وَتَرَى

Commentary:

At the advent of the Holy Prophet old ideas and institutions that seemed to have been firmly rooted like mountains, melted and vanished away like the passing of clouds. Human history fails to cite an instance of such a mighty revolution brought about in so short a time in every sphere of men’s ideas and actions as was wrought by the great and noble Prophet of Islam. The word جبال (mountains) may equally refer to the great and firmly established Roman and Persian Empires which were scattered like chaff before the irresistible victorious Muslim armies.

38:39.

Important Words:

مقرنین (bound) is derived from قرن (qarrana) which is derived from قرن (qarana). They say قرن بین الشیء و الشیء i.e. he brought or placed the two things together. قرن الشیء با لشیء means, he bound the thing with the other, placing them together قرنه (qarrana-hu) means, he collected the thing together and bound it. The Arabs say قرنت الاساری فی الحبال i.e. the captives were bound together with ropes (Aqrab).

الاصفاد (chains) is the plural of الصفد which means: (1) a chain or anything with which a thing is bound or tied; (2) favour or gift bestowed on someone, perhaps because it, as it were, binds the receiver to the giver (Aqrab).

Commentary:

The rewards and punishments of the life to come will represent the disbelievers’ actions in the present life. As in this world sinners commit their deeds at the instigation or with the help of each other, therefore, in the life to come, they will be represented as shackled and bound together, the chains representing the misdeeds of the sinful.

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.

52:11; 78:21; 81:4.

Commentary:

Taking the word جبال in the sense of "chiefs", the verse purports to say that the prophecy about the complete destruction of the forces of evil—of Gog and Magog—mentioned in the few preceding verses will be fulfilled when great rulers and leaders of nations begin to fight among themselves, or in the words of the Bible when "nation shall rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom and there shall be famines, and pestilences and earthquakes in diverse places" (Matt. 24:7).

Taking the word الارض in the sense of "poor people" or "people belonging to the lower strata of society," the verse would mean that the world will become divided into two hostile camps, representing two distinct and conflicting ideologies i.e. between Capitalism and Communism, and a war to the finish will take place between these two camps.

The expression وحشرناھم means that they would be gathered in battle array, facing each other, and would fight to the bitter end. This is how God would punish them for their evil deeds.

7:179; 17:98; 39:37-38.

Important Words:

تزاور (move away) is in reality تتزاور which is derived from تزاور (tazawara) which again is derived from زار. They say زارہi.e. he visited him. ازورعنه (izwarra) or تزاورعنه (tazawara) means, he declined or turned aside from it (Lane & Aqrab).

تقرض (turn away) is derived from قرض . They say قرضه i.e. he cut it. قرضت الوادی means, I passed through or across the valley.قرض المکان means, he turned aside or away from the place. The Quranic expression واذا غربت تقرضھم ذات الشمال means, when it set to leave them behind on the left; to pass by and beyond them leaving them on its left; to turn aside or away from them on the left (Lane & Aqrab).

فجوة (spacious hollow) is derived from فجا. They say فجا الباب i.e. he opened the door. فجا رجلیه means, he parted his legs wide or straddled to make water. فجوة means, an opening or intervening space or an intermediate wide space between two things; a wide tract or a wide or depressed tract of land; the court or yard of a house; the part between the two sides of the solid hoof (Lane & Aqrab).

Commentary:

The verse describes the position of the Cave. It appears that the people referred to above lived in very high regions in the north, and the Cave was so situated that it faced north-west, for the sun passes a place which has its face to the north from right to left.

The word فجوة (spacious hollow) shows that the Cave covered a vast area. The catacombs at Rome which still exist confirm this view. They enclose a vast area, which has been estimated variously as extending over as many as 870 miles. It also appeals that the catacombs admitted very little light. The Cave was made in such a way as to serve as a hiding place. St. Jerome who visited the catacombs in the 4th century says, "It is all so dark that the language of the Prophet (Ps. 55.15) seems to be fulfilled, 'let them go down quick into Hell'. Only occasionally is light let in to mitigate the horror of the gloom, and then not so much through a window as through a hole" (Enc. Brit., 11th edition, vol. 5, p. 491).

By pointing to the position of the Cave which faced northward, God intended to warn Muslims that they had an enemy in northern regions about whom they should particularly be on their guard. Muslims disregarded this timely warning and fell easy victims to the machinations of their enemy. Instead of presenting a united front they fell out among themselves and facilitated his task. The intrigues of the Abbasids of Baghdad and their unseemly approaches to the Byzantine Empire of Constantinople for help on the one hand and the intrigues of the Moors in Spain with the Vatican on the other, led to their progressive decline and ultimate destruction. The solidarity of Islam suffered a fatal blow from these internal dissensions.

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.

13:9; 35:12; 41:48.

16:71; 36:69.

16:66; 27:61; 30:49-51; 35:28; 45:6.

Important Words:

تراب (dust) is derived from ترب which means, it became dusted or dusty; he had dust in his hand; he clove to dust or earth; he clove to the dust or earth by means of poverty. تراب means, dust, earth (Lane).

