رَبِّکَ

Commentary:

The verse sums up the subject matter of the Surah. The Holy Prophet is told that he did not have the remotest idea that he would ever be made the bearer of the Divine Message but now that he has actually been entrusted with the great and difficult task of preaching the truth, he should 'call mankind to God' and like a great soldier fight his way to success.

6:35.

Commentary:

The verb تمت (has been fulfilled) though grammatically in the past tense is here used in the future tense, meaning, shall be fulfilled, for in prophecies often a preterit is used to express the future tense. This is done in order to show that the event predicted is, in the sight of God, as good as fulfilled. The words thus contain a prophecy and mean that what God has said about the future triumph of Islam shall certainly come to pass. It is reported that when Mecca fell and the Holy Prophet entered the Ka‘bah, which was at that time full of idols, and struck the idols one after another with his stick, he recited the very words of this prophecy: the Word of thy Lord has been fulfilled in truth and justice, in allusion to the fact that with the Fall of Mecca, the Word of God had indeed been fulfilled (Manthur, under 6:116).

The words, None can change His words, refer to the prophecies or to the ways or usage of God. With regard to the سنة or usage of God, it must be remembered that it is not for us to determine what the usage or the law of God is. Generally speaking, it is that which has been expressly mentioned as such in the Quran. Thus, one of the laws of God specified in the Quran is that His Messengers triumph and their enemies are brought to naught. Such laws have been spoken of as سنن الله(the ways or usages of God) and are not to be confounded with the laws of nature.

By the words, the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing is meant that God hears not only the prayers of believers but also what the enemies of the Holy Prophet say against him. Similarly, He knows not only the sufferings and sacrifices of believers but also what the enemies of Islam are doing to harm and ruin it. So He will decide between the two parties.

6:154.

2:211; 16:34.

Commentary:

The "coming of angels" here refers to the punishment of the people through wars; for, in the Quran the coming of angels has been mentioned in connection with the battles that took place between Muslims and their enemies (3:125, 126 & 8:10).

The term "coming of the Lord" with regard to disbelievers has been used in the Quran to express death and destruction (2:211). The words thus refer to the punishment of death that was to overtake the enemies of Islam in other ways than by war. In fact, when an offender is spoken of as having been summoned before God, it is only for punishment.

The "coming of the Signs" refers to punishments such as famines, pestilences, etc.

Finally, the verse makes it clear that believing at the time when a man is visited by punishment can do him no good. The verse mentions two conditions under which faith is of no avail: firstly, the faith of the man who believes at the time when he is overtaken by punishment; secondly, the faith of the man who has earned no good by his faith, i.e. he whose faith is not accompanied by good works and righteous deeds. The verse does not mean that faith will benefit nobody when the signs of God come. What it means is that at the time when the sign of punishment comes, faith will not avail those for whom this punishment is meant.

28:6.

32:25.

Important Words:

یعرشون (they erect) is formed from عرش i.e. he constructed or erected a structure for grapevines to rise and spread upon; or he erected or built a shed or an enclosure or a house, etc. (Lane). See also 2:260; 6:142.

Commentary:

The words, the eastern parts of the land and the western parts thereof, signify, according to Arabic idiom, the entire country.

The words, which We blessed, refer to the Holy Land which had been promised to the descendants of Abraham and Jacob (5:22). It was blessed because it was the land where the Israelites were to thrive and prosper and grow into a great nation. The words, And the gracious Word of thy Lord was fulfilled, mean that the promise which God had made to Abraham and Jacob came to pass.

The words, We destroyed all that Pharaoh and his people had built, mean that the great buildings and memorials erected by Pharaoh by unjustly exacting hard labour from the Children of Israel fell into ruin in the time of the dynasty that ruled Egypt after him.

21:20-21; 41:39.

Commentary:

This is the last verse of the present Surah. Disbelievers are told that they should pray to God for their guidance because even such righteous servants of God, as have attained His nearness and are far superior to them in all respects, do not disdain to worship and glorify Him.

