كُلُّ

30:44; 106:4.

Commentary:

One of the major causes of the opposition of Meccans to the Holy Prophet was that they believed that if idol worship disappeared from Arabia, Mecca (or the Ka‘bah) being the repository of all their well-known idols will lose its importance and consequently they will also lose the prestige and influence they had enjoyed in Arabia as the custodians of the Ka‘bah. The present verse disabuses their minds of this false notion and purports to say that being the centre of a world movement and of the last message for all mankind, Mecca, far from losing its importance, will, on the contrary, immeasurably add to its prestige and will continue to be respected and revered till the end of time.

7:161.

Important Words:

عصا (rod). عصا الرجل means, he beat the man with a rod. عصا القوم means, he brought together the people, or he made them agree on some matter of common concern. عصا means: (1) a rod strong enough to support the weight of a man; (2) communal and family life; (3) a community; (4) the shin-bone (Aqrab).

الحجر (rock) is from حجر i.e. it prevented or resisted. الحجر means, a stone; a great mass of stone; a rock (Lane).

Commentary:

This verse mentions another favour bestowed on the Israelites. When once they were hard pressed by thirst and no water was procurable in the desert, God saved them by revealing to Moses the knowledge of a rock from which water flowed out when struck with a rod.

The demand of the Israelites for water and their being supplied with it is mentioned at two places in the Bible. At one place mention is made of the twelve springs of Elim, but nothing is said there of Moses’ striking the rock with his rod (Exod. 15:27). At the other place, Moses, by divine command, struck the rock Horeb with his rod, and there flowed out abundant water with which the Israelites and their animals slaked their thirst (Exod. 17:1-7 Numb. 20:2-11). Here no mention is made of the number of springs. It appears that the Quran refers to the occurrence relating to the rock of Horeb because, with the only difference that the Bible does not give the number of springs whereas the Quran gives a definite number, almost all the details narrated in the Bible concur with the narrative of the Quran. As for the slight difference with regard to the number of springs, reason favours the narrative of the Quran. The Israelites numbered several thousands besides riding animals and beasts of burden, and one spring was certainly insufficient for such a large number, especially when we take into consideration the fact that the thirsty Israelites were, according to the Bible, in a state of extreme exasperation at that time and were prepared even to stone Moses to death. It is possible, however, that at the source there was only one mouth of the spring, but it divided into twelve channels as it flowed down the rock, the number being in conformity with the number of the Israelite tribes.

If at present there is no trace of the twelve springs at that spot, it is no wonder; for it is a matter of common experience that sometimes several springs rising at the same spot have some of their openings closed and cease to flow. From a testimony quoted by Sale, however, it appears that even as late as the end of the fifteenth century, twelve springs actually flowed there. He says: "The rock stands within the border of Arabia and some of his (the Prophet’s) countrymen must needs have seen it if he himself had not, as it is most probable he had. And in effect he seems to be in the right. For one who went into those parts in the end of the fifteenth century tells us expressly that the water issued from twelve places of the rock, according to the number of the tribes of Israel" (Al-Koran by Sale, page 8).

The miracle of Moses on this occasion did not lie in bringing about a thing against the known laws of nature, but in the fact that God revealed to him the specific spot where water was just ready to flow at a blow of his rod. It is within the experience of those who study geological conditions in rocky districts that sometimes water flows underneath small hillocks or rocks and gushes forth when the rock is struck with something heavy or pointed.

As Manna and Salwa had already been bestowed on the Israelites, God now fittingly asks them to eat and drink of what Allah has provided. But as a life of ease and independence is likely to make men arrogant and mischievous, God at the same time warns the Israelites to exercise self-restraint and refrain from creating trouble and disorder in the land.

10:107; 17:40; 26:214.

Important Words:

وجه means, face; the thing itself; direction; object and motive; deed or action to which a person directs his attention; the desired way (Lane & Aqrab).

Commentary:

In this verse the Holy Prophet is told that he will meet with strong opposition and severe persecution in the discharge of his great mission but no amount of trials and tribulations should discourage or dismay him and he should put his faith in Allah Who is at his back and to Whom all will return.

