بُشْرَىٰ

26:194, 195.

See 2:90.

Important Words:

جبریل (Gabriel) is a compound word made up of جبر (גבך) which in Hebrew means a man or a mighty man or a hero, and ایل (א ל) which means God (Hebrew-English Lexicon by William Geseneus, Boston, 1836. Also see Bukhari, chap. onTafsir). The latter word occurs in many combinations (e.g. in the word Ishmael in Gen. 16:11 which means "God heareth" or "God has heard"). In Arabic, which is the mother of Hebrew, the word جبر means, mending a broken thing; giving a poor man so liberally as to make him well off; a brave man. The word ایل is either derived from the Arabic word الله (God) or from the root آل, the active participle from which is آئل meaning Controller or Ruler, i.e. God (Aqrab). Ibn ‘Abbas relates that the other name of جبریل is عبدالله i.e. the servant of God (Jarir), which is simply another rendering of the word جبریل. Thus the angel جبریل (Gabriel) is so called because he is the servant of God; he is the strong and brave servant of God; he looks after the repairing or reformation of the universe, he bestows God’s bounties on mankind and is a liberal giver.

In Islam جبریل has been described as the chief among the angels (Manthur) and was therefore selected by God to be the bearer of the Quranic message, the best and the last شریعة (Law) to descend from Heaven. Many commentators consider that جبریل (Gabriel) is synonymous with روح القدس (the Spirit of Holiness) spoken of in the Quran and the Hadith. Similarly, Gabriel has been spoken of as روح الامین (the Trusty Spirit) in the Quran (26:194).

Commentary:

The Jews had been invited to believe in the Quran, but they refused to accept it (v. 92 above) on the ground that it was said to have been brought by Gabriel while, according to them, the bearer of Divine Revelation was Michael, and not Gabriel (Musnad). The function of Gabriel, as we learn from the Bible, is to convey the messages of God to His servants (Dan. 8:16; 9:21; and Luke 1:19, 26. It is strange that Gabriel is mentioned in the Old Testament for the first time in Daniel and not earlier). The Quran, as the verse under comment points out, assigns the same function to Gabriel. But in some later writings of the Jews, he is described as "the angel of fire and thunder" (Enc. Bib. under Gabriel).

Such was the idea of the Jews in the days of the Holy Prophet. They looked upon Gabriel as an angel of wars, calamities and hardships (Jarir under 2:98). Muslim historians tell us that this idea had such a firm hold on the minds of the Jews that when they were told that the bearer of the Quranic revelation was Gabriel, they said: جبریل ذالك الذی ینزل بالحرب والقتال والعذاب- عدونا i.e. "Gabriel is the angel who is associated with war and bloodshed and punishment. He is our enemy." By saying this, they meant that they would not believe in a revelation brought by Gabriel (Musnad). The reason why the Jews bore enmity to Gabriel seems to be that they had fallen on evil days and as, according to them, Gabriel was the angel of war and punishment, therefore they ascribed their misfortunes to him. There is no doubt that the Talmudic traditions and the Targums were the origin of this notion which gained such a firm footing among Jews; otherwise originally the Bible declares Gabriel to be the angel of good tidings and of the Divine Word. It is evident that with the lapse of time legends and myths grew round the original truth, which was subsequently lost; and the Jews clung fast to their erroneous belief, which stood in the way of their accepting the Quran or, for that matter, any revelation coming through the agency of Gabriel.

The Quran has, in the verse under comment, brought forward four arguments in refutation of the Jewish plea for rejecting the Quran:

Firstly, that no angel can bring down any revelation unless he receives direct command from God. Hence the angel who brings the revelation, whether he is Gabriel or Michael or any other, is only a vehicle for the Divine Word; and even if Jewish tradition associates an angel with calamities, it cannot call into question the authority from which his message originates.

Secondly, that the revelation sent down to the Prophet of Islam is مصدق (in fulfilment) of the previous Books and in it all the prophecies about the promised Lawgiver contained in the earlier Scriptures find their fulfilment, which is a clear proof of its Divine origin.

Thirdly, that when it is practically established that the teachings of the Quran are a guidance for mankind, its acceptance becomes binding upon all right thinking men.

Fourthly, that the Quran contains teachings which, besides being right, are also بشری (bearers of glad tidings) to its followers and harbingers of God’s mercy and favours. Such revelation should not be rejected simply for the reason that it has been brought down by Gabriel.

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.

8:11.