The verse mentions three signs of those who attain nearness to God: (1) they turn not away with pride from His worship, meaning that they not only worship God but worship Him in all humility; (2) they glorify God, i.e. they not only silently worship God but even declare their faith openly and propagate the truth and try to establish the kingdom of God on earth; (3) they prostrate themselves before God, i.e. they submit to Him and their lives are devoted to His service.

It should be noted that it was the practice of the Holy Prophet that wherever a Quranic verse spoke of believers prostrating themselves before God, he used to perform a سجدة (act of prostration) and also enjoined his followers to do the same. This constitutes a great lesson for us that we should not only be ever ready to obey God when a direct command is addressed to us, but should also be eager to copy the good acts of others, even if we are not directly commanded to do so. The present verse embodies the first سجدة of the Quran.

10:97; 40:7.

Commentary:

The verse points to the natural law that he who rebels against the authority of God and defies His Prophets is deprived of opportunities to believe.

10:34; 40:7.

Commentary:

By کلمة (word) is here meant the word of warning or threat. The verse means that those who have become deserving of punishment and have made no effort to escape it in spite of warning, will not believe.

15:44; 32:14; 38:85-86.

Commentary:

The words, for this has He created them, mean that it is for mercy that God has created men. This interpretation is supported by 7:157.

The words, the word of thy Lord shall be fulfilled, show that it is only the followers of Satan and evildoers that will be cast into Hell. The verse does not at all mean that all men will be thrown into Hell. In the words, the word of thy Lord shall be fulfilled, God mentions a promise, so the verse must be interpreted in harmony with that promise. But no promise is to be found in the Quran to the effect that all men will be cast into Hell. On the contrary, there is a definite promise in which it is said that Hell will be filled with those who follow Satan (7:19). It is to this promise that the verse under comment refers, for the Quran makes mention of no other promise except this.

So the verse means only that those who follow Satan will be thrown into Hell.

It was stated in the previous clause that God had created man for mercy. Now the question naturally arose, if man had been created for mercy, why were men to be cast into Hell? The present verse answers this question by saying that it is true that man has been created for mercy, but it was also declared that this promise of mercy would not be fulfilled immediately with regard to people who followed Satan. These companions of Satan will first be thrown into Hell on account of their affinity with him, and after they have been purged of their sins, they will go to Heaven. Moreover, the preceding verse speaks of disbelievers "who would not cease to differ". So the jinn and men spoken of here are none but the wicked among them. For a discussion of the jinn see 15:28.

Commentary:

The tone of the Divine reply shows God’s great regard for Abraham. Instead of directly rejecting his request, God lovingly asks him to let the matter go, for His decree has already come to pass and the punishment could not now be averted.

15:66.

7:84; 15:61; 29:34.

15:67.

Commentary:

When the strangers heard Lot pathetically say to his people that he would pray to God against them, they, who had till then kept the matter secret, revealed to him that God had already decreed their punishment and that it was that decree which they had come to communicate to him. They also announced to him that the threatened punishment would not affect his اھل (family or followers) who would be saved except his wife who was doomed.

The verse mentions the time of morning as the time of the coming punishment because the morning is generally the time of negligence and is thus best suited to remind wicked people of the real cause of Divine chastisement.

51:35.

Commentary:

The words, marked for them, mean that it had been decreed from eternity that these stones should become the cause for the destruction of Lot’s people.

The latter portion of the verse points out that the account of the destruction of the people of Lot has not been given here as a story but is intended to give a warning that a similar destructive punishment would overtake the disbelieving people of the Holy Prophet’s time if they persisted in rejecting him.

