مِن فَضْلِهِۦ

3:113; 5:61.

Important Words:

بغیا (grudging) is derived from بغی. They say بغی الشیء i.e. he wished or desired or sought the thing. بغی الرجل means, the man transgressed or turned away from the truth, or he disobeyed or revolted against a lawful authority. بغی علیه means, he wronged him and continued long in the act (Aqrab). بغی علی اخیه means, he envied his brother; he wished that a blessing might become transferred from his brother to himself (Lane). In the text the word has been translated as "grudging" which is the same as "envying".

باؤا (they incurred) is derived from باء which means, he returned. باء به means, he returned with it. باء بغضب من الله means, he returned with anger from God, i.e. the anger of God came upon him; he incurred His anger (Aqrab & Lane).

Commentary:

In this verse, we are told that the Jews rejected the Holy Prophet solely because he was of different nationality. The verse means that the Jews upon whom the truth has dawned and who have come to recognize the Quran as the very Book mentioned in their Scriptures are, out of sheer pride and obstinacy, impiously rejecting it, little knowing that, by so doing, they are hastening the ruin of their own souls. The truth is that they cannot bear to see a Prophet raised from among any people other than their own. They fail to realize that all alike are the creatures of God and there is no earthly reason why Prophets should appear only from among the Israelites.

The words باؤا بغضب translated here as, they incurred wrath, literally mean "they returned with (God’s) wrath" which points to the fact that though God called them to His presence in order to bestow on them His favours, they, instead of receiving favours, returned from His presence loaded with His displeasure and anger.

The words, wrath upon wrath, are used to signify that even before the coming of the Holy Prophet the Jews had incurred the anger of God by their rejection of Jesus and other iniquities; so when they rejected the Holy Prophet, they incurred wrath upon wrath, i.e. they added to their previous load of God’s anger.

10:68; 17:13; 27:87; 30:24.

Commentary:

Whereas both perpetual work and perpetual rest are injurious for man’s physical health, periodical rest in the form of the night and periodical work in the shape of the day are great boons of God. At night our jaded and tired limbs are rested and we are able with renewed vigour to do the next day’s work and in the day we work and earn our livelihood. Thus their alternation constitutes a great Divine blessing.

'Day' may also be compared to the period of glory and prosperity in the life of a nation and 'night' to the time of its decline and decadence. 'Day' may also signify the time when Divine Reformer is present in the world and 'night' the time of spiritual darkness.

2:63; 6:49; 7:50; 46:14.

Important Words:

فرحین (jubilant) is the plural of فرح which is the verbal adjective from the verb فرح (Fariha) meaning, he rejoiced; he was glad and jubilant; he exulted and behaved proudly. فرحین therefore, means, (1) exultant and proud; (2) glad and jubilant, being well-pleased and satisfied (Lane & Aqrab). The word is used here in the latter sense.

یستبشرون (they rejoice) is derived from بشر. The word استبشر means, (1) he rejoiced or became rejoiced by receiving good and happy news; (2) he gave or conveyed good news so as to make the hearer rejoice at it (Aqrab & Lane). See also 2:26.

Commentary:

Taking the word یستبشرون (they rejoice) in the first-mentioned sense (see Important Words above), the verse would mean, they (the martyrs are glad that their brethren, who are left behind in the world and will follow them later, will soon be victorious and will triumph over their enemies, i.e. after death the veils have been removed and the martyrs have become definitely aware of the victories in store for Muslims. According to the second signification of the word, the verse would mean, they give good tidings to their brethren by appearing to them in dreams. The verse may also mean, they receive good tidings concerning their brethren, i.e. the angels of God keep them informed of the later successes and victories of Islam.

4:38; 17:30; 25:68.

