تَابَ

7:24.

20:123.

Important Words:

تلقی (learnt) is derived from لقی. They say لقی فلانا i.e. he came face to face with him; he met him or he saw him; he found him. لقی الشیء means, he threw or pushed the thing towards him; he made him meet it or he made him experience it. القاهmeans, he threw it or put it or let it fall. القا الیه القول means, he told or communicated to him the word. القا علیه رحمته means, he bestowed his mercy on him. تلقی الشیء means, he came face to face with it; or he met it or saw it. تلقی منه الشیء means, he received the thing from him; or he learnt it from him (Aqrab).

کلمات (words) is, like کلم, the plural of کلمة which is derived from the verb کلم. They say کلمه meaning, he wounded him; کلمه (Kallamahu) means, he wounded him; he spoke to him. کالمه means, he spoke to him; the latter expression being generally used of two or more persons speaking to one another. تکلم means, he spoke, he uttered words. کلام means, saying or speech having some meaning; idea occurring in the mind even if it is not expressed; a writing. کلمة means, word; anything uttered; speech (Aqrab). کلمة also means, a decree; a commandment (Mufradat).

تاب (he turned) and تواب (Oft-Returning) are both derived from the same root. تاب means, he repented. تاب الی الله means, he returned to God with repentance after being disobedient or sinful. تاب الله علیه means, God turned to him with forgiveness and mercy. تائب means, one who repents or turns towards God after being disobedient or sinful. توبة means, repentance; turning towards God for forgiveness with the resolve to be obedient and righteous in future. تواب is intensive adjective from تاب. When applied to man it means, one who is always ready to repent, one who turns to God much for forgiveness and with promise to reform. When applied to God, it means, He Who is ready to accept repentance; He Who turns (much and often) with forgiveness and mercy towards His servants (Aqrab & Lane).

Commentary:

This verse tells us that when 'Satan' deceived Adam, and God informed him of his mistake, he prayed to God for forgiveness in words which he learnt from God Himself. These words have been mentioned by the Quran elsewhere and they run thus: Our Lord, we have wronged ourselves; and if Thou forgive us not and have not mercy on us, we shall surely be of the lost (7:24).

This was the prayer that Adam learnt from God. The prayer was heard and Adam was forgiven. The fact that God Himself taught Adam the words of this prayer shows that he was a chosen one of God and was a recipient of divine revelation. The verse also tells us that on special occasions, God Himself teaches His servants the words in which they should pray to Him, and it is evident that the words of prayer chosen by God are sure to find ready acceptance with Him. It is in fact a way of honouring holy men and expediting their reconciliation with Him that God some­times teaches them the words in which they should pray to Him. It is, in other words, saying to them, "Come to Me with a request and I will grant it." Strange indeed are the ways of the Lord Whose mercy and forgiveness are, as it were, always eager to descend on man, if he only cares to turn towards Him with repentance. Says the Holy Prophet, "God has spoken to me saying: Whoso does a good deed will have a tenfold reward and even more, and whoso does an evil deed will have a punishment only equal to it or will have his sin forgiven altogether. And whoso approaches Me by half a cubit, I will go to him by one cubit and whoso approaches Me by one cubit, I will go to him by four cubits; and whoso comes to Me walking, I will go to him running" (Muslim).

Important Words:

باری (Maker) is derived from بری which means, he shaped or fashioned a reed into a pen, or he shaped an arrow. باریmeans, one who forms or fashions a thing by cutting; one who shapes out or pares a thing. باری is to be distinguished from خالق for whereas the latter word means, one who brings a thing into existence according to the proper plan or measure, or one who brings a thing into existence from a state of nonexistence, the former word, i.e. باری signifies one who fashions a thing into its proper shape. Generally, however, باری is used as somewhat synonymous with خالق, for it is the formation of a shape which is the result in each case (Mufradat & Lane).

