أَلْقَ

Commentary:

While here the words are "a mere body," in 34:15 the expression used is "a worm of the earth." The reference in both the places may either be to Solomon’s son and heir, Rehoboam, a worthless fellow, in whose reign Solomon’s kingdom fell victim to disintegration and disruption, or to Jeroboam who raised the standard of revolt against the House of David and succeeded in winning the allegiance of ten tribes of Israel. Jeroboam was an idol worshipper and under his lead the Israelites relapsed into image-worship (1 Kings 12:28).

The words "he turned to God" seem to imply that Solomon had realized that after his death his kingdom would not maintain its integrity under his incompetent and inefficient successor. So he turned to God and prayed to Him. The prayer is given in the next verse.

Important Words:

یصلون (are connected) is derived from وصل. They say وصل الشیء بالشیء i.e. he joined or connected this thing with that; he brought the two things together. وصله means, he had close and friendly relations with him. وصل الیه means, he or it arrived at, or came to, or reached him or it. اتصل الی بنی فلان means, he belonged to, or was connected with, that tribe (Aqrab).

سلطھم علیکم (given them power against you). سلط (sallata) is derived from سلط (salata) for which see the succeeding verse. سلط علیه (sallata) means, he made him to overcome him or to prevail over him or to have power or force over him, etc. They also say سلط علیه الکلاب i.e. he set the dogs upon him (Lane).

Commentary:

The preceding verses enjoined the taking of disciplinary action against the Bedouin hypocrites of the countryside around Medina. This verse makes exceptions in the case of: (1) those who went over to, or were connected with, some tribe having an alliance with the Muslims; and (2) those who came over to Medina and had leanings towards Islam, though their attitude was still one of hesitancy and vacillation. In fact, Islam attaches great importance to pacts, express or implied, and would in no case tolerate their breach. Incidentally, the verse also shows that جھاد (jihad) is permitted only against those who first make war upon the Muslims or their allies or from whom an attack is apprehended.

49:7.

Important Words:

السلام (peace) means the Islamic salutation of salam; peace; security; submission, etc. (Aqrab & Lane). See also 2:113, 209; 3:20.

مغانم (good things) is derived from غنم meaning, he got or took spoil, or got a thing as spoil; he acquired or gained a thing without difficulty or inconvenience. غنیمة or مغنم means, spoil, booty or plunder; the acquisition of a thing without difficulty or inconvenience; the thing so acquired; what is obtained from disbelievers in war (Lane & Aqrab).

Commentary:

This verse does not mean that if any person greets a Muslim with the Islamic formula of salutation, he should be regarded as a believer. Many non-Muslims nowadays, and many Jews in the days of the Holy Prophet, greeted Muslims with the prescribed salutation but they cannot be, and indeed never were, regarded as Muslims merely on that ground. What the verse means is that when a people offers peace or shows a peaceful attitude towards Muslims, the latter should respect that attitude and refrain from hostility. The word سلام (peace) may also mean submission or security. Similarly, the word مومن (believer) may also be rendered as giver of security or offerer or afforder of peace.

The word مغانم (good things) does not mean only the spoils of war. It also means the good things of the world. In Bukhari(ch. on Tafsir) we have لحق ناس من المسلمین رجلا معه غنیمة له i.e. "some of the Muslims met a man who had with him some good things belonging to him." As explained under Important Words, any thing acquired without difficulty is also غنیمه.

The words کذالك کنتم (such were you) embody a very strong appeal to both sentiment and reason. The expression signifies that, like disbelievers, Muslims too were disbelievers at first, but God gave them time and opportunity and they were at last able to see the truth. So they should be patient with, and lenient to, others and give them time, so that they too may ponder over the truth and accept it if they choose.

5:78.

58:23.

5:74.

2:117; 10:69; 17:112; 18:5; 112:4, 5.

Important Words:

کلمته (His word). کلمة has been used in the Quran in different senses:(1) good tiding (e.g. 37:171, 172); (2) warning of coming punishment (e.g. 39:20); (3) a thing or being created without the instrumentality of any physical means, i.e. by the Will of God expressed by saying "Be" (e.g. 3:46-48); (4) a Sign (e.g. 18:110); (5) a message (e.g. 3:65); (6) a design; (e.g.9:40); (7) a word or saying (e.g. 23:101). See also 3:46.