Commentary:

The verse is intended to warn Muslims against treating angels as gods or even as an independent source of help. Help comes from Allah alone; angels are entirely subservient to Him and do nothing by their own will. They come only by the command of God and do only what God commands them. The way in which angels help men is that they strengthen their hearts and fill their enemies with awe and fear. If God had so willed, a single angel would have been enough to help the Muslims, but He promised to send as many as five thousand angels in order to cheer and strengthen their hearts and to hint that a very large number of the hidden forces of nature were working in their favour. For the work and duties of angels, see 2:31.

It may incidentally be noted here that some believers, and even some disbelievers, are reported to have actually seen the angels at the Battle of Badr (Jarir, iv. 47). See also 8:11.

3:127.

Commentary:

See note on 3:127. As an intermediary means is sometimes likely to be confused with the real source of help which is God Almighty, the Quran takes particular care to remind Muslims that the real source of all help and all power is God alone.

41:31.

Commentary:

In reply to a question as to what was meant by the expression, glad tidings in the present life, the Holy Prophet is reported to have said: "It means a true dream or vision that a believer sees with regard to himself, or what others see with regard to him." The term بشری or مبشرات (glad tidings) is, however, of general application and may be used with regard to the revelations and visions of the Prophets as well as those of saints and other believers, and the verse under comment refers to both these kinds of visions and revelations (Jarir & Kathir).

The words, there is no changing the words of God, may mean two things: (a) that the granting of بشری (glad tidings) is an eternal law of God, and being eternal, it must prove true in the case of Muslims also; and (b) that this is a special promise meant for Muslims and God has decreed that this promise will never change. This implies that there are certain prophecies which do not belong to the category of the "words of God" as used here, and are liable to be changed, but there are certain others, which belong to the category of the "words of God" and these never fail to be fulfilled.

The expression, that indeed is the supreme triumph, may mean either that the receiving of "glad tidings" is a great achievement, or the fact that the "words of God" do not change is a great secret of success. The verse is capable of bearing both these interpretations. That the receiving of "glad tidings" is really a great triumph is self-evident. As for the immutability of the "words of God," i.e. the laws of nature, one can easily see that the whole working of the universe is based on it. Everything is governed by certain fixed and immutable laws. For example, fire burns and water assuages thirst. If these laws had been subject to change, the whole system of the universe would have gone to pieces. It is, therefore, on the unchangeability of the laws of nature that all progress depends.

15:52; 51:25.

15:53; 51:26.

Important Words:

ابراھیم (Abraham), the Great Patriarch, was the son of Terah. He was born at Ur of the Chaldees. It is difficult to say when exactly he lived. He is said to have died at the age of 175. Abraham is the progenitor of the two great peoples, the Israelites and the Ishmaelites, who equally revere him. Abraham’s real name was Abram but after the birth of Ishmael, according to God’s own command, he came to be called Abraham which means the "Father of a multitude" or the "Father of many nations." One branch of his progeny, the Israelites, lived in Canaan and the other, the Ishmaelites, in Arabia. In fulfilment of his famous dream, Abraham took his son Ishmael and his wife Hagar to the desert of Arabia where the posterity of Ishmael grew and multiplied and where in fulness of time and in conformity with God’s promise to Abraham, the Holy Prophet of Islam, the greatest of all Prophets, appeared "to bring back the erring flock into the Master’s fold!" (Gen. 10:26–25:10, & Jew. Enc.). To this fact the Holy Prophet has himself referred in one of his famous sayings viz. انا دعوة ابراھیم i.e. "I am the prayer personified of Abraham". (‘Asakir).

Commentary:

There exists a difference of opinion as to who were the "messengers" to whom reference has been made in this verse. Some hold them to be human beings, while others think they were angels. The former view appears to be the correct one, though they have been called "angels" by some for their piety, as Joseph is called "an angel" in 12:32. In this connection see also 17:96.

The reason why God chose these men to convey news of the impending punishment to Lot (see vv. 75 & 78) is not clear from the context, but one explanation appears probable. Both Abraham and Lot, who were closely related, were strangers in that land, and it is quite possible that God sent His word to some pious men of that locality that they might take Lot to a safe place before the visitation actually overtook his people. It should also be remembered that these "messengers" did not come to give the first warning of the punishment. The people of Lot had already been threatened with punishment (15:13-15 & 15:65). The "messengers" came only to inform Lot that the appointed hour of the threatened punishment had arrived, and to take him to a place of safety.