The expression کل شیء ھالک الا وجھه may mean: (1) Everything will perish save that to which He directs His attention. (2) Everything will perish save that by which His pleasure is sought. The verse signifies that only material things will perish and not the blessings or bounties of Paradise which are everlasting.

See 2:273.

Commentary:

The verse sums up the discussion on the subject of taking interest by warning the people that the day is coming when they will be made to stand before God and render an account of their deeds. They should remember the principle, "Do as you would be done by". The Holy Prophet is reported to have said,

"None of you can be deemed to be a true believer, unless he likes for his brother what he likes for himself" (Bukhari & Muslim).

3:10; 4:88; 45:27.

Commentary:

The People of the Book are here called upon to imagine how they will fare when they will have to render an account of their deeds before God on the Day of Judgement and will find to their mortification that the fact of their being descendants of God’s Prophets or their belief in the crucifixion of Jesus will not save them from the punishment of Hell.

The clause, When every soul shall be paid in full what it has earned, shows that the reference to forgers of lies mentioned in the previous verse is particularly to Christians. This verse is an emphatic contradiction of the doctrine that the blood of anyone, and not one’s own good works, can be a means of salvation.

18:50.

Important Words:

رؤوف (Most Compassionate) is one of the attributes of God. It is derived from رأف meaning, he pitied him or had compassion on him; he pitied or compassionated him tenderly or in the utmost degree (Lane & Aqrab).

Commentary:

For the meaning of the clause, And Allah cautions you against His punishment, see 3:29 above.

Important Words:

کل (all) is a very common Arabic word used to express two senses: (1) all members of a group; (2) all parts of an individual thing. The word may generally be rendered as, all; whole; each; every one, etc. It is also sometimes used in the sense of "the majority of", and rarely even in the sense of "some" or "part of" (Aqrab & Taj)

Commentary:

The preceding verses emphasize the importance of complete submission to the will of God. The highest good cannot be attained without the sacrifice of most beloved things, including personal and national sentiments. The present verse cites an apt illustration. Whereas God had allowed "all food" to the Jews, the Israelites forbade themselves parts thereof on the ground that Jacob, for personal and medical considerations, abstained from partaking of them. But as the word Israel, primarily the name of Jacob, is also used about his children and descendants and has been so used in the Bible, it may also be taken in this sense in the second clause of the present verse.

By saying, All food was lawful to the Children of Israel, the Quran also refutes an objection of the People of the Book, which served as an obstacle in the way of their accepting Islam. There were certain kinds of food which the Jews abstained from eating but which were allowed by Islam. One such thing was the sciatic nerve, to which reference is made in Gen. 32:32. Jacob suffered from sciatica, and, therefore, for medical reasons he forbade himself the use of the sciatic nerve as food. This was a personal matter but the Children of Israel followed his example blindly and made it a rule of conduct to abstain from the eating of the sinew. It was not forbidden by Law, the abstention being purely voluntary.

Moreover, the incident which led to the abandonment of the sciatic nerve as food by Israel and later by the Israelites took place long before the Torah was revealed. The Torah itself does not forbid it but merely mentions it as a practice of the Jews who had, therefore, no right to object to its use by the Muslims. The objection, if valid, also held good against Abraham and many other Prophets. Besides, there are some foods which were used by Abraham and his descendants but were later forbidden by the Torah. The camel is an instance of this kind. Hence, the verse purports to say that if certain foods used by the patriarchs are allowed to other peoples, the Jews have no right to object.

It may be pointed out here that there is a difference of meaning between کل طعام (kullu-ta‘amin) and کل الطعام (kullut-ta‘ami) as used in the present verse. The former means, every kind of food, while the latter means, all food, i.e. the whole food. It appears that the Jews objected that the Muslims ate the whole meat, not excepting even the nerve.

3:26; 14:52; 40:18.