روح (mercy) is derived from راح i.e. it became cool and pleasant; he was brisk, lively, active, prompt or quick. روح means, soul or spirit; the subtle substance in man which is the principle of vitality and of sensation and of voluntary motion; the breath which a man breathes and which pervades the whole body, after the exit of which he ceases to breathe; Divine revelation or inspiration; the Quran; angel; joy and happiness; mercy (Lane).

Commentary:

From the above-mentioned different meanings of روح and کلمة becomes clear that no higher spiritual status can be assigned to Jesus than to the other Prophets, on account of the word روح or کلمة having been used about him in the Quran. These and similar expressions have been used in the Quran about other Prophets also and even about persons who were not Prophets, such as Mary and the children of Adam (see 58:23; 15:30; 32:10; 21:92). It may be noted here that the words روح منه (mercy from Him) do not mean that the روح formed a part of the Divine Being but that it was only a gift of God. The expression منه (from Him) has been used in the Quran in this sense in 45:14.

In fact, the Quran uses these words about Jesus because foul charges were brought against him and his mother, Mary, by the Jews. These words are thus meant to exculpate and exonerate him from those charges and not to deify him. The Quranlends no support whatsoever to the absurd and unfounded view that Jesus was anything higher than a human being. He was human and of the earth, and yet a Messenger of God (e.g. 43:60; 19:31).

The verse refers to the three alleged persons of the Trinity, i.e. the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost, and condemns Trinity, declaring Allah alone to be the one true God, and the Messiah and the Holy Spirit as only the servants of God and in no way sharers in Godhead.

3:182; 36:48.

5:69.

3:56; 5:15.

2:18.

Important Words:

یداه (both His hands). The word ید (hand or arm) is derived from یدی (yadyun) and, besides its literal meaning, gives a number of figurative meanings e.g., (1) favour, benefit, bounty or generosity; (2) power, dominion, control, authority or superiority (Aqrab & Lane).

Commentary:

The expression: Their own hands shall be tied up, signifies that the Jews shall be suitably punished for their insolent saying expressed in the words, The hand of Allah is tied up. The sentence may also be taken as optative, meaning, "may their hands be tied up." But as what Allah wills must come to pass, therefore the expression may be better rendered in the form of a positive statement, meaning that the Jews shall become miserly and stingy.

The clause, Nay, both His hands are wide open, constitutes a crushing reply to the taunt of the Jews, that the hand of Allah is tied up. The Quran says that not only is the hand of God not tied up but that both His hands are wide open—the one to give to the believers in plenty and the other to punish the Jews for their insolence. The sentences which follow the clause, Nay, both His hands are wide open, refer respectively to the work of the two hands of God, namely (1) the bestowal of special bounties upon believers, and (2) the exemplary punishment of Jews for their sins. It will be noted that the hand is used both as an instrument for bestowing a favour or bounty and as a symbol of power and dominion for seizing and punishing an offender.

The enmity and hatred referred to in the verse are to exist and continue not only among Jews themselves but also among Christians, as well as between Jews and Christians.

The expression, Whenever they kindle a fire for war, refers to the attempts of Jews to incite the idolaters of Arabia to wage war against Muslims, as well as to their own hostile activities against Islam.

13:3.

13:4; 15:20; 16:16; 77:28.

27:61; 50:8.

Commentary:

It should not be understood from the word ألقی which literally means, "He has cast" or "He has placed" that the mountains were placed on the earth from somewhere outside, after it had been created. Elsewhere the Quran has used the word جعل(He made) to express the same sense which shows that the mountains formed a part and parcel of the earth and were not placed on it from outside.

Incidentally, the verse points to a truth which science has only recently discovered but which the Quran revealed about 1400 years ago, viz. that mountains instead of being a cause of earthquakes, exert a stabilizing influence, rendering earth tremors a very infrequent occurrence.

This verse gives three arguments to prove the Oneness and Almightiness of God: (a) He is the Creator of heavens and the whole solar system; (b) He has created the earth and regulates, controls and guides all life on it; (c) He sends down water from heaven and gives a new life to the earth after it has become parched and dry. This means that God is the Creator of the universe, its Controller and the Giver of life. These are essential attributes of a Supreme Being Who demands and commands our adoration and worship. See also 16:16.

