قَرْيَة

Commentary:

The Queen explains to her ministers and nobles the dangers of offering opposition to Solomon.

Important Words:

القریة (the town) is infinitive-noun from قری. They say قری الضیف i.e. he entertained the guest. قری الماء فی الحوض means, he collected the water in the pond. قریة means, a town, a central town. It is so called because people from all quarters gather there and also because they are entertained there. The word also means, gathering of men (Aqrab).

Commentary:

A part of the Surah deals, in metaphorical language, with the advent of a great Reformer in the Latter Days who was to represent the Second Coming of the Holy Prophet. This important subject begins with the present verse.

The word القریة may have been used here in its wider sense meaning any town or place, or speaking metaphorically, it may stand for the whole world. The whole world has been called a قریة here because in the Latter Days the means of commun-ication were to develop so extensively that the whole world was to become, as it were, one town. In this sense of the word the expression may signify humanity at large. The use of the word "parable" with regard to the account of اصحاب القریة i.e. people of the town, seems to lend further support to the view that القریة may not be a particular town that has been mentioned here. The whole account is a parable or simile.

Or the word القریة signifying a particular town may refer to Mecca, the Centre and Citadel of Islam. In that case the word المرسلون (the Messengers) will apply to the Holy Prophet in whose person all the Messengers and Prophets of God were represented. See next verse.

7:162.

Important Words:

سجدا (submissively) is derived from سجد which means: (1) he showed submissiveness and humility. The Quran says ولله یسجد من فی السماوات والارض And to Allah submits whosoever is in the heavens and the earth (13:16); (2) he fell prostrate (Mufradat). In the verse under comment the word is used in the first mentioned sense; for, besides other reasons pointing to this significance, one cannot pass through a gate while fallen prostrate on the ground.

حطة (forgive us our sins) is derived from حط which means: (1) he descended or came down; (2) he brought down, or caused to fall, or removed a burden, etc. استحط فلانا وزره means, he requested that person to take down or relieve him of his heavy burden (Aqrab). As in theology, to seek relief from a burden is to seek forgiveness of sins, the expression حطة(literally the bringing down of a burden) would mean, remove our burden of sins or forgive us our sins.

نغفر (We shall forgive) is derived from غفر. They say غفرالشیء meaning, he covered or concealed the thing. غفرالمتاع فی الوعاءmeans, he put the things in the bag and thus covered and protected them. غفرالله له ذنبه means, God covered up his sin and forgave it. غفرالامر بغفرته means, he rectified or reformed the matter suitably (Aqrab & Lane). غفران and مغفرة both infinitives, signify God’s forgiveness or His protection of a person against the punishment of his sins (Mufradat).

Commentary:

The Bible is here again at fault and makes no direct mention of this incident. It, however, speaks of a battle which in those days took place between the Amalekites and the Israelites in Rephidim (Exod. 17:8) which shows that the Amalekites inhabited certain parts of this land. Though the land was a desert, yet here and there habitations were also to be found (Enc. Bib. IV. 4036, 37). In fact, the presence of a desert does not preclude the existence of habitations, because even wandering tribes make here and there small habitations which, serve as meeting places for their scattered clans.

As the Israelites were eager to live in inhabited places owing to the facilities they afforded and owing also to their previous mode of living, they were bidden to go to some neighbouring village where they would combine the life of the desert with that of a habitation and would be free to eat wherever they liked, as is usual in a desert place where there is no private ownership.

But as this change was to bring them in contact with other people and was likely to affect their morals, they were at the same time bidden to be careful about themselves and to be submissive and obedient to God and also to pray to Him that He might forgive them the sins they might commit. If they acted upon this injunction, God would be kind to them and would forgive them their sins. Nay, He would further bestow on those who acted righteously His added favours and blessings.

The words "this village" need not refer to any specified village. According to the Arabic idiom the words may mean "any village that may be near" or "the nearest village".

27:59.

Important Words:

رجزا (punishment) is infinitive-noun from رجز (rajaza) and means, punishment; dirt or filth; iniquity or sin; idol worship, etc. (Aqrab). See also 2:60.

7:5; 21:12; 22:46; 65:9.

15:24; 19:41.