It may also be noted here that there are some serious differences in the accounts about Lot as given in the Quran and the Bible: (1) The Bible represents Lot as a quarrelsome and jealous person, while the Quran says that he was a righteous servant of God. (2) The Bible says that the three visitors partook of the food presented to them by Abraham, declaring at

the same time that one of them was God Himself, the other two being angels. The Quran denies all this. (3) According to the Bible, Lot offered his daughters for fornication, while the Quran declares that they were merely offered as hostages. (4) The Bible says that Lot’s wife was turned into a pillar of salt but the Quran rejects all such puerile stories. Any sensible person can see which of the two accounts is more sensible and correct.

3:118; 16:34.

Commentary:

The Quran repeatedly emphasizes the fact that God never punishes a people unjustly and that it is their own misdeeds that bring down punishment upon them. It denies the theory of predestination or of man’s being the victim of a blind fate. It also contradicts the view that God makes nations rise and fall arbitrarily, without just or real cause. This is why, wherever the Quran speaks of punishment, it does not fail to add that punishments or rewards are the results of men’s own doing. This is what is hinted at in the words, And We did not wrong them but they wronged themselves.

The verse also points out that of all things it is their idols that are of absolutely no use to idolaters. All other things in nature such as fire, snakes, poisons, etc. have their uses. The swords of disbelievers were also of some service to them, because with them they killed some Muslims, but what proved of entirely no use to the idolaters were their gods, upon whom they had staked their whole future.

The words, and they added to them naught but perdition, do not contradict the well-known Quranic dictum that idols can do disbelievers neither good nor evil, for where the Quran denies that idols can do harm, it is intentional harm that is meant; but where it says that idols do serious harm to their votaries, as in the present verse, it means involuntary or unintentional harm, for what greater sin there can be than committing shirk, (idol-worship) of which idols are the unconscious cause.

The words "but perdition" also point to the moral that shirk generally renders idolaters lax in their efforts to better their condition and thus is indirectly instrumental in bringing about their eventual destruction. When at the Fall of Mecca, some of the idolaters who, on account of their most atrocious crimes against Muslims were proscribed from the general amnesty, took shelter in the Ka‘bah, thinking that the idols therein would protect them, they were ordered by the Holy Prophet to be slain. Had they known that their idols could render them no help whatsoever, they would have sought safety in flight. Thus the words "but perdition" hint that شرك (idol-worship) renders its votaries lax and negligent.

54:43; 85:13.

Commentary:

This verse gives the reason why all the foregoing events—the destruction of the people of Noah down to Moses have been related. The reason is that when the punishment of God overtakes a people, they are simply annihilated. The enemies of the Holy Prophet are told by implication that they should take warning from the fate of the opponents of former Prophets.

The word ظالمة (doing wrong) is used here in the sense of مشرکة (those who associate gods with God). The word ظلم (wrong) has been used in the sense of شرك (idol-worship) at several places in the Quran. What is meant to be conveyed here is that the punishment which overtakes a people when they become idolaters and lose faith in the Unity of God is most destructive and generally extirpatory, while the ruin which comes upon a people from natural causes is gradual.

Important Words:

بضع (some) is derived from بضع (bad‘a). They say بضعه i.e. he cut it; or he cut it into pieces. بضع means, a part or portion of the night; a time thereof. The word denotes a variety of numbers but is generally understood to mean from three to nine. بضع رجال means, from three to nine men. The expression فلبث فی السجن بضع سنن means, and he remained in the prison from three to nine years (Lane & Aqrab).

Commentary:

When this prisoner busied himself with the satanic occupation of preparing wine for and offering it to his master, the purifying influence of Joseph’s holy company was gone and he forgot to speak of him to the King.

12:32.

Commentary:

When the King saw that the wise men of his court had failed to interpret his dream and that Joseph had not only interpreted it rightly but had also suggested a remedy for the impending affliction, and when he learnt from his butler that Joseph’s previous interpretation of two dreams had also turned out to be true, he realized that Joseph was no ordinary man and desired to release him from the prison forthwith. But Joseph refused to be released until a full inquiry was made into his case and he was proved to be innocent of the charge laid against him. His object in demanding an inquiry seems to be twofold: firstly, that the King might know that he was innocent so that on no future occasion might his mind be poisoned against him by evilly-disposed persons on the basis of the alleged cause of his imprisonment; secondly, that Potiphar, his benefactor, might not remain under the impression that he had proved faithless to him.