Important Words:

میراث (heritage) is derived from ورث i.e. he inherited. ورث اباہ or ورث مال ابیه means, he inherited the property of his father. They say ورثت مجدہ i.e. I inherited his glory. ورث من ابیه or ورث عن ابیه means, he inherited from his father, or he inherited part of the property of his father. اورثه الشیء means, he made him inherit the thing. اورثه المرض ضعفا means, the disease occasioned him, as its result, weakness. ورث and ارث and تراث and میراث all mean, what is inherited; an inheritance; a heritage whether property, rank, quality, nobility, etc. وارث means, an heir. الوارث as an epithet applied to God means, He Who remains after all creatures have perished (Lane). Primarily, الوراثة signifies the transfer of property, etc. from one to another without sale or gift. The Arabs say ورثت علما من فلان i.e., I gained or acquired knowledge from such a one (Mufradat).

Commentary:

The chief obstacle in the way of the hypocrites to accept Islam was that constant calls were made on Muslims to spend money in the cause of God and make sacrifices for it. They are told in this verse that their unwillingness to spend would eventually do them no good nor would it save their possessions from destruction.

The sentence, And to Allah belongs the heritage of the heavens and the earth, obviously does not mean that Allah will receive heavens and earth in inheritance from someone else. The word میراث rendered as "heritage" here signifies ownership. The word also means portion allotted to one, as in the verse الذین یرثون الفردوس i.e. those who shall inherit Paradise (23:12). Now, Paradise is not inherited by anyone; it is only received as an allotted portion from God.

3:181; 17:30; 25:68.

Commentary:

Some persons are so niggardly that, far from spending their wealth for the benefit of others, they do not spend it even upon themselves, lest people should come to know of it. These, as it were, conceal Allah’s bounty. They are not only deprived of the rewards and good results of charity but also become guilty of concealing God’s bounty which He has bestowed upon them for the good of mankind. Elsewhere the Quran says: Acknowledge the bounty of thy Lord in word and deed (93:12).

Commentary:

Jews, who are the children of Abraham, were given the Book and Wisdom and a great kingdom. Now if God has bestowed the same boons upon another people who are similarly descended from Abraham, as the Arabs are, the Jews should have no cause to begrudge them.

At the time when this verse was revealed, Muslims had received only a part of the "great kingdom" and the rest was yet to follow, but the Quran speaks of the giving of a great kingdom as an accomplished fact, because the promises of God are as good as fulfilled.

17:67; 31:32; 45:13.

Commentary:

The words, "He sends the winds with glad tidings," point to a divine law which works with as much effect in the physical universe as it does in the spiritual world. Just as winds precede rain, heralding its advent, similarly before the advent of a Divine Reformer there come into existence conditions which are favourable to the spread of his teachings and there appear good and righteous men who prepare the ground and "make the paths straight for him." This has happened in the time of every Prophet.

Commentary:

The words, They swear by Allah that they said nothing, also show that the preceding verse refers not to disbelievers and hypocrites jointly, but only to hypocrites. As the verse points out, some of the disbelievers who later turned hypocrites were not insincere in the beginning; but as time went on and Islam made progress, they gradually drifted into disbelief and hypocrisy. For instance, ‘Abdullah bin Ubayy, who afterwards became leader of the hypocrites, was at first a believer. But when he found that by giving his allegiance to the Holy Prophet his own prestige and importance had declined, he turned hostile and began to plot against Islam.

The expression, because Allah and His Messenger had enriched them out of His bounty, means that with the advent of the Holy Prophet to Medina, the prosperity of the town very much increased, its trade thrived and its inhabitants grew rich.

Commentary:

The verse refers to the time when some of the men who later turned hypocrites retained some sincerity of faith. See the following verse.

15:49.

Important Words:

لغوب (weariness) is infinitive-noun from لغب which means, he was tired or wearied to the utmost or he was languid in consequence of fatigue or he was wearied in spirit or mind. لغوب means, extreme tiresomeness, weariness of mind or spirit (Lane & Aqrab).

Commentary:

Complete freedom from every kind of fear and anxiety and perfect peace of mind and satisfaction of heart coupled with the pleasure of God is the highest stage of Paradise that the Quran, as the verse under comment shows, promises to believers in this and the next world.