Commentary:

It appears from this verse that, although after the incident of calf-worship a general pardon was granted to the Israelites, yet it was thought essential to punish the ringleaders who were ordered to be slain. The clause فاقتلوا انفسکم does not mean "slay yourselves", but "slay your men or slay your kith and kin". The latter meaning is borne out by 2:85, where God says, you shall not turn your people out of your homes. Similarly, in 24:62, we read: When you enter houses, greet your people with salam. In these verses the expression انفسکم has been used in the sense of 'your people or your brethren'. See also 2:86 & 4:67.

Speaking of this incident, the Bible says: "Put ye every man his sword upon his thigh, and go to and fro from gate to gate throughout the camp, and slay every man his brother, and every man his companion, and every man his neighbour. And the sons of Levi did according to the word of Moses: and there fell of the people that day about three thousand men" (Exod. 32:27, 28).

In the above passage, the number of persons slain has been put at three thousand, but this is apparently an error. Similarly, the number of the Israelites who came out of Egypt is represented in the Bible as six hundred thousand (Exod. 12:37) which also is clearly wrong. Such a large number could not live as servants and labourers of the Egyptians, who themselves speak of them as "a small community" (the Quran, 26:55). The error has apparently arisen from a confusion of the words إلف (ilf) and ألف (alf), the former meaning "a family", and the latter "a thousand" (Aqrab). Really, there were only 600 families of the Israelites who lived in Egypt and who left the country under the leadership of Moses, but they were misconstrued into 600 thousands. Similarly, the number of persons slain could scarcely be three thousand. There were most likely only three families the leaders of which took part in setting up the calf for worship, and these were put to death, by their own kinsmen at the bidding of Moses.

The words فاقتلوا أنفسکم (slay yourselves) have also been construed as "kill your desires"–an interpretation borne out by the usage of the Arabic language. Some commentators prefer this interpretation to the one given above on the ground that the Israelites, having been forgiven by God at the intercession of Moses, could not have been ordered to slay their brethren, for such an order would have been incompatible with the forgiveness granted to them. This argument, however, does not appear to be sound for forgiveness of a people as a whole is not incompatible with the punishment of a few ringleaders.

The clause, turn ye therefore to your Maker, implies an exhortation to the Israelites to turn to their باری or Maker or Fashioner, which means that they should work a change or reformation in themselves.

20:83; 25:72.

Important Words:

عسی (maybe) meaning, it may be that, maybe or perhaps, is a word which expresses eager desire or hope and fear, sometimes with reference to the person addressed and sometimes with reference to the speaker himself. It denotes hope in the case of that which is liked and fear in the case of that which is disliked. It also denotes opinion or doubt, and certainty. When used by persons of very high authority the object is to engender hope but not overconfidence in the person or persons with reference to whom it is used. In the opinion of most commentators of the Quran the words عسی and لعل when used with reference to God denote certainty because uncertainty and expectancy cannot be attributed to God. Imam Raghib, however, differs from this view and says that in the Quran these words are used to express hope only on the part of the person or persons with reference to whom they are used (Lane & Mufradat).

Commentary:

The verse shows that according to Islam the door of repentance always remains open. The sinner can repent even with the last breath of life. He is never beyond redemption except when by persistent rejection of truth he himself deliberately chooses to shut the door of repentance upon him.

Important Words:

رفث (going in unto) has a number of meanings: amatory talk, kissing, caressing, embracing, compressing, coition, etc.; in fact, everything that a man desires of his wife. When رفث is followed by the preposition الی it means, coition or going in unto one’s wife, and it is in this sense that the word has been used here. رفث also means, immodest, foul and lewd talk or speech (Lane).

تختانون (you have been acting unjustly) is derived from خان. They say خانه i.e. he acted unfaithfully or perfidiously towards him; he was not faithful to the trust reposed in him. اختانه is like خانه, giving the same meaning. It also means, he acted wrongfully or unjustly towards him. The Arabs say خانته رجلاه i.e. his feet or legs acted unfaithfully towards him, meaning he was unable to walk. تختانون انفسکم would, therefore, mean, you failed to give your souls (i.e. yourselves) their due either (1) by preventing them from their duty to God, or (2) by refusing them the satisfaction of their natural and lawful cravings. The former act is a sin, while the latter, though not a sin, may endanger one’s health or deprive one of just happiness. The word has been used in both these senses in the Quran. In 4:108, it has been used in the sense of "sin", while in the present verse it has been used in the sense of "depriving the soul of the gratification of its natural and just desires".

