ءَابَآءَ

5:105; 10:79; 21:53, 54; 31:22.

Commentary:

It is indeed strange, but nevertheless a hard fact, that in matters of religion which so deeply concern man, he is often content to follow blindly the footsteps of his forefathers and does not even care to satisfy himself that his forefathers were wise and well-guided people. On the other hand, in worldly matters where only the interests of this life are at stake, and that too partially, he often takes meticulous care to see that he adopts the right course and does not blindly follow others.

2:129.

See 2:153.

4:135; 42:21.

Important Words:

فاذکروا (celebrate praises of) is derived from ذکر which means, (1) he talked of him by way of praising him; (2) he remembered him in his heart (Aqrab & Mufradat). See also 2:41, 153.

او (or) is a preposition, used to convey a number of meanings, the more important being: (1) or; (2) and; (3) nay; (4) unless; (5) until (Aqrab & Lane).

خلاق (share) means, an abundant share in what is good (Aqrab).

Commentary:

The clause, celebrate the praises of Allah as you celebrated the praises of your fathers, points to a practice of pagan Arabs who used to gather together at a certain place in Mina after the performance of the rites of Pilgrimage and glorify their forefathers by reciting poems in their praise. Muslims are here bidden to glorify God instead, and praise Him as they used to praise their forefathers, and, the words "even more than that" have been added to emphasize that God’s praises should transcend all, for the word او (or) also means, "nay". It is also possible that the word ك (as) in the expression کذکرکم (as you celebrated praises) has been used only to denote general similarity without reference to degree, and the word او (or) has been used in the sense of "and". In this case the verse would mean that though in the general manner of praise your celebration of God’s praises may resemble the praises with which you glorified your fathers, in degree it should excel it, being اشد (stronger, loftier and firmer).

Here is a good example of how the Quran, while retaining some old customs, improved upon and, spiritualised them to serve the ends of Islam.

The clause, when you have performed the acts of worship prescribed for you, celebrate the praises of Allah as you celebrated the praises of your fathers or even more than that, has yet another meaning. As the word ذکر also means 'remembering' and the word اب (father) includes mother as well (12:101), the clause may also signify that the rites of Pilgrimage, if performed in the right spirit, should fill the heart of man with such love for God as to make him always remember Him just as a child remembers his parents. This is why the Quran begins the word اذکروا with the conjunction ف meaning "so" or "then", hinting that the result of the performance of the rites of Pilgrimage should be that a pilgrim should ever after remember his Creator with the fondness displayed by a child for his parents. But this is only the first stage. With holier men God’s love should be even greater, as the verse hints in the words, or even more than that. Says the Holy Prophet, "The sign of true faith is that a believer’s love for God and His Apostle should be greater than his love for any other being or thing" (Bukhari).

The concluding clause, i.e. of men there are some who say, 'Our Lord, grant us (good things) in this world, and such a one shall have no share in the Hereafter, points to the fact that if the pilgrim confines himself to the celebration of the praises of his fathers and forgets his Creator, he would be like a person who spends all his efforts in the pursuit of this world, even his prayers being confined to search after worldly things. Such a person shall evidently have no claim to the good things of the Hereafter. It is also significant that in this clause the Quran does not use the word حسنة (good things) with the words فی الدنیا (in this world) thereby hinting that such men generally make no distinction between the good things of this world and the bad things thereof, their sole object being the things of this world, irrespective of whether they are good or bad.

As explained under Important Words, the word خلاق (share) occurring in the clause, such a one shall have no share in the Hereafter, really means, "an abundant share in what is good". So the verse would really mean not that such a person will get only a small share in the Hereafter but that, by remaining engrossed in the things of this world, he will deprive himself of a big share and will get no share at all. As the Quran has to condense vast subjects in a small space, it purposely uses words and constructions that take the smallest space but convey the vastest meaning.

2:171; 31:22.

Commentary:

It is indeed strange that when science and knowledge advance and new discoveries and new inventions are made, people are quick to throw overboard worn out ideas and theories tenaciously held by their forefathers and hasten to accept and benefit by the new inventions and discoveries; but when a Prophet brings to them a new guidance from God, they refuse to accept it on the ground that it does not agree with the beliefs and ideas held by their ancestors and with their own time-honoured notions and theories. How foolish is this attitude and how lame and absurd the excuse for the rejection of divine truths! This is how the Quran exposes the untenability of the position of the rejecters of truth.

5:105; 10:79; 21:54.

Commentary:

Man is so constituted that he is not easily persuaded to give up his old ideas and beliefs. The one constant obstacle that the Prophets of God have had to meet from disbelievers is that the latter would not give up their old ancestral ways and beliefs. Old superstitions indeed die hard.

