يَحْذَرُ

7:138; 26:60; 44:29.

Commentary:

Exploitation and tyranny produce their own nemesis and the exploiters and oppressors never feel secure from the standard of revolt being raised against them by those whom they exploit, suppress and oppress. The greater the oppression of the tyrant, the greater his fear of revolt on the part of the tyrannized. Pharaoh, too, was seized with this fear and, therefore, he employed all sorts of means and machinations to keep the Israelites under permanent subjection. But the time had come that he should be punished and those held in bondage should be emancipated.

Haman was the title of the High Priest of the god Amon, "ham" in Egyptian meaning high priest and Amon was the god who dominated all other Egyptian gods. "Haman was the director of the double treasury and granary and director of the soldiers and all the craftsmen of Thebes. His name was Nebunnef and he was high priest under Ramesus II and his son Merneptah. Being the head of the extremely rich sacerdotal organization embracing all the priesthoods of the country his power and prestige had increased so much that he controlled a most influential political faction and even kept his own private army" (A story of Egypt by James Henry Breasted, Ph.D.).

Haman is also said to be the name of a minister of Ahasuerus, a king of Persia who lived many ages after Moses. There is nothing strange or objectionable in two persons living in two different periods bearing the same name. But Mr. Wherry, only to expose his own crass ignorance, has pretended to discover a serious anachronism in the Quran having called a minister of Pharaoh by the name of Haman, which incidentally was also the name of a minister of a king of Persia (Wherry’s Commentary, vol. 3, p. 254). In fact, anachronism lies in the brain of Mr. Wherry himself and not in the Quran.

Commentary:

The verse lifts the veil from the jokes the hypocrites used to indulge in at the cost of the Holy Prophet and the Muslims. When they sat together in private, they used to say jokingly to one another that they feared lest God should send down a Surah to the Prophet informing him of what lay concealed in their minds. They did not actually believe that the Holy Prophet might indeed receive revelation about their secret thoughts from God, because they did not believe him to be the recipient of Divine revelation. They only said this by way of ridicule, as the words that follow, i.e. Mock ye, indicate.

The words, Allah will bring to light what you fear, mean that whereas the hypocrites joked about the Holy Prophet in their secret meetings and affected to be afraid that he might be informed of those jokes by God, while in reality they entertained no such fears, the All-Knowing God would actually divulge their secrets to His Messenger and then the hypocrites would have real cause to experience their pretended apprehensions.

3:105.

Commentary:

As weakness of faith and works resulted from lack of knowledge and training, the present verse speaks of the way in which such a weakness could be removed. The Arabs of the desert were quite ignorant of the teachings of Islam (9:97). The verse suggests a practical method of instructing them in the tenets and principles of the Faith. A certain number from every tribe or section were required to come to Medina for instruction in the teachings of Islam, and then go back to their respective people and teach them what they had themselves learned. It was indeed the easiest, the most effective and practical method of learning the principles and teachings of the new Faith and imparting them to others.

40:59.

Commentary:

The verse refers to two classes of men—believers who are described as obedient men endowed with knowledge and understanding; and disbelievers who are their opposites.