20:21; 26:33; 27:11; 28:32.

Important Words:

ثعبان (serpent) is derived from ثعب. They say ثعبه i.e. he gave vent to it; or he made it (water, etc.) to flow or run or stream. ثعبان means, a kind of long serpent; a great serpent, whether male or female, but particularly the male; or the serpent in general whether male or female, great or small; also applied to an enormous fabulous serpent (Lane).

Commentary:

The Quran has used three different words for describing the turning of the rod of Moses into a serpent; (1) ثعبان as in the verse under comment and in 26:33; (2) حیة as in 20:21, and (3) جان as in 28:32 and 27:11. The words ثعبان and حیة are applied both to a large or a small serpent, while the word جان signifies only a small serpent. Thus, there is no conflict or contradiction in using these three different words for the same thing, as all of them may be used to give the same meaning, i.e. a small serpent.

Moreover, on carefully pondering over the verses in which these words occur, we find that different words have been used to suit different occasions. The word جان has been used on the occasion when the rod is made to appear as a serpent to Moses alone (27:11) while the words ثعبان and حیة have been used in connection with the occasion when the miracle was wrought in public. This shows that to Moses the rod appeared as only a small serpent. While in the presence of Pharaoh and other men, it was made to appear like a big serpent. Thus the use of three different words for different occasions was not haphazard and casual, but deliberate and evidently intended to serve a definite purpose.

Moreover, in the verses in which the word جان is used, it is not said that the rod actually turned into a جان (small serpent) but that it moved as though it were a جان. This does not mean that the rod necessarily turned into a small serpent but that it only moved quickly like a small serpent, though it may have been a large serpent. So the different words used by the Quran do not conflict with each other, whether the rod be taken as turning into a small serpent or a large one.

It should also be noted here that this miracle did not really contradict any law of nature. If the existence of a thing is proved beyond doubt, it must be admitted, even if we are unable to explain it in the light of the laws of nature, as we know them. Our knowledge of the laws of nature is evidently very limited and so we cannot deny a fact on the basis of our limited and imperfect knowledge. Moreover, the said miracle did not take place in the manner in which it is popularly understood to have occurred. Indeed, miracles shown by God’s Prophets are not like the performance of jugglers. They are meant to serve some great moral or spiritual purpose. One of their primary objects is to bring about certainty of faith and engender feelings of piety and fear of God in the minds of those who witness them. If the rod had actually turned into a serpent, the whole performance must have looked more like the hand-tricks of a juggler than the miracle of a Prophet. In spite of what the Bible might say about this miracle, the Quran lends no support whatever to the view that the rod actually turned into a real and living serpent. No such thing ever took place. The rod only appeared like a moving serpent. It was a sort of a vision in which God either exercised special control over the sight of the onlookers in order to make them see the rod in the form of a serpent or the rod itself was made to appear like a serpent; and this vision was shared by Pharaoh and his courtiers and the enchanters along with Moses. The rod remained a rod, only it appeared to Moses and others as a serpent. It is a spiritual phenomenon of common occurrence that in a vision when man rises above the encumbrances of the flesh and becomes temporarily transported to a spiritual sphere, he can see things taking place which are beyond his ken and are quite invisible to his physical eyes. The miracle of the rod turning into a serpent was one such spiritual experience.

A similar spiritual phenomenon took place when in the time of the Holy Prophet the moon was seen as rent asunder not only by the Holy Prophet but by some of his followers and opponents as well (Bukhari, ch. on Tafsir). Such visions, which constitute a peculiar state between sleep and wakefulness, are a common spiritual experience of God’s Prophets and His Elect, but sometimes they are shared by ordinary men and by even disbelievers. Tradition tells us that Gabriel whom the Holy Prophet often saw in his visions, was also once seen by his Companions, who were sitting with him (Bukhari, ch. on Iman). Similarly, some angels were seen even by some of the disbelievers at the Battle of Badr (Jarir, vi.47). Another instance of this kind occurred when a Muslim army under the well-known Muslim general, Sariyah, was fighting the enemy in Iraq at a distance of hundreds of miles from Medina. ‘Umar, the Second Khalifah, while delivering his Friday sermon at Medina, saw in a vision that the Muslim army was being over-whelmed by the superior numbers of the enemy and that a disastrous defeat was imminent. Thereupon, ‘Umar suddenly discontinued his sermon and cried out from the pulpit, saying, "O Sariyah, take to the mountain, take to the mountain." Sariyah, hundreds of miles away and surrounded by the deafening noise of the battlefield, heard the voice of ‘Umar and obeyed it; and the Muslim army was saved from destruction (Khamis, ii. 270).

