السَّیِّاٰتِ

4:124; 6:161; 17:8; 41:47; 99:8-9.

Commentary:

The verse points to the divine law of compensation which in this life works in this way that whereas for good works God gives a reward many times greater than what the doer has earned, He punishes a bad deed with a punishment which is less than what the guilty person has incurred or at the most with a punishment proportionate to the evil deed which he has committed.

Commentary:

The expression "will escape Us" has been used in this verse in one of the following two senses:

(1) they will frustrate Our plan;

(2) they will escape Our punishment.

2:62; 3:92; 47:35.

5:40; 16:120.

Commentary:

The addition in this verse of the word "believed" to the word "repented" is significant, because the Israelites had already believed, and so the addition of the word "believed" appears to be rather misplaced. This doubt is easily explained. Those who had taken part in calf-worship had, in fact, acted against their "belief." So they were asked not only to repent but to renew and strengthen their belief as well, for true belief alone is the source of all good actions. The words, repented and believed, are thus intended to show that only those, who not only feel sorry for their evil deeds but also make proper amends and inculcate true belief in God, can be forgiven by Him.

42:41.

68:44; 75:25; 80:41, 42; 88:3, 4.

Important Words:

عاصم (One who protects) is the active participle from عصم which means, he or it prevented or hindered; or he defended or protected or he or it preserved or kept. عصمه الله من المکروه means, God protected him from evil. اعتصم بالله means, he held fast to God. اعتصم means, he defended or preserved himself; or he refrained or abstained. عصمة means, protection from that which causes destruction of man; faculty of avoiding acts of disobedience with possession of power to commit them; inability to disobey. عصمة النکاح (plural عصم) means, the tie or bond of marriage. عاصم means, defender. The Quranic expression, لا عاصم الیوم من امر الله means, there is no defender this day from the decree of God; or there is no possessor of defence this day (Lane & Aqrab).

Commentary:

The verse embodies several important truths: (a) whereas the reward of good is manifold, the reward of evil is only the like thereof; (b) those who break the law of God cease to be inspired by high ideals and great ambitions. They become mere imitators of others, losing all initiative and never aspiring to be the leaders of men; (c) having thus fallen and incurred the displeasure of God, they forfeit His assistance, which is so necessary to raise them from the depths of degradation into which they sink; (d) the iniquities and transgressions of evildoers cannot long remain hidden but sooner or later become exposed and known to the world.

15:68.

7:81; 29:29.

15:72.

Important Words:

یھرعون (came running trembling with rage) is derived from ھرع. They say ھرع الیه (hara‘a) i.e. he went to him quickly and in a perturbed state of mind. ھرع الرجل (huria) or اھرع الرجل (ahra‘a) means, the man went quickly; and اھرع الرجل (uhri‘a) means, the man was made to tremble with rage, fear, cold or weakness; he was made to go fast. The Arabs say, اقبل الشیخ یھرع (yuhra‘u) i.e. the old man came fast and trembling or came running in a perturbed state of mind. (Aqrab).

Commentary:

In ancient times, generally every town had a separate government of its own, which was carried on by the chiefs of the place by mutual consultation as a sort of republic: or by a king whose authority was confined to one village or a number of villages. The two towns, Sodom and Gomorrah, with which Lot was connected had such a government. They possessed no established government in the modern sense of the word (Gen. ch. 14).

The inhabitants of these two towns had adopted the calling of the road and used to plunder wayfarers (Jew. Enc. under "Sodom"). A people who thus molested their neighbours naturally had to be on their guard against them and to be constantly apprehensive of reprisals. Besides, the people of Sodom were practically in a state of war with their neighbours (Gen. 14). Therefore they would not allow strangers to enter their towns, lest the latter should open the gates at night and let in the enemy. Lot, like all Prophets of God, being an hospitable man, naturally used to look after the comfort of strangers and entertain them (15:71). His people, apprehensive as they were, repeatedly warned him to give up that practice. So when, on this occasion, he brought strangers into his house, his townsmen became infuriated and hastened to him with angry faces, because they thought they now had a suitable opportunity to punish him for giving shelter to strangers in defiance of their protests.

Some commentators say that these visitors had come in the form of handsome boys and that Lot’s people came running to him with evil intent. But there is nothing in the context to warrant such an inference. On the contrary in 15:71 we read that on seeing the strangers with Lot, his people demanded of him why he had brought these strangers when they had already forbidden him to do so. If they had come with an evil intention, they should have rejoiced at the sight of the strangers and not been displeased at seeing them. Moreover, vv. 15:68-70 signify that Lot’s people rejoiced at having an opportunity to punish and disgrace him because he defied their protests. They were angry with him because he had brought in the strangers against their protests and were glad that they now had an opportunity to settle old scores with him once for all.