Commentary:

The verse can be interpreted in two ways. The archers stationed by the Holy Prophet at the mount of Uhud to protect the rear of the Muslim army left their post when they saw the Meccan army in full flight. They thought that by leaving the mount at that stage they would not be contravening the spirit of the Prophet’s orders, which were to the effect that they were not to leave their post in any circumstances. They further thought that as, according to Arab custom, a soldier was entitled to the possession of the booty he laid his hand on during the fight, they might be deprived of their share of the spoils of war if they stuck to their post. This precipitate action of the archers implied an apprehension on their part that the Prophet might ignore their right to the booty and might thus prove faithless to them. It is this apprehension that the verse condemns in the words, And it is not possible for a Prophet to act dishonestly. But no imputation of actual faithlessness to the Holy Prophet is implied. The verse simply purports to say that it was far from the Prophet to ignore the rights to the booty of those whom he himself had stationed at a certain place.

The verse may also be taken as a rebuke to the hypocrites who deserted the Holy Prophet in the Battle of Uhud. In this case, the implication would be that while the hypocrites had proved faithless to the Prophet by leaving him in the lurch, the Prophet would not prove faithless to God by refusing to fight in His cause even when weak and deserted. This meaning is also supported by the context.

3:186; 21:36.

Commentary:

Here the subject of the preceding verse continues. The believers are told that they should be prepared to sacrifice everything for the sake of God and should fear nothing, not even death, as death spares no one and knows no boundaries.

21:36; 29:58.

4:174; 35:31; 39:36.

Commentary:

Death is the most certain phenomenon in nature and yet man’s attitude toward it is of disregard and indifference. The worldly life has been here called a vain and illusory thing, because on the face of it, it appears to be a very attractive and sweet thing, but when one becomes engrossed in seeking its pleasures and profits, one finds it bitter and deceptive.

6:160.

Important Words:

حزب (hizb) means, a party or company of men, assembling themselves on account of an event that has befallen them; an assembly, a collective body or company of men; a party, portion, division or class of men; the troops, prepared for fighting; any party agreeing in hearts and actions whether meeting together or not (Lane & Aqrab).

Commentary:

The verse means to say that deviation from true religion led people in the past to be split up into warring sections and aroused differences among them.

14:52; 45:23; 74:39.

10:23; 29:66.

10:24; 17:68.

Important Words:

ختار (the perfidious) is derived fromختر. They say خترہ i.e. he acted or behaved towards him with perfidy, treachery or unfaithfulness, or with the foulest perfidy or treachery or unfaithfulness or with deceit, guile, or in a bad or corrupt manner. ختر بالعھد means he was unfaithful to the covenant. ختار means, one who acts treacherously or with perfidy or with the foulest perfidy or with deceit or guile and does so frequently (Lane & Aqrab).

Commentary:

The verse refers to a very common characteristic of a mushrik (polytheist). He is weak of faith and is very superstitious. Even a small misfortune is sufficient to frighten and upset him because his faith is only a jumble of make-beliefs, hearsays and superstitions. In difficulty he prays to God but when out of it he is his old self. Such, however, is not the case of a true believer. He is grateful to God when he receives a Divine favour, and is firm and steadfast in faith when a misfortune overtakes him. He never loses his balance of mind—neither in prosperity nor in adversity.

7:141.

17:16; 35:19; 53:39.

Commentary:

The verse supplies the reason why one should be devoted to God, for He alone is "the Lord of all things". The verse also makes it clear that on the day when man will be presented before God and will render an account of his deeds, nobody will be able to take upon himself a part of his burden. The word "burden" here signifies "sin". In the words, bearer of burden, it is also hinted that this principle applies only to human beings who are the bearers of burdens; but that if God so willed, He could Himself remove the burden of a soul, i.e. pardon it.

5:13.

2:61.

2:58; 20:81.

Commentary:

See notes on 2:58 & 61.

The words, And they wronged Us not, mean that they did not harm the cause of the religion revealed by God

86:10.

Important Words:

تبلوا (shall realize) is derived from بلا. They say بلاہ i.e. he tried or proved or tested him with something good or evil; he knew it or became acquainted with it. بلوته also means, I smelt it (Lane).