35:13; 45:13.

Important Words:

طریا (fresh) is active participle from طری or طرو. They say طری اللحم او طرو i.e. the flesh-meat was or became fresh, juicy or moist. طری also means, it became new; was newly made or done; was renewed. طراہ (tarra-hu) means, he rendered it fresh or juicy. طری الطیب means, he rendered perfume fragrant by admixtures. طری البناء means, he plastered or coated the building with clay or mud. طری therefore means fresh, juicy or moist; (Lane & Aqrab).

مواخر (ploughing) is the plural of ماخرة which is active participle from مخر. They say مخر السابح i.e. the swimmer clave the water with his arms in swimming. مخرت السفینةmeans, the ship clave the water with its stem and ran; clave the water with a noise; ran cleaving the water with a noise; faced the wind in her course; advanced and retired. The primary signification of مخر is the act of cleaving; and it also signifies the making of a noise or sound. ماخرة means, ships cleaving the water with their stems; or thrusting the water with their stems; or the sound of the running whereof, by means of the wind, is heard; or running; or advancing and retiring by means of the wind (Lane & Aqrab).

Commentary:

In the preceding verses mention was made of those things which grew on land or of which man could enjoy the benefit on land. In this verse, however, mention is made of water and things that grow therein. It may be noted that while speaking of the sea the same expression سخر (He has pressed into service) has been used in this verse as in the case of the night and day and heavenly bodies in v. 13, the expression بامرہ (by His command) which occurs in that verse has been dropped in the present verse. This is because heavenly bodies and the alternation of night and day are beyond man’s control and the benefits man derives from them are gratuitous and independent of any labour or effort on his part; therefore when mentioning them the expression, (by His command) has been used. But because for the benefits that man derives from the sea he has to make some effort in the making of boats, etc., this expression has been left out.

The sea is a most important source of material benefits to man. It is the great repository of water from which the sun supplies us with rain. It is also the highway for travel and commerce and an important source of food for man. It is quite obvious that God Who has made such vast provision for the physical needs of man could not have failed to make similar provision for his moral and spiritual needs.

The verse also suggests that although water is so essential for man and is present in such abundance in the sea it is unfit either for drinking or for irrigation purposes unless it is distilled by process of evaporation and is made usable. In the same way the mere existence of moral and spiritual truths in the world can be of no avail to man unless they are purified of all dross and are so assorted and presented as to suit his needs.

The subject of the uses and benefits of water for man began with 11th verse and is continued in the following verses. The theme is developed in all these verses that it is on water that men and animals have to depend for their food and that the sun, the moon, and the stars too have some sort of connection with water. The sun causes the water of the sea to evaporate, and then the same returns to us purified in the form of rainwater. This theme of the various uses of water leads us to a much nobler spiritual theme. It is that although we have water in the sea yet we cannot turn it into clouds. Similarly, though we possess reason and intellect, yet unless the water of revelation comes down from heaven our reasoning faculties alone can be of no avail to us to frame a perfect Law that may conduce to our moral and spiritual well-being.

16:15; 45:13.

Important Words:

عذب (palatable) is derived from عذب (‘adhiba) which means, it was or became sweet; became easy and agreeable to be swallowed or drunk. ماءعذب means, sweet water. They say انه لعذب اللسان i.e. verily he is sweet of tongue (Lane & Aqrab). See also 25:54.

ملح (salt) is noun-infinitive from ملح (malahah). They say ملح الطعام i.e. he put salt in the food. ملح الماء means, the water became saltish. ملح (maluhah) it (a thing) was or became beautiful or pretty (Lane & Aqrab). See also 25:54.

سائغا (pleasant) is derived from ساغ which means, it (beverage) was easy and agreeable to swallow (Lane). See also 16:67.

مواخر (ploughing the waves) is derived from مخر. They say مخرت السفینة i.e. the boat clove the water with its stem and ran (Lane). See also 16:15.