علقة (clotted blood) is derived from علق which has several meanings. علق به means, it stuck fast, clung or adhered to it; it was or became suspended by it; it concerned him or it. علقت المرأة means, the woman became pregnant. علق means, blood or intensely red blood or thick or clotted blood because of its clinging together. علقة signifies a portion of clotted blood or the seminal fluid when it becomes thick clotted blood after which it passes to another stage termed مضغة (Lane).

مضغة (lump of flesh) is derived from مضغ. They say مضغ الطعام i.e. he chewed the food. مضغة means, a piece or bit of flesh or a morsel of flesh; a foetus when it has become like a lump or flesh (Lane & Aqrab).

مخلقة (formed) is derived form خلق for which see 3:50. مضغة مخلقة signifies a foetus when it has become like a lump of flesh perfect or complete in make or of which the make has become apparent (Lane).

ھامدة (lifeless) is active participle in the feminine gender from ھمد which means, he or it died or perished. ھمدت الریح means, the wind became still. ھمدت الارض means, the land became lifeless, without herbage and without rain (Lane & Aqrab).

اھتزت (stirs) is derived from ھز. They say ھزہ i.e. he shook it. اھتز النبات means, the plant or herbage became tall. اھتزت الارضmeans, the land produced herbage or became in motion and produced plants or herbage (Lane & Aqrab). When Sa‘d, a very prominent companion of the Holy Prophet died, he is reported to have exclaimed, اھتز عرش الرحمان لموت سعد بن معاذ i.e. the Throne of the Gracious God shook on account of the death of Sa‘d bin Ma‘adh.

ربت (swells) is fromربا meaning, it increased or augmented; it became high. ربت الارض means, the earth became large and swelled (Lane). See also 2:266 & 3:131.

بھیج (beauteous) is derived from بھج (bahuja) i.e. he or it was or became beauteous or beautiful or goodly or beautiful and bright or splendid; or from بھج (bahija) which means, he was or became joyful, glad or happy. بھج به means, he rejoiced in it or at it. Or it may also be said to have been derived from بھج (bahaja). They say بھجه (bahaja) i.e. it made him joyful, glad or happy. بھیج means, beauteous or beautiful and bright or splendid, having a joyful, glad or happy appearance. بھجة means, beauty or goodliness of a thing or its beauty and brightness or splendour; joyfulness, gladness or happiness of appearance (Lane & Aqrab).

Commentary:

The verse proceeds to give arguments to show that life after death or the resurrection is an established fact. Man’s own creation and physical development is the first argument given in this verse to prove this theme. This creation is a process of evolution, a gradual unfolding, a development from one stage to another, from lifeless matter to a seed, then to a fertilized ovum, then to a foetus and then it culminates in the birth of a perfectly formed human being. But this process of evolution and growth does not stop with man’s birth. It continues. A child grows into a full grown man and then he passes on to old age and then to death which is the flight of the human soul from its physical habitat. This wonderful physical growth of man from a lifeless piece of matter to a fully developed human being constitutes an irrefutable proof that the Creator of man and the Author of all these stages of development possesses the power to give him a new life after he is dead.

The inference seems to be that just as the creation and development of man is a process of evolution and gradual growth, in the same way the progress of Islam will also be gradual and in stages.

After this argument in favour of life after death, another argument given in this verse is taken from nature. The verse says that the earth becomes barren, bleak or dead on account of a long period of drought. There is not a blade of grass to be seen on it. Then God sends down rain. The bleak and barren earth begins to vibrate with new life. This phenomenon also leads to the same conclusion that God Who has the power to make the dead and barren earth vibrate with new life has the power to bring man to life after his death. It also leads to the implied inference that by the advent of Islam, a spiritually dead Arabia will bloom and blossom into new life. See also 23:13-15.

40:8; 69:18.

Commentary:

God’s attributes will see their most complete manifestation on the Judgement Day and the cherubs will be on duty singing alleluias to the Divine Being. "The angels" in the verse may also refer to the Companions of the Holy Prophet who seeing God’s promises being fulfilled before their very eyes sang praises to Divine glory, majesty and holiness as no people had ever done before, and never was judgement made so clear between right and wrong as was made in the time of the Holy Prophet. This seems to be the significance of the verse.

The word عرش(Throne), for which see 10:4, represents the transcendent attributes of God such as His glory, majesty, holiness and power. These attributes have an intimate connection with Unity, as is clear from 23:117, where we read: There is no God but He, the Lord of the Exalted Throne, for it is the transcendent attributes of God which constitute the real proof of His Unity, as His other attributes are shared by man. In this sense of the word عرش (Throne), the verse would mean that the Unity of God will become established in Arabia, and God’s true servants in the world together with the angels in heavens, will celebrate His praises.

The words, "Thou wilt see the angels going round the Throne," may mean that angels will sing God’s praises continuously and in unison.

4:144; 17:98; 18:18.