understanding and with the faculty of perception and sight. They were blessed with all the necessary means by which they could find out and follow the right path and attain nearness to their Maker; but out of their perversity and waywardness they did not avail themselves of those means, with the result that they wandered away from the truth and fell into error. It was not, therefore, for Hell but for Heaven that God created them, but they themselves forsook the path of Heaven and chose the path of Hell.

The condition of such men is indeed worse than that of "cattle", because in spite of the fact that they possess understanding and the power to rise, they do not avail themselves of their understanding and, instead of rising (for which they are meant) ever go on falling lower and lower.