The Holy Prophet is reported to have once said that if he had remained in prison for so long a time as Joseph did and, like Joseph, had received the orders of his release, he would at once have left the prison (Bukhari & Muslim). This readiness of the Holy Prophet to leave the prison in contrast to the hesitancy of Joseph to do so shows the former to be spiritually superior to the latter. It is true that the vindication of one’s honour is an act of virtue, but to welcome the opportunity for discharging one’s duties as a Prophet of God, as the Holy Prophet’s reported readiness implied, leaving one’s honour to take care of itself, is certainly an act of much higher spiritual eminence.

The words, how fare the women who cut their hands, spoken by Joseph show that the incident of the cutting by the women of their hands did actually take place; otherwise Joseph could not have referred to it in these words. Either the women, while absorbed in conversation, had inadvertently cut their hands, or they might have declared that, by bringing a false accusation against Joseph, they had cut their own hands i.e. had landed themselves in a false position. If these words had only expressed the women’s state of mind and nothing actual had happened, Joseph could not have referred to "the cutting of the hands."

20:131; 50:40; 110:4.

Commentary:

The verse means to say that inasmuch as the main purpose of the Holy Prophet’s advent, viz. the establishment of the Unity of God, was now going to be fulfilled, he should in joyous thanksgiving extol the praise of God and bow down to Him in devoted prostration. The verse also hints that the Holy Prophet should now busy himself all the more in the moral and spiritual training of the Faithful and thus provide practical means of establishing the glory of God. How in these few brief words God has so beautifully taken the burden from the mind of His Prophet!

2:211; 6:159; 7:54.

9:70; 16:119; 29:41; 30:10.

Commentary:

The expressions, "the coming of angels" and "the coming of God", when used with reference to disbelievers, always denote the coming of Divine punishment. By "the coming of angels" is meant the destruction of individual disbelievers, and by "the coming of God" their national ruin. The expression, the decree of thy Lord should come to pass, refers to the latter kind of punishment. See also 2:211.

Important Words:

ایھم (those of them who). ای is a noun used in five different senses. (1) It means, who? which? and what? They say ایھم اخوک i.e. who or which of them is thy brother? In the Quran we have فبای حدیث بعدہ یومنون i.e. And in what announcement after it will they believe? (2) It denotes a condition. They say ایھم یکرمنی اکرمه i.e. whichever of them treats me with honour, I will treat him with honour. (3) It is a conjunct noun; and is sometimes used in the manner of الذی and therefore requires a complement; as in the Quranic verse ثم لننزعن من کل شیعة ایھم اشد علی الرحمان عصیا i.e. Then We will assuredly draw forth from every sect those of them who are most exorbitantly rebellious against the Compassionate God (4) It denotes perfection or consummation and in this case it is an epithet applying to an indeterminate noun. They say زید رجل ای رجل i.e. Zaid is a man; what a man! (5) It is also a connective of the vocative یا with the noun signifying the person or persons called, when this noun has the article ال prefixed to it; and with a noun of indication, as ذا; and with a conjunct noun having ال prefixed to it, as الذی it is a noun formed for serving as such a connective; and has ھا affixed to it. They say یا ایھا الرجل i.e. O thou man or O thou, the man, or O thou who art the man (Lane).

Commentary:

This verse may be interpreted in two ways: (1) The pronoun اولئك (those) may be taken as referring to the Prophets mentioned in v. 56. In this case the verse would mean that those Prophets always invited people to the worship of the One God, sought His nearness and feared His punishment. (2) The pronoun اولئك may refer to the gods of the idolaters, the latter (idolaters) being taken as subject of the verb یدعون(they call on). In this case the verse would mean, those whom the idolaters call upon beside God themselves seek His nearness and pleasure and fear His punishment.