For فرات and أجاج see 25:54.

Commentary:

Metaphorically, the two seas spoken of in this verse are true and false religions. The words عذب and أجاج may be taken as representing respectively true and false religions which cannot be equal. The one is like sweet water which is good to drink and slakes the thirst and is also very useful for irrigation, while the other is like bitter water which is not only not fit to drink but is also unusable for purposes of irrigation. The verse continuing the metaphor purports to say that though saltish water is not fit for drinking and irrigation, it has other uses. From the saltish seawater come out fresh meat and ornaments. Similarly, though the present opponents of Islam are, like saltish water, bitter and worthless, yet out of their loins there will be born those who will be zealous and devout bearers of its message.

Important Words:

أیامٰی (widows) is the plural of أیم (ayyimun) which is derived from آم which means, he had no wife or he lost his wife by her death and he did not marry. They say آمت من زوجھا i.e. she became bereft of her husband by his death or by being slain and remained without marrying. آمت also means, she had no husband, said of a virgin and of one who is not a virgin. أیم(ayyimun) means, a woman having no husband, whether she be a virgin or not, or whether she had married before or not; a free woman, (Lane & Aqrab) also a man having no wife Mufradat).

Commentary:

As mentioned above, this Surah deals with some of those very heinous moral evils which if ignored and neglected are calculated to eat into the vitals of the society and shake its very foundations. One of these evils is adultery. In the preceding verses the Surah has dealt with some of the causes that lead to the birth, growth and prevalence of this fell moral disease. Two of these causes are scandal-mongering and free and indiscriminate intermingling of the sexes and the third is that some women—widows or virgins, come to conceive a strong dislike for leading a married life, or their guardians, in order to further their own nefarious ends, stand in the way of their marriage. In the verse under comment the Quran has strongly urged the marriage of widows and virgins, the word أیامی covers both of them. In fact, Islam views with extreme disfavour the unmarried state. It regards the married state as the normal state. The Holy Prophet is reported to have said: النکاح من سنتی و من رغب عن سنتی فلیس منی i.e. "marriage is my 'sunnat' (usage or practice) and whoso disapproves and forsakes my sunnat, is not of me" (Muslim, Kitabun-Nikah).

Preponderance of unmarried women in a society is sure to tell adversely on its whole moral tone. The refusal on the part of unmarried women to accept the responsibilities of married life has led to the prevalence of moral laxity to which the west seems to have fallen a helpless victim. The verse strongly discourages unmarried life and does not recognize poverty as a bar to marriage.

Important Words:

کاتبوھم (write it for them). کاتب (kataba) is derived from کتب (kataba) which means, he wrote; he made a thing obligatory; or he prescribed a law. کتب اللّٰه لاغلبن انا ورسلی i.e. Allah has decreed or has made it obligatory upon Himself that He and His Messengers will prevail (58:22). کاتب العبد means, he made a written contract with the slave that the latter shall pay a certain sum as the price of his emancipation and then he shall earn his freedom (Lane & Aqrab). This civil written contract by means of which a slave can earn his manumission is called مکاتبة (mukatabat).

تحصنا (keeping chaste) is derived from حصن, meaning, he or it was or became inaccessible, fortified or protected against attack. حصنت المرأة means, the woman was chaste i.e. protected herself against moral or sexual sinfulness. أحصنت المرأة means, the woman got married or she was chaste. تحصن (tahassana) means, he fortified himself or he entered the حصن i.e. fortress; or he protected himself by it; he guarded or protected himself in any way. تحصنت المرأة means, she was chaste (Lane & Aqrab). See also 4:25.

The expression ان علمتم فیھم خیراً (if you know any good in them) may mean (1) if you know that they are fit to work and earn their living; (2) if you know that after their manumission they will become useful members of the society.