Important Words:

بطرت (exulted) is feminine gender from بطر which means, he exulted; or exulted greatly or excessively and behaved insolently, or he exulted by reason of wealth and behaved with pride. بطرت عیشک means, thou exultest excessively and behavest insolently in thy manner of life. بطرت معیشتھا in reality is بطرت فی معیشتھا which means, it exulted in its manner or means of life. بطر النعمة means, he held the favour in light estimation and was ungrateful for it. بطر الحق means, he disdainfully rejected the truth (Lane & Aqrab). See also 8:48.

Commentary:

The verse means to say that the Meccans fear that if they accepted the new message, they will be deprived of their property and possessions by more wealthy and powerful peoples. But they seem to ignore the fact that there had lived in the past peoples who were more powerful and wealthier and possessed superior civilizations than the people of whom the Meccans are afraid and yet when those people rejected the truth and behaved proudly they were so completely wiped out from the face of the earth as if they had never lived on it, and those who were considered weak were made to take their place.

23:15.

Important Word:

خاویة (fallen) is derived from خوی. They say خوی البیت i.e. (1) the house fell down in ruins; (2) the house became empty and untenanted (Aqrab).

عروش (roofs) is the plural of عرش (roof). They say عرش i.e. he built a house. عرش البیت means, he raised the roof of the house. عرش means: (1) the roof of a house; (2) the throne or the ceremonious chair of a king; (3) the pillar, etc. supporting a thing; (4) honour and prowess; (5) leaders and chiefs among men; (6) tent, canopy, shed etc. affordingshade; (7) trellis supporting vines (Aqrab & Lane).

یتسنه (have rotted) is derived from سنه i.e. (1) it passed through a time extending over years; (2) it (food, etc.) became altered and rotten by the lapse of years or absolutely. تسنه gives the same meaning as سنه (Aqrab).

Commentary:

The preceding verse contained one illustration of how Allah brings His friends out of darkness into light. The present verse cites, as hinted in the words, or like him, another illustration of how He breathes new life into a people after they have fallen and become degraded.

The ruined town referred to in the verse is Jerusalem which was laid waste by Nebuchadnezzar. The person who, as the verse says, passed by it was Ezekiel, the Prophet; and the words which had fallen down upon its roofs hint that it was soon after its destruction by Nebuchadnezzar that Ezekiel passed by the town. Ezekiel was among the Israelite captives whom Nebuchadnezzar carried away to Babylon and who, in accordance with an ancient custom, were made to pass by the ruins of the town so that they might witness with their own eyes how their city had been laid in ruins by the conqueror. Ezekiel, who was a great well-wisher of his people, was immensely pained to see the ruins of the sacred city and pathetically asked God when the time would come when the ruined city would be restored to life, i.e. when its inhabitants, the children of Israel, would come back to it, rebuild it and make it prosperous once more. This prayer, it appears, was heard by God Who showed him in a vision that the restoration asked for would come in a hundred years.

The clause then Allah caused him to die for a hundred years does not mean that Ezekiel was actually made to die and then raised to life again. It was, in fact, a vision which Ezekiel saw (Ezek. 37). The Quran sometimes mentions scenes seen in a vision as if they had actually happened, without stating that they were witnessed in a vision or a dream (e.g. 12:5). What actually happened was that Ezekiel saw in a vision that he had died and remained dead for a hundred years and then had come back to life. As he was the representative of his people, his death signified the death of the Israelites. Thus God informed him through this vision that the children of Israel would remain in their state of captivity and lifelessness for a hundred years, after which a new life would be given them and they would return to inhabit their sacred city. And this dream or vision actually turned out to be true. For Jerusalem was first invaded by Nebuchadnezzar in 597 B.C. and again in 587 B.C., when after a long siege the city was totally destroyed by his general in 586 B.C. Ezekiel probably saw the vision in 586 B.C. The city was rebuilt about 100 years after its destruction and thus the vision came true.

It is wrong to think that God actually caused Ezekiel to die and that he remained dead for a hundred years and was then brought back to life; for that would have been no answer to his prayer, which did not pertain to the death and resurrection of any individual but to that of a town which was lying in ruins.

The words, which had fallen down upon its roofs; point out that Ezekiel saw the ruins soon after the destruction (not necessarily the complete and final destruction) of the town when the fallen roofs were still to be seen under the debris of the walls.