41:35.

6:118.

Important Words:

The word حکمة translated as wisdom in the text among other things means, (1) knowledge or science; (2) equity or justice; (3) forbearance or clemency; (4) firmness; (5) any saying or discourse conforming or agreeable to truth and in accordance with the exigencies of the occasion; (6) gift of prophecy; and (7) what prevents or restrains from ignorant behaviour (Aqrab & Lane).

Commentary:

The word may be used in all these senses in the verse under comment. Taking it in the sense of "knowledge" or "science", the verse would mean that Muslims should invite others to Islam by arguments based on knowledge and reason and should not confine themselves merely to making appeals to sentiments and emotions. Using it in the sense of "equity" or "justice", the injunction embodied would be that, when arguing with the followers of other Faiths, Muslim preachers and missionaries should not bring forward such objections against those Faiths as can be advanced against Islam itself for such a course is not only inconsistent with justice, but is also unsound. If حکمة be understood to mean "forbearance" or "clemency", the verse would mean that Muslims should explain the beauties of their religion with patience. Taking the word in the sense of "a saying or discourse conforming or agreeable to the truth, and in accordance with the exigencies of the occasion", the verse would mean, that while inviting other people to Islam Muslims should not say anything which is not true and is not in accordance with facts, for if they resorted to falsehood while preaching truth they would be ruining their own souls in order to save those of others. Moreover, their discourse should be conformable to the exigencies of the occasion and should not wound other people’s susceptibilities. Taking the word in the sense of "gift of prophecy", the verse would mean that Muslims should invite men to Islam by using arguments contained in the Quran and not arguments which are the creation of their own fancy. Lastly, taking the word in the sense of "what restrains from ignorant behaviour" the verse would mean that the talk of Muslims should not be beyond the comprehension of those to whom the appeal is made. They should say things which may help to resolve the doubts of others and not display or demonstrate their own talents and learning.

The words, "goodly exhortation" mean "a discourse which softens the hearts of the hearers and makes a deep impression on them." Thus the Quran exhorts its followers not to content themselves with mere cold and dry reasoning but to reinforce and support philosophical dissertations with an appeal to sentiments. This appeal, however, should be "goodly exhortation" i.e. it should be based on pure truth and there should be no prevarication or tampering with facts.

The words, and argue with them in a way that is best, mean that while arguing we should make the most solid and unassailable argument we possess as the pivot round which all other arguments should revolve and which they should support.

The expression, Thy Lord best knows those who have strayed from...who are rightly-guided, contains a word of encouragement and good cheer for the Muslim evangelist. He is told that if in spite of his best efforts he finds that his preaching has not had the desired effect, he should not get discouraged and think that his preaching was defective, but should continue his noble work without slackening, leaving the result to God, because He alone knows who is deserving and destined to be guided to the right path.

As Islam was to spread abroad and was to be preached to the people who claimed to possess revealed Scriptures, Muslims have been told in this verse that a much more difficult task lay ahead of them. While dealing with idolaters it was easy enough to refute idolatry, but with respect to the "People of the Book" the excellence and superiority of Islamic teachings will have to be proved regarding details and auxiliary matters also. Hence the admonition given above.

Important Words:

نمد (We render aid) is derived from مد. They say مد الحبل i.e. he pulled, strained or stretched the rope. امدہ means, he granted him delay or respite. امدہ بمال کثیر means, he gave him much wealth. امدالامیر الجند بالخیل والرجال means, the commander aided or succoured his army with horses and men (Lane & Aqrab).

Commentary:

This verse removes the misapprehension which might have arisen from the previous verse that good deeds only of the Faithful are rewarded. We are here told that Divine aid is of two kinds: (1) general aid, as a result of which all good works and efforts of all sorts of people, Muslims, Christians, Jews, Hindus etc., bear fruit according to their scope and magnitude and (2) special grace and succour of God which is confined to spiritual matters and which is given to God’s true servants only and is denied to disbelievers.