Commentary:

The words "in faith" qualify both "your brethren" and "your friends" and the clause would read as "they are your brethren and friends in faith."

16:91.

Commentary:

This verse, applied generally, gives an apposite description of those who follow Satan as stated in the preceding verse. It may also particularly apply to Christians who allege that Adam sinned and that it is from him that sin came as a heritage to his posterity who, therefore, cannot get rid of it. The Quran condemns this doctrine most forcibly; firstly because it is simply absurd and foolish, and secondly because the Quran exonerates Adam from the charge of having committed a sin.

By saying, Allah has enjoined it upon us, disbelievers mean that it is God Who has given them the power to commit sins or that He it is Who has created Satan that leads them astray. They thus seek to absolve themselves of the responsibility of their evil deeds. The latter part of the verse embodies an effective answer to this lame excuse. God never enjoins foul deeds, says the verse. As for Satan, the people do not understand the object of his creation. Satan is only a trial for men. He serves the purpose of a hurdle in a hurdle race. The hurdles are placed there not to block our progress but to make us vigilant and to cause us to increase our efforts. The careless and negligent person who stumbles over a hurdle and thus loses the race should blame himself and not the person who puts it in his way in order to try and prove his mettle.

Important Words:

عفوا (they grew) is derived from عفا which gives a number of meanings: (1) it was or became effaced or obliterated; (2) transitively, he or it effaced or obliterated something; (3) he forgave or pardoned; (4) it was or became much in quantity or many in number; or (5) transitively, he made it much in quantity or many in number, etc. (Lane).

Commentary:

The words حسنة (good condition) and سیئة (evil condition) are not used here in their moral sense, but in the sense of straitness and plenty.

It is invariably the case that when the afflictions and miseries which come upon a disbelieving people as a result of their rejection of a Prophet of God pass away and ease and comfort take their place, then instead of improving their condition and turning to God in repentance, they refuse to recognize past afflictions as heavenly visitations and as signs of the truth of their Prophet, but, on the contrary, begin to say that they were merely normal occurrences of nature which even their forefathers experienced in their time but which then passed away.

3:29; 4:140,145; 9:16; 58:23.

Commentary:

This verse deals with that class of idolaters who were actively hostile to Islam and strove hard to exterminate it. They had declared war on innocent Muslims, and such was their hatred of Islam that they even disregarded the ties of relationship with a view to harming them. It was with such implacable enemies of Islam that Muslims were forbidden to make friends, for such an act on their part would have amounted to treachery to Islam and would certainly have done it incalculable harm. As for other disbelievers who were not at war with Muslims, the Quran exhorts Muslims to be benevolent and kind to them (see 60:9,10). As a matter of fact, Islam attaches greater importance to the spiritual welfare of man than to his material well-being, and it is evident that friendly relations with men who prefer disbelief to faith are bound to exercise a baneful influence on spiritual growth.

7:133.

Important Words:

تلفتنا (thou mayest turn us away) is derived from لفت. They say لفته i.e. he twisted or wrung or turned him or it in a way different from his or its proper direction. لفته عن رأیه means, he turned him from his opinion (Lane & Aqrab).

Commentary:

The two charges briefly referred to in the words سحر مبین (manifest enchantment) in v. 77 have been explained in the present verse. The first charge implied in the word سحر (enchantment) was that Moses wanted to turn his people away from the truth. In this verse the opponents of Moses are described as saying that he wanted to turn them away from the religion of their forefathers which, in their opinion, as also in the opinion of all enemies of God’s Prophets, was the truth. Their second objection is hinted at in the word مبین i.e. he sought to sow dissensions among the people. This charge has been expressed here in the allegation that Moses and Aaron desired to have dominion in the land, which could be secured only by creating disruption in the existing order of things.

57:17.

13:42.

Commentary:

The verse gives the reason why disbelievers go astray and what leads them to forget and forsake the truth. It is this that when the time of the national prosperity of a people becomes prolonged, they come to labour under the misconception that their prosperity and progress will never see decline or decay and consequently they become arrogant and their hearts are hardened and they reject the message of their Prophet. Thus prolongation of the period of the prosperity of a people becomes the cause of their downfall. The verse warns disbelievers against wishful thinking and false complacency that their progress and prosperity will continue indefinitely and tells them not to shut their eyes to the patent fact that God is gradually but surely reducing and curtailing the land from all its sides i.e. Islam is making inroads into every home and all sections and strata of their society. The high and the low, the rich and the poor, the learned and the illiterate are daily joining its fold. It asks: "Does not this fact alone constitute an irrefutable proof of the truth of Islam? And in view of the sure signs of their decline and fall do they still entertain the false hope that they will continue to enjoy peace, prosperity and progress and will be able to arrest or retard the progress of Islam?" See also 13:42.