لِلْمُتَّقِينَ

7:170; 16:31.

57:22; See also 2:26.

Important Words:

عرض (price). The verb عرض gives a number of meanings. They say عرض الشیء علیه i.e. he showed him the thing. عرض له عارض means, some difficulty confronted him, or came across his way, or some accident happened to him. عرض means: (1) price of a thing in a form other than money; (2) breadth or width; (3) vastness; (4) goods; (5) a valley; (6) side of a mountain (Aqrab).

Commentary:

This verse is an answer to those who, obsessed by their present environments, think that commerce and other affairs of the world cannot be carried on without interest. God says that by following the teachings of Islam, Muslims can and will enjoy all sorts of benefits.

The verse is an invitation to follow the commandments of Islam, which has been spoken of as leading to "forgiveness" and "Paradise". The former word implies freedom from pain and afflictions; the latter stands for bliss.

The word عرض rendered as "price" gives, as shown above, a number of meanings. The idea is that the blessings of Paradise will not be limited. While in Paradise, a man will feel happy wherever he may be. On the contrary in this world, we find that a man often possesses the necessary means of enjoyment while at home, but when he is on a journey, he is often put to inconvenience. Such will not be the case in Paradise.

The clause also means that believers will be granted a Paradise which will comprise both heaven and earth, i.e. the believers will be in Paradise both on this earth and in the life to come.

There is a tradition to the effect that once certain Companions asked the Holy Prophet, "If Paradise encom-passes the heavens and the earth, where is Hell?" To this the Prophet replied: "Where is the night when the day comes?" (Kathir). This reply throws very interesting light on the nature of Heaven and Hell. The Holy Prophet has also said that the smallest reward of the inmates of Paradise will be as immense as the space between heaven and earth.

2:46,154.

Commentary:

Pharaoh was proud of his power and dominion and was tyrannical in the extreme; so the Israelites are here comforted by Moses with an assurance that they need not be afraid of him, as his power shall be broken and his kingdom taken away from him.

The expression, He gives it as a heritage to whomsoever He pleases of His servants, does not necessarily mean that the Israelites were to be made to inherit Egypt after the destruction of Pharaoh. It only means that Pharaoh’s power was to be broken and others were to take possession of his kingdom. History tells us that after the destruction of Pharaoh and the break-up of his kingdom, another dynasty, who were friendly to the Israelites, took possession of the land.

Commentary:

The words, This is of the tidings of the unseen, are intended to hint that the Quranic accounts of the various Prophets are not meant as mere stories of the ancient peoples. They are given in the Quran because they contain a prophetic allusion to the analogous events that were to occur in the life of the Holy Prophet himself. This is what is implied in the words "the tidings of the unseen". The concluding words of the verse, i.e. "the end is for the God-fearing," lend further support to this inference. These accounts also serve to warn Muslims that they too will have to pass through the experiences of the followers of former Prophets and they warn disbelievers that they too shall meet a fate similar to that of the rejecters of past Prophets.

The words, So be thou patient, mean that just as the people of Noah were destroyed, so will a section of the Holy Prophet’s people be destroyed; and then of their seed and of the seed of their companions God will raise a people who will bear the standard of piety and righteousness in every age.

The story of the Deluge with some variations is to be found in the traditions and literature of various countries (see Enc. Rel. & Eth. Enc. Bib. & Enc. Brit. under Deluge). The importance which is attached to it and the widespread credence it commands points to its being an historical event of very great importance. It cannot be denied that a great flood did take place sometime in the remote past, that it was of an extraordinary nature and that it affected many nations of the earth. Its description as given in the Quran, however, shows that there was nothing unnatural about it.

The catastrophe seems to have taken place somewhere at the dawn of human civilization. The Holy Prophet of Islam spoke of Noah as the first Messenger of God, i.e. the first organizer of a religious community (Bukhari, ch. on Anbiya’).The Bible also represents him as such (Gen. 6:8). Hindu traditions, too, corroborate this fact, for they speak of Manu (who is the same as Noah), the Hindu hero of the Deluge, as the first man (Enc. Brit. under Manu). But they add that seven others were saved with him, which points to the fact that he was not the first man absolutely but only the first man of the first cycle of human civilization. These statements made in the Scriptures of three great religions of the world leave no doubt about the fact that Noah laid the foundations of human civilization and culture. In fact, with the progress and advance of a people in civilization, their numbers also begin to grow with a corresponding decrease taking place in the numbers of less civilized communities living with them in the same land. It is a well-known historical fact that whenever a people, comparatively more advanced in culture and civilization, have come to settle in a country, they have either blotted out of existence the less civilized inhabitants of the land or have greatly weakened them. Thus it appears that when the descendants of Noah and those of his companions, who were the founders of human civilization, spread to other lands, because they were more powerful than the people already living there, they either exterminated them or absorbed them by breaking their power. In this way they must have introduced into all the countries they subjugated their own traditions and customs; and consequently the tradition about the Deluge which naturally impressed the subjugated people must also have come to be introduced into other lands. With the lapse of time, however, the immigrants ceased to have any connection with their original home and the catastrophe consequently came to be regarded as a local occurrence, with the result that local names of persons and places came to be substituted for the original names.

In short, the Deluge was not a universal visitation, nor should the traditions of different lands be taken to point to separate floods. It was confined to one land, but owing to the immigration of the descendants of Noah and his companions to other lands, the story spread far and wide and finally the Flood came to be regarded as a local occurrence in every country.

As for the place where the Deluge occurred see note on al-Judi in v. 45.

Commentary:

The word إمام meaning "leader" and "model" (2:125 & 15:80), the verse purports to say that a truly righteous man is not satisfied with only becoming righteous himself but aims at being a model and pattern for other righteous men to copy.

Commentary:

The words, "Heaven will be brought near to the righteous," mean that the righteous will be given new and better faculties to enjoy the bliss of Paradise.

Commentary:

The verse purports to say that were it not that by the obliteration of disparity of means, wealth and position, all men would have become of one type and human society would have ceased to function, God would have provided all disbelievers with houses made of silver, having doors and stairways of silver, and would have given them couches of silver on which to recline and other ornaments of gold, because these things possess no worth or value in His sight or at the most are a temporary embellishment of this worldly life which itself is of very short duration. But the life eternal and everlasting, whose blessings will know no limitation or diminution is only for the righteous and God-fearing.

26:91; 81:14.

Commentary:

If, as mentioned in the preceding verse, more and more sinners will be thrown into Hell for being purged and purified of their spiritual maladies, the present verse says, that Heaven will also be brought near for the righteous and the God-fearing.

13:30; 30:16; 68:35; 78:32-33.

Commentary:

The verse purports to say that while the rebellious owners of the "garden" (v. 18) will be deprived of it, the righteous believers will have "Gardens of Bliss" from their Lord.

4:176; 13:30; 14:24; 30:16; 68:35.

Important Words:

مفاز (triumph) is derived from فاز which means, he gained what he wished or desired; he was successful; he gained the victory. فازبه means he attained, acquired or won it. فاز من مکروه means, he became safe and secure from what he disliked. مفازmeans victory; triumph, a place of safety or security; a cause or means of prosperity or success or of the attainment of that which he deserves; the state of safety. Contrarily it also means, a place of perdition (Lane).