Commentary:

In this verse, which speaks of the dark or evil side of things, a vast store of knowledge has been compressed in a very brief sentence. It purports to say that nothing in this world may be described as absolutely good or bad. Every action has its good or evil aspect. It is the circumstances under which it is done that make it good or bad. Belief in the Unity of God, for instance, is a virtue, but if one makes it a cause of mischief and begins to abuse other people’s gods, it will become an evil. Similarly, it is a virtue to be obedient to one’s parents, but if one begins to commit acts of injustice or worship deities other than Allah at their bidding, obedience to them becomes an evil act. Again, it is an act of virtue to abstain from killing but if one should, on that ground, abstain from fighting in defence of one’s country or oppose the killing of a person who has been sentenced to death by a properly constituted court of law, his conduct will be considered reprehensible; and so on and so forth. A Muslim is, therefore, expected to understand and realize the reality and true significance of God’s commandments and to use his God-given gifts, powers and faculties on proper occasions in accordance with the exigencies of time and circumstance and the dictates of reason. Every natural faculty has a good or bad use and it is only the improper use of those faculties that is called evil and is forbidden by God. How true and comprehensive is this definition of good and bad actions but how few people really understand it!

3:15; 57:21.

Commentary:

Riches and children are the ornament of this life and add to its beauty and splendour and generally make men forget God but they can also be employed to serve a very noble cause. Money spent in a righteous cause leaves behind permanent good results. Young men who dedicate their lives to the service of their community, country or humanity at large are not only themselves remembered with honour long after they are dead but also perpetuate the memories of their ancestors. This is the substance and significance of this verse.

The words, are better in the sight of thy Lord in respect of immediate reward and better in respect of future hope, may have two meanings: (a) That good works produce good results in this life and also form the basis of hope for rich reward in the hereafter. (b) That good works not only benefit the doer himself but also his posterity. It is a divine law that the posterity of a righteous man partakes of the divineblessings conferred upon him.

78:39.

6:95.

Commentary:

The words, And they will be presented to thy Lord standing in rows, mean that the decree of God about their final destruction will certainly come into force.

The clause, Now have you come to Us as We created you at first, signifies that they will become divested of all power and authority and will be reduced to a state of subjection and disgrace as before.

The expression, But you thought that We would fix no time for the fulfilment of Our promise, means that they had laboured under the misconception that We had lost all control over them and had fixed no time of reckoning for their iniquities and transgressions. The verse constitutes an amplification of v. 36 above where an analogous expression viz. I do not think that this will ever perish, occurs.

29:46.

6:35, 116; 10:65.

Commentary:

The verse makes it clear that the above account of the Dwellers of the Cave is not meant merely as an interesting narrative but refers to events of the past of great spiritual significance, at the same time constituting a forewarning to Muslims to be always prepared for hardships like those that the Dwellers of the Cave had to suffer. In fact according to Ibn ‘Abbas the Holy Prophet is reported to have said that اصحاب الکھف (Dwellers of the Cave) are the companions of the Imam Mahdi (Manthur). The words, there is none who can change His words, also support the assumption that the account of the Dwellers of the Cave contains mighty prophecies, otherwise there was no sense in using such challenging words as these. See the following verses.

Commentary:

The account of Zachariah precedes the account of Jesus. This is due to two very valid reasons. Yahya, the son of Zachariah, and John of the New Testament, was a harbinger of Jesus. He heralded Jesus’ advent and acted as his precursor to give to the Jews the glad tidings that their deliverer was about to make his appearance.