Commentary:

The verse implies that it is not given to man to fully comprehend and realize the reality and details of everything in this world. It is only in the next world that the veil shall be completely lifted from all things and their real nature will come to light and judgement will be pronounced regarding all matters by God Who is the real Master of all creation.

10:89.

Commentary:

This verse shows that the signs of God do not benefit those who have no desire to benefit by them. They treat even the greatest of signs as mere fraud. Hence the assertion of disbelievers made in the time of every Prophet that no sign has been shown to them is no evidence of the absence of any sign. One should not be misled by such baseless assertions but should ponder over the claims of a Prophet independently and form one’s own judgement about them. One should judge the signs of the Prophet according to the criteria by which Divine Signs are judged.

35:12; 41:48.

15:22.

Important Words:

تغیض (diminish) is derived from غاض which means, it (water) became scanty and sank into the earth; or it (flow of milk or price of a commodity, etc.) decreased or diminished or became deficient. The Quranic expression ما تغیض الارحام means, the wombs falling short of completion so that the foetus dies. The Arabs say غاض الکرام و فاض اللئام i.e. the generous became few or perished and the mean became many. غاض is also used transitively meaning he made (water, etc.) to become scanty; to decrease or diminish (Lane).

Commentary:

In v. 4 we were told that all things in the universe have pairs and that in the spiritual world also some individuals act like males and others like females, the former exercising influence and the latter receiving it. In the verse under comment the Quran intends to point out that in the person of the Holy Prophet there has appeared one who is spiritually a male and that nobody can attain any spiritual rank without receiving his stamp or being influenced by him. The words, Allah knows what every female bears, and what the wombs diminish and what they cause to grow, mean that God knows well the natural capacities and aptitudes of the Holy Prophet’s people, and whether they will accept divine or satanic influence and which influence will grow and which will decline. The verse hints that those who accept the Holy Prophet and receive his stamp will grow and increase in power, influence and numbers, natural capacities and talents, while his opponents will decline and decrease till their physical and spiritual progeny will be destroyed altogether. Taken in the physical sense, the verse means that only God knows what will become of future generations of disbelievers. Their future generations will accept Islam and their females will bear only such children as are destined to become servants of the Holy Prophet. And this proved to be actually the case. By far the greater part of the younger generation of the Meccans, and for that matter of other Arab tribes, accepted the Holy Prophet, to the great chagrin of their fathers whose tyranny and persecution could not prevent them from embracing Islam.

3:55; 8:31; 14:47; 27:51.

28:38.

Commentary:

The verse means that God knows the plans that disbelievers devise to frustrate the purpose and programme of the Holy Prophet, but they are not aware of the plans which God has devised to bring about their fall. Therefore, it is only when they face destruction that they will know who was destined to succeed in the end.

The words, the disbelievers shall soon know whose will be the final reward of this abode, not only signify that believers will certainly succeed in the end, which is not distant, but also hint that some leaders of disbelief will live to see Islam triumph, and this is exactly what happened.

The words, He knows what every soul earns, mean that since God is All-Knowing all the secret designs of the enemies of Islam are known to Him and so no plan or stratagem can frustrate His purpose.

Commentary:

The expression, And they prayed for victory, may apply both to the Prophets and their opponents. The praying of the Prophets for God’s help and victory, after they had been vouchsafed definite Divine promises that they would succeed, in no way reflects on Divine promises or on the Prophets’ belief in the Divine origin of those promises. In fact, the Divine promise given to a Prophet about the final triumph of his cause does not mean that he should give up making necessary efforts for the success and triumph of his mission or soliciting Divine assistance. On the contrary, it becomes all the more incumbent on a Divine Messenger to do his best lest, through some lapse on the part of some of his followers or a weakening of his own efforts, the final victory may be delayed. That Muslims are enjoined to pray for the assistance of God even after definite and positive Divine promises of victory are given to them is clear from the Quran (3:195). Nor are these two things contradictory to each other. The Holy Prophet was given a clear promise of his triumphant return to Mecca (28:86), yet he continued to pray and work hard for the fulfilment of this Divine promise.