عفاعنکم (afforded you relief). The word عفا gives a number of meanings (see 2:53). The expression عفاالله عن فلان is sometimes used where there is no question of pardoning any sin or obliterating traces thereof but simply in the sense of removing one’s mistake or misunderstanding or improving one’s condition or bestowing honour on one (Aqrab). It also means, making things easy, i.e. affording relief (Muhit).

باشروھن (go in unto them) is derived from بشر from which is also derived the word بشارة or بشری meaning, glad tidings. The expression بشربه means, he became glad and happy because of that. The words بشرالجلد mean, he removed or peeled off its skin. البشرة means, outer part of skin, or what is visible of the face or body. باشرالمرأة means, he came in contact with his wife skin to skin; he went in unto her. البشری (glad tidings) is so called because it changes the colour of the listener’s face. البشر (man) is also so called because, unlike other animals, man’s skin is visible and not concealed under hair (Aqrab, Mufradat & Lane).

Commentary:

It was a custom among the Israelites to abstain from all kinds of food from one evening to the other on the occasion of the fast of the Atonement Day, the only fast prescribed by Moses for his people. When fasts were first prescribed for Muslims, and details had not yet been revealed, they thought that, like the Jews, they too would have to fast for 24 hours with a slight intervening breakfast. Hence, following their own judgement, they concluded that it was lawful for them to eat and drink and to go in unto their wives only as long as they did not go to bed, and that after they had gone to sleep, they were not allowed to partake of any food or drink or to go in unto their wives until the next evening. Bukhari gives the following tradition on the authority of Bara’: "When the command to fast was revealed, if anybody kept a fast and then went to sleep in the evening, he abstained from eating, drinking and sexual intercourse until the time for breaking the fast the following day" (Bukhari ch. on Saum). This tradition and others of the same import show that it was not in obedience to any command from God or the Holy Prophet that his Companions abstained from sexual intercourse after going to bed at night, but it was owing to their own imitation of similar customs among the People of the Book that they had imposed these restrictions on themselves. As, however, these restrictions were against the will of God, a revelation was soon sent down allowing the Faithful to eat and drink and approach their wives as they liked during the night; only they were forbidden to do so while fasting during the day.

Some commentators have inferred from the words, you have been acting unjustly to yourselves, that the Companions of the Holy Prophet were unable to act upon the commandment to abstain from intercourse with their wives during the nights of fasts and frequently broke it. But this is evidently wrong, for the good reason that there was no such commandment to be broken. Moreover, the words of the Quran, i.e. you may now go in, also belie this interpretation, for the use of the word "now" clearly indicates that the Companions of the Holy Prophet were erring not on the side of indulgence but on that of abstinence. The Quran could not obviously say, you may now go in, to a people who were already going in unto their wives.

The clause, they are a garment for you and you are a garment for them, very beautifully describes the object of marriage. The verse points out that the object of marriage is not the gratification of carnal passions. The real object is the comfort, protection and embellishment of the parties, for such are the uses of a garment as explained in 7:27 & 16:82. Thus in a very few words, the Quran has described the true relationship that should exist between husband and wife, a description which has hardly a parallel in any other scripture.