That Yahya or John was Jesus’ harbinger is apparent from the following prophecy of Prophet Malachi: "Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet, before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord" (Mal. 4:5). The words "the great and dreadful day" here signify the advent of Jesus. This is why when Jesus was asked where Elias was who was to come before him, he replied: "And if ye will receive it, this is Elias, which was for to come" (Matt. 11:14). As according to Malachi’s prophecy Elias must have appeared before the coming of Jesus, it was in the fitness of things that while giving an account of Jesus, the Quran should have made a mention of Yahya. Secondly, Mary, the mother of Jesus, had unknowingly become the cause of Yahya’s birth. We are told (3:38, 39) how Zachariah was deeply moved by a pious reply of Mary and prayed to God to be blessed with a good child like her. Thus whereas Yahya became a harbinger of Jesus, Mary, Jesus’ mother having indirectly become the cause of the birth of Yahya may as well be said to have become a precursor of Yahya (John) himself. See also 3:38-42.

The words, "Thy Lord" in the sentence, "This is an account of the mercy of thy Lord," appear to be misplaced because whereas the account given in the following verses is that of the mercy of God shown to Zachariah the words "Thy Lord" seem to indicate as if some account is about to be given of God’s mercy to the Holy Prophet. In fact these words signify that the account of Divine mercy to Zachariah does imply a mercy to the Holy Prophet also. Prophet Yahya, as stated above, was a harbinger of Jesus and Jesus was a harbinger of the Holy Prophet. A description of the birth of Yahyafollowed by a somewhat detailed description of Jesus’ birth pointed to the fact that by the introduction of the life accounts of these two Prophets who, in a way, acted as his precursors, the minds of men were being prepared for the acceptance of the Holy Prophet of Islam by an implied reference to the following Biblical prophecies:

And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee. Behold I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation (Gen. 17:20);

I will raise them up a prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee; and I will put my words in his mouth (Deut. 18:18).

The pronoun "thy" may also possess an oblique but beautiful reference to Mecca, the birth-place of the Holy Prophet. Mecca like Zachariah’s wife was barren. For thousands of years it had not heard the voice of God. Now God’s mercy was about to dawn upon it. The barren valley of Mecca was about to give birth to the greatest of Adam’s sons. To this barrenness of Mecca reference is found in Isaiah 54:1.

Sing, O barren, thou that didst not bear; break forth into singing, and cry aloud, thou that didst not travail with child: for more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married wife, saith the Lord.

Commentary:

This verse explains vv. 13:24-25 wherein it is said: And angels shall enter unto them from every gate, saying 'Peace be unto you, because you were steadfast' and signifies that the angels would say to the Faithful that they did not bring them greetings of peace of their own accord but with the express command of God, their heavenly Father, and on His behalf.

The words "And thy Lord is not forgetful" mean that God has not forgotten His promise that "He will raise from among the brethren of the Israelites (i.e. the Ishmaelites) a Prophet like unto Moses and will put His words into his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that He shall command him" (Deut. 18:18).

21:99.

Commentary:

The word کم (you) in منکم is not of general application. It applies, as the context shows, only to the disbelievers and to those who doubt the existence of the life after death. All these categories of men have been mentioned in the preceding verses. According to Ibn ‘Abbas and ‘Ikrimah, another reading of منکم (of you) is منھم (of them) and the former used to say that the expression منکم is addressed to disbelievers (Qurtubi). So it is to these people i.e. disbelievers mentioned in vv. 67-69 above that the pronoun کم (you) clearly refers. On the other hand the Quran quite clearly and emphatically supports the view that the righteous believers will not go to Hell; they will bask in the sunshine of God’s love and mercy (27:90; 39:62; 43:69; etc.) and will be far removed from the fire of Hell and will not hear even its faintest sound (21:102-103). But if the pronoun (you) be taken to include both the believers and the disbelievers, then in the case of disbelievers the verse would mean that all of them will go to Hell and in the case of believers the fire of Hell referred to in the verse would mean the fire of trials and tribulations through which they have to pass in the present life and which they endure with patience and fortitude and out of which eventually they are taken to be brought into the haven of divine bliss and peace as the next verse shows. This reference is supported by several sayings of the Holy Prophet in which he has likened fever to the fire of Hell. He is reported to have said: The fever is a believer’s share of the Hellfire (Qurtubi as quoted by Tabari).