If, however, the words, they prayed for victory, be applied to disbelievers, they would mean that they sought by all means to win victory over the Prophets, but it was foolish on their part to do so, for those who oppose the Prophets of God never meet with success. Their prayers are doomed "to come to naught."

2:282.

Commentary:

This verse is complementary to the previous one and both should be read together. It means that the forgiveness and mercy of the Forgiving and Merciful God will cover those persons on the Day of Judgement who sincerely repent of their past lapses and whose repentance takes the form of the noble deeds mentioned in the previous verse. The verse also hints that God will forgive them if they continue to strive in the cause of truth and endure all trials with patience till the time of their death.

11:47.

24:25; 36:66; 41:21-23.

Commentary:

This verse cuts at the root of all sources of suspicion. These sources in their natural order are "the ear", "the eye" and "the heart". "The ear" is the first avenue through which most suspicions enter man’s mind. As a rule suspicions are caused by ill-founded reports which one hears about another person. Next to hearing comes the source of sight. A person sees another doing a certain act and interprets it wrongly and is led to suspect the latter’s motives and intentions. The last and most degraded kind of suspicion is that which a person entertains about another not as the result of a bad report which he might have heard about him nor in consequence of a bad act or deed which he might have seen him doing but which is purely the figment of his own diseased mind. Muslims are enjoined to steer clear of all these forms of suspicion. They are the enemy of all cordial social relations.

The verse draws attention to the fact that it is not only human life and property (to which a reference has already been made in the preceding verse) which are sacred and inviolable; human honour also is sacrosanct and an attack upon it also will have to be accounted for.

A person will be called to account for having listened to anything about another person which he had no right to do. Similarly, he will be brought to book for having seen something which he should not have seen. And so will he be punished for harbouring in his mind evil thoughts about other people. We are told that our impressions and opinions should not be based on mere hearsay and surmise but on sure knowledge. Mere evidence of the ear, the eye or the heart is not sufficient to condemn a person or form an adverse opinion about him but sure knowledge based on thorough enquiry. Mark the high moral tone of these teachings!

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!

20:109.

Commentary:

The verse purports to say that the Gracious God needs no son to help Him or succeed Him, because He is the Lord of the heavens and the earth and His kingdom extends over the whole universe and because all men are His servants and Jesus is one of them.

15:86; 40:60.

Important Words:

أخفیھا (I am going to manifest it) is derived from خفی which has two contrary significations: خفیالشیء (khafiya) means, the thing was or became hidden, concealed or covered. خفیالشیء (khafa) means, he made the thing apparent, manifest, plain or evident. They say خفی المطر الفأر i.e. the rain made the rats come forth from the holes. أخفیالشیء means, he removed خفاء (covering) of the thing. The Quranic expression أکاد أخفیھا means, I am almost making it to appear; I am almost removing that which covers it i.e. I am going to manifest it (Lane & Aqrab). The expression may also mean, I am going to keep it concealed.

الساعة (the Hour) may mean the Day of Resurrection; or the time of triumph of the cause of Moses and that of the discomfiture and destruction of his enemies.

Commentary:

Moses is here told that when he preached his divine mission, he will be opposed and persecuted but no opposition or persecution will be allowed to impede or arrest the progress of his cause, and that the signs foretelling the death and destruction of those who stood in his way will become increasingly manifest.

The verse may also mean that the time of the destruction of the enemies of Moses will remain hidden so that when the Divine punishment overtook them all of a sudden, they will become completely nonplussed and will not know what to do.

Commentary:

There are two ways to test the mettle of a person, viz. (a) by making him pass through the fire of trials and tribulations; and (b) by bestowing upon him wealth and material power and prosperity. God tries His servants in both these ways. This is the significance of this verse. Or the verse may also mean that God tries man by raising His Prophets and by affording him the opportunity to win His pleasure by accepting and following them; and sometimes when a long period of spiritual darkness ensues and no Divine Reformer is present in the world, He gives men of intellect and broad vision an opportunity to follow the dictates of conscience and right teaching which is in harmony with human nature in order that they should, instead of allowing themselves to be carried away like the common run of men by the current of sin and iniquity, establish in the world the usages and practices of God’s Prophets.