The miracle of Moses mentioned in the verse under comment possessed a special significance. It may be interpreted something like this. God told Moses to throw down his rod which then appeared to him like a serpent; and when subsequently on God’s bidding he took it up, lo! the rod was a mere piece of wood. Now a serpent, in the language of visions and dreams, is a symbol of the enemy, while a rod is emblematic of one’s community (Ta‘tirul-Anam). Thus, by means of this vision, God made Moses understand that if He cast away his people from him, they would become veritable serpents. But if he kept them under his care, they would grow into a strong and well-knit community of righteous and God-fearing men. Moses had in the beginning begged to be excused from being entrusted with the onerous task of reclaiming a morally depraved people, but God told him by means of this vision that the well-being of his people depended upon his taking them in his charge, failing which they would turn into veritable serpents.

Abu Jahl, the arch-enemy of Islam, was also once made to see a similar vision. It is reported that the Holy Prophetone day went to him and asked him to pay a certain sum of money which he owed to a poor man, a stranger in Mecca, but which he had so far declined to pay. On the Holy Prophet’s demand, Abu Jahl, in spite of his great enmity to the Prophet, made the payment at once, and when asked by his friends the reason for his doing so, he said he saw two enraged camels on both sides of Muhammad about to tear him to pieces if he refused to comply with his demand (Hisham). Arabia is a land of camels, so Abu Jahl was made to see camels, while Egypt being a land of magic serpents, Pharaoh was made to see a serpent.

20:67; 26:45.

Important Words:

سحر عظیم (a great magic). For the meaning of the word سحر see 2:103 & 7:110.

Commentary:

Moses was not slow in availing himself of the opportunity offered and at once replied that they should throw first. The Prophets of God generally wait for an attack on the part of their opponents, for they prefer to defend and then look to God for succour.

20:87.

20:95.

Important Words:

فلاتشمت (make not rejoice). تشمت is formed from اشمت which is derived from شمت. They say شمت or شمت به i.e. he (an enemy) rejoiced; or he (someone) rejoiced at his enemy’s affliction. اشمته الله به means, God made him (the enemy) rejoice at his affliction. شمت علی العاطس means, he prayed for the sneezer that he might not be in a state in which his enemy might rejoice at his affliction (Lane).

Commentary:

When the return of Moses was delayed owing to the ten additional nights, his followers became impatient and thought that he was lost. They expressed their impatience in the words "we wot not what is become of him" (Exod. 32:1).

According to the Bible, Moses cast the tablets out of his hands and broke them beneath the Mount, so that they had to be renewed (Exod. 32:19; 34:1). But this is not borne out by the Quran which simply states, And he put down the tablets and this is more in harmony with the dignity of a Prophet.

Moses caught hold of Aaron’s head, not because the latter had abetted calf-worship, as he is represented to have done in the Bible (Exod. 32:2-4), but because he did not successfully prevent the people from worshipping the calf. As Moses’ representative, he should have effectively prevented the people from idol-worship, but he failed to do so. So the display of anger on the part of Moses was due not to any religious or legal offence committed by Aaron, but to his failure to manage affairs properly in the absence of Moses. Aaron had hoped that Moses would set things right on his return. That was only an error of judgement or lack of proper control, not a legal or religious offence.

The way in which Moses treated Aaron also shows that the latter was subordinate to the former. The treatment, however, should not be taken as a display of rough manners on the part of Moses. The anger of Moses was justified because a great sacrilege had been committed and the very work of his life was jeopardized; and Aaron being subordinate to Moses, the latter was entitled to take disciplinary action.

The words, Son of my mother, were used by Aaron not because Moses was a half-brother to him but because he wished to make an effective appeal to his feelings of tenderness and affection, and in this he succeeded.

The meaning of the particle مع (with) in the clause, and place me not with the unjust people, helps to explain its real sense in 4:70. Here, as well as there the particle gives the meaning of "among".

7:119; 20:70.

Commentary:

See note on the preceding verse.