The Holy Prophet himself has explained the meaning of this verse. His wife Hafsah is reported to have said: "On one occasion when the Prophet said that none of those of his Companions who had taken part in the battle of Badr or Uhud will go to Hell, I drew his attention to the present verse, upon which he slightly reprimanded me for having misunderstood its meaning and directed me to read the next verse" (Muslim as quoted by Jami‘ul-Bayan). The fact that the Holy Prophet referred Hafsah to the next verse (v. 73) shows that he also understood the word ثم occurring in that verse to mean "and", and had taken the next verse as an independent and separate clause, otherwise he could not have reprimanded Hafsah for having misunderstood the meaning of the verse under comment.

9:124; 47:18; 48:5.

18:47; 87:18.

Commentary:

The verse means to say that every new change that takes place in the world makes the position of believers stronger and firmer. They grow in influence, prestige and numbers. The Quranic words, And the good works…resort, remind Christian Western peoples of the beautiful and oft-quoted words of Jesus, viz. lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal (Matt. 6:19,20). These words imply a warning to his so-called followers that it is futile on their part to bank upon their material riches and resources because they are sure to perish while it is only good works that will endure and last.

Commentary:

"A Great Sign" in this verse may be taken as referring to the whole teaching or message of Moses because he had already shown two Signs to Pharaoh—the Sign of the rod and of the white hand, and not one. The word الھدی i.e. "guidance" also seems to support the above significance of "a Sign." Thus آیة signifies the whole teaching of Moses and not a particular part of it or one or two of his miracles. Or the word may refer to the promise of peace and security which God had given to Moses and of Divine punishment with which Pharaoh had been threatened.

17:79-80; 30:18-19; 50:40-41.

Important Words:

آناء (hours) is the plural of إنی (inyun) and إنی (inan) and أنی (anyun). All these are derived from أنی (ana) which means, its time came; it was or became or drew near; it attained to its full state. إنی (inyun) means, an hour or a short portion of time, or an indefinite time; a time of the night; any hour of the night. مضی إنو من اللیل means, a time of the night passed (Lane & Aqrab).

اطراف is the plural of طرف and means, sides of the day; parts of the day (Aqrab).

Commentary:

Some commentators of the Quran are of the view that by the glorification of God at the hours mentioned in the verse are meant the hours of the five daily Prayers; the words "before the rising of the sun" signifying the morning Prayer; and the words "before its setting" the late afternoon (‘Asr) Prayer; and the expression "and glorify Him in the hours of the night" signifying the evening (Maghrib) and night Prayer (‘Isha), while the words "at the sides of the day" signifying afternoon (Zuhr) Prayer. But whatever the words of the verse may mean it is quite clear that in order to obtain success in life and satisfaction of the mind it is very essential to remember God and glorify Him. God’s constant remembrance is specifically suited to illumine the soul and to bring about peace of mind.

15:89; 26:206-208; 28:61-62.

Important Words:

زھرة (splendour) is noun-infinitive from زھر which means, it shone or glistened; it gave light or shone brightly; it was clear in colour; he was or became beautiful. زھرة الدنیا means, the beauty and splendour of the present world or life; the abundance of its goods or comforts; its goods, finery or beauty and splendour (Lane & Aqrab).

Commentary:

All international jealousies and rivalries which result in wars and consequently in much human misery and bloodshed are the result, direct or indirect, of a mad hunger for material wealth and physical comforts. Muslims are warned not to cast covetous looks on the wealth and riches of other people and not to think that the acceptance of Islam by the wealthy people only will add to its glory and power and will accelerate its progress. On the contrary, material wealth will prove a source of great affliction and distress for nations hankering after it. In fact mad competition for the acquisition of wealth has brought all the misery to the world. Rivalries among western nations know no end and they have already caused two highly destructive wars and there is no knowing when humanity is to be thrown into the vortex of a third war, far more destructive than its two predecessors.