Important Words:

تذھل (forget) is derived from ذھل. They say ذھل عنه i.e. he forgot it or neglected it; he was or became unmindful of it; he neglected it intentionally or in consequence of his being diverted by something. ذھول is the neglecting of a thing, dismissing it from the mind; or the quitting of a thing with confusion or perplexity or alienation of mind such as arises from fear etc. or being diverted from one’s constant companion so as to forget him (Lane & Aqrab).

Commentary:

The verse has used three metaphors or similes to express the extreme severity of "the earthquake of the Hour," referred to in the preceding verse. Nothing is dearer to a mother than the babe to which she gives suck and there could be no terror more dreadful in its effects than the one that makes a woman cast down her burden and which drives men to frenzy and yet, the verse says, the suddenness and severity of the terror inspired by the dreadful event would be such that mothers would abandon the babes at their breasts and pregnant women would cast down their burdens and people would go mad with fright and like a drunken man would lose all control over their actions. The wording of the verse incidentally implies that the "Hour" referred to in the preceding verse is not the final Day of Judgement but, as stated in the preceding verse, is the destruction of the political power of Meccans in the form of the Fall of Mecca and other calamities that would overtake them, and the victory of Islam.

2:94.

Commentary:

It is a sad story repeated again and again in the history of every religion that after the departure of a prophet his followers begin to differ among themselves and become split up into sects and sections, every sect regarding itself as the true follower of their prophet and other sects as devoid of all truth, while the fact remains that every sect possesses some elements of truth. This is one meaning of the verse. The other meaning may be that the followers of every Prophet have always looked upon the followers of other religions as devoid of all truth while the truth is that all religions have proceeded from the same Divine Source and therefore their teachings possess a substantial measure of truth, though the whole and perfect truth is to be found in a religion which combines in its teaching all that is best in other religions. That religion is Islam.

18:5; 19:36; 21:27; 25:3; 39:5; 43:82; 72:4.

21:23.

Commentary:

In brief words the verse very effectively demonstrates the futility and falsity of the Christian dogma that Jesus is God’s son. It purports to say that a son is needed by one to help him to carry on his affairs, but as God is the Creator of the heavens and the earth and the Sole Master and Controller of the whole universe, He does not need the help or assistance of any helper or son. Moreover, the whole universe appears to be subject to one uniform law and the unity of the design and purpose and control points to the Unity of the Designer and the Controller. The duality of control and authority implies confusion and disorder. See also 17:43 & 21:23.

20:78.

Important Words:

طود (mountain) is derived from طاد which means, it was or became firm or steadfast. طود means, a mountain or a great mountain rising high into the sky, an elevated or overlooking tract of land (Lane & Aqrab).

فرق (part) is derived from فرق (faraqa) and means, a piece or portion that is split or separated from a thing; a great flock or herd of sheep or goats only; a group of boys; a mountain; a wave, billow or surge (Lane & Aqrab).

Commentary:

For a more detailed discussion as to how the Israelites passed safely through the sea and how Pharaoh with his hosts was drowned, see 20:78

The idea embodied in the words اضرب بعصاک الحجر has been expressed elsewhere (20:78) in the words فاضرب لھم طریقا فی البحر یبساi.e. "make for them a dry path in the sea." God miraculously so arranged that when the Israelites were crossing the sea it was the time of the low tide and the water of the sea had receded, leaving a dry path for them to pass. But when the Egyptians following them reached the middle of the sea, the high tide returned and the rising water quickly engulfed them.

The words کل فرق may either refer to the two parties of the Egyptians and the Israelites or to the several parties in which the Egyptians might have become divided while they were crossing the sea; or they may refer to each wave of the sea because when the water was receding it looked like a huge mound.

2:282; 3:26.

6:35; 22:43; 35:26; 54:10.

Commentary:

The verse gives an illustration of the great power and wealth which disbelievers, in the time of Noah and the Prophets who came after him, possessed. Just as disbelievers were seized with Divine punishment because they rejected and opposed their Prophets, so will the enemies of the Holy Prophet be punished.