The mention of Abraham has been made in this Surah only incidentally, to serve as an introduction to the account of the Prophet Lot which follows. It is the story of Lot that is primarily meant to be mentioned here, for this Surah gives an account of only those Prophets whose people were visited with Divine punishment. The reason why the story of Lot has been introduced with a reference to Abraham is that Lot was one of those persons who had believed in Abraham and had migrated to Syria with him; and, though he himself was a Prophet of God, he was subordinate to Abraham, as Ishmael and Isaac were subordinate to him and as Aaron was subordinate to Moses. Hence, when the "messengers" came with the news of the impending destruction of Lot’s people, it was only in the fitness of things that God should have first conveyed the news to Abraham, to whom Lot was a subordinate Prophet. As the news about the imminent destruction of Lot’s people was conveyed to Abraham in his capacity as the senior Prophet—he himself being not directly concerned with the matter—it was accompanied by glad tidings about the inauguration of a race of good and righteous people through the birth of a son to Abraham. This was done with a view to mitigating the severity of the shock Abraham was likely to feel at the news of the imminent destruction that was to overtake Lot’s people.

It is also worth noting that though Lot was a follower of Abraham before he was made a Prophet, he was invested with this rank not through the spiritual medium of Abraham but directly by God, as were also Ishmael and Isaac and Aaron. All those were subordinate Prophets, but the rank of prophethood was conferred upon them directly by God and not through the instrumentality of Abraham or Moses. It is a special privilege and prerogative of the Holy Prophet of Islam that his followers can attain to prophethood through his spiritual influence.

The verse also throws interesting light on the hospitality of Abraham, for he did not tarry to ask the strangers whether they had partaken of food but hastened to bring a roasted calf for them.

Commentary:

The fear of Abraham was not concerning his own person but concerning the people of Lot, an evidence of his great righteousness and nobility of character. The news first came to Abraham as a great shock. He did not know what to do. But when he was given the cheering news of the birth of a son who was to be the father of a great nation, he felt some relief and then began to plead with God for the doomed people.

Commentary:

It is noteworthy how God takes care of His faithful servants. Joseph’s brothers cast him into a deep well in the wilderness but God so arranged that immediately afterwards a caravan arrived there. A man sent to fetch water from a well happened to go to the very well into which Joseph had been cast and this led to his being taken out alive.

The words, And they concealed him as a piece of merchandise, show that the members of the caravan looked upon Joseph as treasure and saw in him a youth of promise.

4:42; 16:85.

10:38; 12:112.

Commentary:

This verse brings to completion the theme of the preceding verses and purports to say that when on the Day of Judgement various Prophets will present their own examples to establish the guilt of disbelievers, the Holy Prophet also will be presented as a witness against the latter. Disbelievers will be told that when the Holy Prophet who was like them and was one of them eschewed all idolatrous practices and succeeded not only himself in winning the pleasure of God but also led many others to the goal of their life, why could not they benefit by his example? Was this not due to his belief in the Divine teaching which was revealed to him and their rejection of that teaching and their refusal even to recognize its need?

The verse then proceeds to describe the eminent qualities of the Quran and says that it contains an exposition of all the spiritual needs of man and of the means which attract the Grace and Mercy of God.

The words کل شیء (everything) should not be understood to mean everything absolutely, but only all those things that pertain to the spiritual needs of man. So the verse means to say that all fundamental and basic principles which are necessary for the moral and spiritual development of man are embodied in the Quran. The fact that the exposition and explanation of some injunctions and principles is to be found in the Hadith may not be understood to contradict this claim of the Quran. The Hadith contains only explanations and expositions of the Quranic teaching and nothing over and above it or in opposition to it. The Holy Prophet was the greatest exponent of the Quran and so what he said in explanation of a certain injunction of the Quran was perfectly in harmony with it and was free from the possibility of error. This view is also corroborated by the Quran itself (53:4). Indeed they are in grievous error who say that the Prophet was an ordinary mortal like them and therefore they were not bound by all the interpretations, expositions and explanations of the Quranic verses given by him and that they could explain and interpret the Quran as well as he.

2:98; 26:194.

10:38; 12:112.

Commentary:

The verse continues the theme of the previous verse and in fact constitutes an argument in favour of the non-fulfilment of the prophecy of punishment. It purports to say that the medium through which the Quran has been sent is the Holy Spirit and not an angel of destruction. Therefore the object of the prophecies revealed is reformation and not destruction. So, if a person or persons, regarding whom prophecies of punishment are made, repent, the decree of God is changed accordingly, for the real object of prophecies is the material and spiritual well-being of the people, and God’s decrees are fulfilled in the way in which that object is best served.

As for changes in previous Laws, they too are made through the Holy Spirit and consequently what we have to see is whether the changes made are for the better and whether they satisfy human reason and conscience and lead to success and happiness. If the new teachings conduce to the improvement of the spiritual condition of the people, they should be accepted as heavenly teachings and should not be criticized and rejected.