Commentary:

We maintain that of all Divine Messengers and Prophets of God, of all Founders of different creeds, Faiths and religious systems, of all social reformers and philanthropists and of all those teachers and leaders of men, who, at any time, in any land and in any form, contributed to the social uplift and moral and spiritual regeneration of humanity, the share of Muhammad, the Holy Prophet of Islam, was by far the largest. And one of the greatest services to mankind of this greatest and noblest of men was his unequivocal and emphatic condemnation of, and the effective measures he took to abolish those social injustices that were practised by one section of humanity against another. His mind rebelled and revolted against the then prevalent idea that man could be bought, sold and treated by man like chattels. His ideal of human brotherhood and the inborn and inherent equality of all men could scarcely be reconciled with the practice of slavery which was so widespread as to have become inextricably interwoven and deeply rooted in the social conditions and ideas of his time. His heart burnt to see the iniquities and enormities practised by man upon man. He grieved and pined for this unfortunate section of humanity. He would, if he could, abolish altogether by a stroke of the pen a system so repugnant and revolting, so destructive of all noble human instincts, of all that distinguishes man from beast and brute. But this institution had become an integral part of the whole fabric of human society in his time. To abolish it all of a sudden was neither wise, nor practicable or even possible. It should have meant a death-blow to the entire existing social order. The sudden emancipation in hundreds of thousands of those persons who having been held in bondage for generations had lost all initiative to lead an independent life, would have seriously told upon the whole moral tone of society. Jobless and workless they would have stooped to all sorts of immoral acts. This was exactly what the Holy Prophet sought to avoid and he did succeed in avoiding it. On the other hand, he laid down precepts and injunctions which were calculated to do away with slavery gradually but surely and effectively.

These injunctions were of two categories:

(i) Temporary provisions bearing upon the general improvement and betterment of the moral and social conditions of the existing slaves and their speedy enfranchisement. Slaves were to be treated as members of the family as long as they were in bondage, and at the same time it was declared as a most heinous crime tantamount to murder to deprive a free man of his freedom and reduce him to slavery (Muslim Kitabul-Iman). But those persons were excepted from this commandment who should themselves incur the loss of their freedom by participating in a war undertaken to destroy Islam and to impose their own beliefs and doctrines upon the Muslims at the point of the sword. Even this denial of freedom to war prisoners was to last only till those prisoners had discharged their share of the guilt, either by paying off their part of the cost of war by getting themselves ransomed or by the Muslims themselves setting them free as an act of favour which the Quran has so repeatedly and emphatically enjoined on them (47:5). See also 23:7.

(ii) Provisions of a permanent nature aiming at the complete and total extinction of slavery in every shape or form. One of such provisions by means of which a slave could earn his emancipation, independently and irrespective of the fact whether his master liked it or not, was that he could enter into a civil written contract with the latter. It is this written contract which is known as mukatabat (deed of manumission) and to which the verse under comment refers. According to this contract a definite amount of money or labour is fixed as the price of the freedom of a slave. After the contract is duly written and attested the slave is considered as manumitted and is free to earn the required amount of money by any legitimate means he likes. After he has paid the whole stipulated sum he is quite free. As to whether the slave is fit to enter into a contract of the above nature with his master is to be decided by the State and not by the master of the slave and also the amount of the money he has to pay and the manner and the time-limit of the payment. No choice is left to the owner if the slave applies for such a contract and the State considers him eligible to it with the conditions and stipulations proposed by it but to accept it. By this excellent arrangement Islam sought to secure to all slaves, who could not otherwise obtain freedom, their full emancipation and liberty, at the same time steering clear of the terrible social and moral evils to which the whole Muslim society would have fallen a helpless victim if slavery had been abolished with a stroke of the pen.

The verse has further urged the wealthy and the rich Muslims to help, with their money, those slaves who enter into mukatabat with their masters, to earn their emancipation.

The words ومن یکرھھن (but if anyone forces them to remain unmarried) signify that the responsibility of keeping them from marriage will be that of their masters. They will not be accountable for this default.

16:15; 17:67; 30:47; 31:32; 35:13.