The words, I have remained a day or part of a day, are intended to express indefiniteness of time and mean, according to the Quranic usage, that Ezekiel did not know how long he had remained in that state. The words have been used in this sense in another passage of the Quran as well: They said, We have tarried a day or part of a day. Others said, Your Lord knows best the time you have tarried (18:20). Again, They will say, We tarried a day or part of a day, but ask those who keep count (23:114). In fact, یوم (day) here does not mean a day of 24 or 12 hours but time absolutely (see 1:4). The clause, I have remained a day or part of a day, may also refer to the time for which Ezekiel slept or the time he took in seeing the vision or the dream. Apparently Ezekiel thought that he was being asked about the duration of the time of the vision.

The clause, Nay, thou hast remained in this state for a hundred years, points out that although in one sense he had remained in that state for a hundred years (for he had dreamt that he had been dead for a hundred years), yet the statement that he had tarried for a day or part of a day, was also correct, for the time spent in seeing the vision was naturally very short. To bring home this fact to the mind of Ezekiel, God directed his attention to his food and drink and to the ass. That his food and drink had not become stale and that his ass was still alive, showed that he had really tarried only for a short time. The words and look at thy ass also indicate that Ezekiel saw the vision while sleeping in his fields with his ass by his side, for while in captivity the Israelites were made to work in the fields as farmers.

The words that We may make thee a Sign unto men show that Ezekiel was to be made a Sign to men inasmuch as his vision, according to which Jerusalem was to become re-inhabited by the children of Israel, was to come true. The words, look at the bones, are intended to echo the words used by the children of Israel in those days of misery, viz. that they had become like dry bones and there was no hope of their being ever endued with new life (Ezek. 37:11, 12). The words along with the accompanying clause meant that God had power to clothe the bones with flesh and to breathe new life into them. The bones were first to be set or placed in position and thereafter clothed with flesh, i.e. the Israelites, then like dead bones, were first to be brought back to their town and then the process of the clothing of the bones with flesh, i.e. the rebuilding of the town, etc. was to be completed.

The vision of Ezekiel has been mentioned in the Bible in chapter 37 of his book.

11:70-71.

Commentary:

The verse speaks of two things: (1) the glad tidings that the messengers brought to Abraham and (2) the warning that the people of the city of Lot were about to be destroyed. The glad tidings conveyed to Abraham were about the birth of a son and the cities to be destroyed were Sodom and Gomorrah. They were situated in the neighbourhood of the Dead Sea on the road from Arabia to Syria. The road has been called سبیل مقیم (a road that still exists) in the Quran (15:77). The Dead Sea is also called the Bahr Lut.

4:99.

Commentary:

The verse is a clear proof of the fact that Muslims were not the first to open hostilities. They only fought a war of defence with a view to protecting their religion and saving their weaker co-religionists.

17:17.

Commentary:

The verse is rather difficult to translate. Some translators make the word اکابر (great ones) the first object of the verb جعلنا (have We made) and the word مجرمیھا (its sinners) the second object. But the better rendering and one more befitting the context is to treat the words اکابر and مجرمیھا as مضاف and مضاف الیه making them jointly the first object of جعلنا and supplying the second object from the expression "in utter darkness" occurring in the preceding verse. Similarly the لام in لیمکروا is not لام تعلیل but لام عاقبة.

We are told in 6:113 above that it is the law of God that wicked leaders from among the common people and from among the big ones are always hostile to the Prophets of God. It is to these wicked leaders that the verse under comment refers. They are surrounded by utter darkness from which they never emerge (see the preceding verse).

7:98; 21:12; 28:59.

Important Words:

بیاتا (by night) is the noun-infinitive from بات i.e. he passed the night. بات یفعل کذا means, he did such a thing by or at night; or he passed the night doing such a thing; or he entered upon the night doing such a thing. اتاھم الامربیاتا means, the thing or event happened to them at night, or in the latter part of the night (Aqrab). See also 4:82.

قائلون (slept at noon) is derived from قال (of which the aorist is یقیل and not یقول) i.e. he slept or rested during mid-day; or he drank water, etc. at mid-day. So قائل means, one sleeping or resting during mid-day. قیلولة means, the act of sleeping or resting during mid-day. قائلة means, mid-day (Aqrab).

Commentary:

The particle فا in فجاءھا here means "and". If, however, it be taken to mean "then" and the words that follow be translated as "then Our punishment came upon them", then the verb اھلکنا (have We destroyed) will have to be rendered as "We had decreed to destroy". Two separate and distinct hours, viz. (1) the latter part of the night and (2) mid-day are here mentioned as the two times when divine visitations generally come upon men. These are the times when people are often in a state of sleep or negligence.