The clause, the white thread becomes distinct from the black thread of the dawn, does not refer to the thread made of yarn but to the streak of light that appears along the eastern horizon at the time of dawn. The verse enjoins that from dawn till sunset Muslims should abstain from food and drink and intercourse while fasting. But they are free to have recourse to these things between sunset and dawn. At places where days and nights are unusually long, i.e. nearer the poles, calculation should be made for the purpose of fasting on the basis of average conditions, i.e. in such a case day and night would each be supposed to be of twelve hours’ duration (Muslim, ch. on Ashratus-Sa‘at). The clause, while you remain in the mosques for devotion, refers to the practice of اعتکاف which is observed by remaining in the mosque, night and day, during the last ten days of Ramadan. During these days, the devotee who decides to observe اعتکاف is not to leave the mosque except from human necessity, i.e. to answer a call of nature, etc. He enters the mosque on the morning of the 20th of Ramadan

and abides therein till the end of the month, fasting from daybreak to sunset and occupying himself in prayer or recitation of the Quran or other religious study or meditation. During اعتکاف (I‘tikaf), which is, as it were, the consummation of the spirit of fasting, intercourse with wives and preliminaries thereto are not allowed even at night time. The clause, these are the limits fixed by Allah, so approach them not, points to the very important principle that a man can attain true piety only if he refrains from even "approaching" the things that have been forbidden by God. "Some acts," says the Holy Prophet "are of doubtful character, one not knowing whether they are right or wrong. It is always better to avoid these. The forbidden things are like a pasture-land which the Wise God prohibits to the people. If you make your beasts graze on the borders of such land, i.e. allow your beasts to approach near them, there is danger of their trespassing upon the prohibited area" (Bukhari, ch, on Iman). This is an extremely wise injunction which cuts at the root of all trespass. Only those can protect themselves against sin who give all unlawful things a wide berth. The final clause, that they may become secure against evil, repeats the idea contained in 2:184 in which the subject of fasting was first introduced. In both verses the underlying object of fasting has been stated to be the attainment of تقوی i.e. piety, righteousness and protection against evil, which are all different forms of divineblessings. The reader may, with advantage, compare this idea with the belief of the Christians that the Law is a curse (Gal. 3:10, 13).

42:53.

Commentary:

Alluding to the two great principles mentioned in v. 47 above, the present verse purports to say that it is unimaginable that a man who could neither read nor write and therefore conceivably had no knowledge of the other revealed Scriptures should have been able to produce a Book which not only contains all that is of permanent value in these Scriptures but is also a compendium of all the universal teachings that are calculated to satisfy all the moral and spiritual needs and requirements of humanity for all time. The fact of the Holy Prophet being illiterate, and being born in a country, and having lived among a people, cut off from all contact with civilized humanity, indeed constitutes an infallible proof of the Quran being a revealed Book. That the Holy Prophet could neither read nor write before he was commissioned as a Divine Messenger admits of no difference of opinion. Towards the end of his life he may have been able to decipher a few simple words but he never learned to read or write. See also 16:104.

Commentary:

The verse refers to two males who are guilty of an unnatural offence or something approaching it. What particular form the punishment mentioned here should take has been left to the discretion of the authorities concerned.

Both this verse and the preceding one refer to offences for which no حد شرعی (punishment definitely fixed by the Law) has been prescribed, the matter having been left to the discretion of the authorities to be decided according to circumstances.

6:55; 20:83; 25:72.

Important Words:

فتنه (punishment) is the noun-infinitive from فتن and means a sin; an act of disobedience for which one deserves punishment; punishment itself; disgrace, shame or ignominy, etc. (Lane & Aqrab). See also 2:192 & 4:92.

Commentary:

The Jews thought that their rejection of, and opposition to, the Prophets would bring no punishment upon them. But they were mistaken. Misery and affliction continued to dog their footsteps till God turned to them in mercy by raising the Holy Prophet that they might believe in him and escape Divine punishment; but they also rejected him and thus lost their spiritual sight and hearing.

6:13; 7:157.

4:18; 16:120.

Commentary:

The message conveyed in the words, Peace be unto you, is the Message of God which the Holy Prophet is bidden to convey to believers; the "peace" spoken of is to come from God Himself. It is with reference to this "peace" promised to believers in the present verse that they are enjoined to greet one another with the words السلام علیکم i.e. "may the (promised) peace be on you." The reader will have noted that whereas the verse uses the word salam (peace), the word used in the formula of mutual greeting is as-salam (the peace). This is to point out that the greeting of peace offered is in conformity with the peace promised in the verse under comment.