The words, before this too they used to do evil, show that in view of their past mischievous behaviour Lot feared lest his people should do any mischief and thus disgrace him in the presence of his guests. There is no reference here to any particular mischief. They were wicked people, therefore Lot was naturally afraid that they might do harm.

When the townsmen came to Lot running, he referred to his two daughters who had been married in the town and said, they are purer for you, meaning that if his people insulted his guests and turned them out, they would thereby disgrace themselves; but if they really entertained fear that he might do them harm in league with the strangers, they had his daughters in their custody and they could wreak vengeance on him by punishing them. That was a better and purer course for them to adopt, for in that way they would also avoid the disgraceful act of insulting the guests.

There can be nothing more absurd than to say that Lot offered his daughters to his wicked people to satisfy their lust. Even the meanest of men would not do such a shameful and dishonourable act; then how could a noble Prophet of God, who must possess a far greater sense of honour than ordinary men, stoop to such a mean course? The absurd story given in the Bible seems to be responsible for so stupid an interpretation of this Quranic verse by some commentators.

Some other commentators have suggested that Lot offered his daughters in marriage, but this explanation also seems unsatisfactory. It appears from the Bible that Lot had two daughters who were married. But if it be supposed that they were unmarried, they could be married only to two of the townsmen. How could then this offer give satisfaction to a large number of people? And how was it relevant to their demand?

There is, however, one explanation which seems plausible, if it be supposed that the people came with the intention which these commentators ascribe to them. A Prophet is, as it were, the father of his people, so he can speak of their women as his daughters.

So when Lot said to the people, "these are my daughters; they are purer for you," he, as a Prophet and an old man, must have referred to their own wives as his daughters, who, of course, were purer for them, He thus asked them to follow the lawful course rather than satisfy their lust unnaturally.

17:79.

Important Words:

طرفی النھار (two ends of the day). طرف means, the extremity or end of anything; a side; a lateral, or an outward, or adjacent part or portion of a thing; a region, district, quarter or tract; a part, portion, piece or bit of a thing. کریم الطرفین means, generous or noble in respect of both male and female ancestors. اطراف (plural of طرف) means a man’s father and mother and brothers and paternal uncles and any near relations whom it is unlawful for him to marry; noble or exalted men. اطراف الارض means, the noble or exalted men or the learned men of the earth or land. طرفی النھار means, two ends of the day i.e. morning and afternoon or the morning as well as afternoon and late afternoon (Lane & Aqrab).

زلفا من اللیل (hours of the night that are nearer the day). زلفا is derived from زلف. They say زلف الشیء i.e. he did the thing previously or beforehand. ازلفه means, he made or brought or drew him or it near. They say ازلف الاشیاء i.e. he collected the things together. زلفا which is the plural of زلفة means, nearness with respect to rank, degree or station; or simply rank or grade; a portion of the first part of the night, whether small or large. It also means, hours or periods of the night commencing from the daytime, and the hours or periods of the daytime commencing from the night; or hour or period joining day and night at both ends (Lane & Aqrab).

Commentary:

The preceding verse spoke of the responsibilities of the Holy Prophet and those of his followers. As full acquittal of such heavy and onerous responsibilities is beyond human power, the verse under comment suggests some methods which can help a Muslim successfully to discharge them. The first method suggested is Prayer and worship of God, because one urgently needs God’s help for discharging such heavy tasks. By Prayer favourable Divine decrees come into operation.

The words, Surely good works drive away the evil ones, suggest effective ways by which evils can be overcome and eradicated. The setting of a good example is one of them. It wins the hearts of men and makes them copy it. In this way the emulation of good makes evil gradually disappear. It is actions and not words that can overcome evil and efface it. Very few persons follow an independent line of action. A vast majority of them only follow and imitate others. Therefore a good example is an excellent way of establishing virtue in the world.

Another method implied in these words is that we should exhort people to virtue. The proper preaching of good greatly helps men to shun evil ways.

The doing of good to people and treating them with kindness is yet another method which goes a long way to inclining the hearts of men to good works. A kindly and beneficent deed done to a person in need makes him give ear to advice. This is the third way suggested in this verse.

In addition to these methods for the preaching and propagation of good, the words, Surely good works drive away the evil ones, also contain a sure guidance for the spiritual progress of the workers themselves. If a person desires to get rid of an evil habit, he should begin to practise a corresponding virtue. In this way he will soon get rid of his evil habit. The words also tell us that to avoid the evil consequences of our misdeeds we should practise more and more virtue. The more virtue we practise, the more secure will we become from the consequences of our evil deeds.

Incidentally, the verse also hints at the different times of Prayer prescribed for the Faithful. They are deducible from the words طرفی النھار (two ends of the day) and زلفا من اللیل (hours of the night that are nearer the day).

27:51, 52; 35:44.

Important Words:

یبور (will perish) is derived from بار which means, he perished; it (commodity) was or became difficult of sale. They say بارت السوق i.e. the market became dull. بار العمل means, the work became or proved vain. بوار means perdition, destruction. The Arabs say نزلت البوار علی الکفار i.e. perdition overtook the disbelievers (Lane & Aqrab). See also 25:19.

Commentary:

The present verse continues the theme of its predecessor and proceeds to say that under the influence of the Holy Prophet, the Arabs will not only shed their evil ways and become paragons of piety and godliness but all honour and glory will also be theirs, and nations that now look down upon them and consider them beneath notice will bow down before them in humility. Their honour and glory will be the result of their true beliefs, noble ideals, and righteous conduct.

The pronoun ہ in the expression یرفعه may refer to العمل الصالح (righteous work). In that case the subject of the verb یرفع (exalts) is God, as shown in the text. Or it may refer to الکلم الطیب (good words). In that case the subject of the verb یرفع will be العمل الصالح (the righteous work).

6:66; 17:69; 34:10; 67:17-18.

Commentary:

The verb یخسف when used with the preposition یا means, to make something or someone sink or disappear in the earth. It is used metaphorically in the sense of causing a person or thing to be entirely forgotten. Disbelievers are here warned that if they persist in their rejection of the Holy Prophet, they will meet with such destruction that even their posterity will forget them. How clearly fulfilled was the prophecy embodied in this verse about disbelievers of Mecca is writ large on the pages of history.

Every punishment that overtook disbelievers came to them from quarters from which they least expected it. This was particularly the case in the catastrophe which befell them after the Treaty of Hudaibiyyah. The Meccans suffered from the illusion that the terms of that treaty meant a great moral victory for them. But it proved to be the beginning of their end. The treaty laid down that any Meccan who became converted to Islam and went to Medina would be sent back to Mecca. The strict observance of this condition by the Holy Prophet proved a blessing in disguise for the cause of Islam. After the treaty it was not possible for those Meccans who became converted to Islam to go to Medina, nor could they remain at Mecca. They therefore established a settlement between Mecca and Medina, free from the control of the Medinite rule and beyond the reach of the Meccans. Their hostile activities against the enemies of their faith compelled Meccans to request the Holy Prophet to revoke that part of the treaty which prevented converts to Islam from going to Medina and settle there. The breach of the terms of the treaty by Meccans later on, however, led to the invasion and conquest of Mecca by the Holy Prophet. All these eventualities were entirely unexpected and came upon the Meccans as bolts from the blue.

6:17.

Commentary:

There could be no greater success in life than that a person should get the best reward for all his good actions and be saved from the evil consequences of his lapses. This is what true believers receive in this world and will receive in the life to come.

9:104; 33:74.

Commentary:

The theme of the preceding verses is continued here. The verse purports to say that the Holy Prophet’s enemies will repent of their sins and God will accept their repentance and that they will join the fold of Islam.

32:19; 38:29; 39:10.

Important Words:

اجترحوا (commit) is derived from جرح which means, he worked or wrought with his hand; he earned. جرحه means, he wounded him. They say بئس ما جرحت یداک i.e. evil is that which thy hands have wrought. اجترح الشیءmeans, he earned the thing. اجترح الاثم means, he committed a sin (Lane & Aqrab).

Commentary:

The verse embodies an infallible criterion to judge between truth and falsehood and between belief and disbelief. It purports to say that believers and disbelievers are never equal in life or in death. While in life disbelievers, being pitted against truth, meet with defeat and discomfiture, when they die they leave behind no one to remember them or perpetuate their memory because their own sons and grandsons eventually come to believe in and accept the truth. On the contrary, the cause that is dear to the believers progresses and prospers and they are remembered with honour and respect after their death. The verse, in fact, gives a miniature description of the conditions of the followers of Islam and of its opponents, in this and the next life.