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THE HOLY QURAN
WITH
ENGLISH TRANSLATION
AND
COMMENTARY
VOLUME 5
SURAH AL-AHQAF– SURAH AN-NAS
Published under the auspices of
Hadrat Mirz a Masroor A hmad,
Fifth Successor of the Promised Messiah,
and Supreme Head of the Worldwide
Ahmadiyya Muslim Community
Published by
ISLAM INTERNATIONAL PUBLICATIONS LIMITED |
The first volume comprising the first nine chapters along with an
introduction appeared in 1947. The book was found t o be too
voluminous to be easily handled and, therefore, for the convenience
of the readers, it was split up into two parts. Vol . 1 part I was
reprinted in 1964 in Pakistan (now Vol. 1) containi ng the
introduction & the first two chapters, and Vol. 1 p art II dealing with
the next seven chapters (now Vol. 2) was reprinted in 1965.
This volume 5 contains S urah Al-Ahqaf chapter 46 –– S urah
An-Nas chapter 114.
The Holy Quran with English Translation and Comment ary
Volume:5
First Published in Pakistan in 1963
First Published in U.K. in 1988 (ISBN:1-85372-045- 3)
Reprinted in India in 2002, 2008 (ISBN:81-7912-018-X)
Present Edition (with a new format and typesetting)
Published in U.K. in 2018
Reprinted in Qadian, India in 2019
© Islam International Publications Limited
Published by:
Islam International Publications Limited
Unit 3, Bourne Mill Business Park, Guildford Road,
Farnham, Surrey U.K. GU9 9PS
No part of this translation and commentary may be r eproduced
in any form without prior written permission from the Publisher,
except for the quotation of brief passages in criti cism.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
[Koran, English & Arabic, 1988]
The Holy Quran with English Translation
and Commentary.
I. Alhaj, Mirza Bashir-ud-Din Mahmud Ahmad
1889 – 1965
297’. 1227
ISBN:978-1-84880-021-2 (5 Volume Set)
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 |
PUBLISHER’S NOTE
(1988 Edition)
This five volume commentary of the Holy Quran is an English
translation of the commentary on the Holy Quran by the Second Head of the
Ahmadiyya Community, Hazrat Mirza Bashir-ud-Din Mahmood Ahmad,
Khalifatul Masih II.
His published work on the Holy Quran comprises a ten volume
commentary in Urdu ( Tafseer-e-Kabir ) covering the following Surahs:
Al-Fatihah & Al-Baqarah, Yunus to Al-Ankabut and from Al-Naba to Al-Nas.
The present English commentary is based on that commentary. As far as the
remaining Surahs are concerned, that is chapters:Al-i-Imran to Al-Taubah and
from Al-Ahqaf to Al-Mursalat, the compiling Editors have made use of the
extensive notes prepared by the late Hazrat Khalifatul Masih II in preparing a
detailed and comprehensive commentary which he was unfortunately unable
to complete in his life time. The commentary of such chapters is nonetheless
based on his own deliberations.
This commentary is a unique masterpiece. It is an excellent exegesis
on the true meaning of the Holy Quran. Although no commentary can ever
claim to encompass the final interpretation of the Holy Quran, the manner in
which this rich treasure has been prised open by an author who had deep
insight into the meaning of the Holy Quran, has certainly set the standard by
which all future commentaries ought to be judged.
An index and the following listings have been added in the present
edition at the end of the fifth volume:
Table of contents of the Index
Alphabetical listing of chapters of the Holy Quran.
Important Arabic words and expressions explained in the commentary
The Index of subjects.
The Publishers acknowledge and sincerely thank the following
members of U. S. A. Jamaat in particular and their helpers in general for the
very careful and hard work in preparing these listings and the index so
exhaustively:
Aisha Sharif, Nyceemah Yaqub, Aisha Hakim, Shakura Nooriah,
Salma Ghani, Kadija el Hadi, Rafia Ramah, Khulat Alladin, Dhiya Tahira,
Uzma Saeed, Farzana Qader and Fatima Haneef.
The Publishers also wish to acknowledge the work of M. Zafar |
Mahmood and Munir-ud-Din Shams Add. Vakil-ul-Ishaat in revising the index
and listings and then checking the proofs with the cooperation of Lajna and
Ansar of U. K. May Allah bless them all.
The cost of publishing this five-volume commentary has been met
jointly by members of the Ahmadiyya Community in the United States of
America and the United Kingdom on the happy occasion of the thanks giving
Centenary Jubilee Celebrations of the worldwide Ahmadiyya Community in
Islam.
The funds generated from its sale will be recycled in the further
publication of the Holy Quran. May Allah grant abundant reward to all those
who have contributed towards t his publication.
|
CONTENTS
FOREWORD .................................................................................................. k
PREFACE....................................................................................................... m
System of Transliteration ................................ ................................ ............... p
Chapter 46 (Al-Ahqaf)
Introduction .............................................................................................................. 2897
Text, Translation and Commentary .......................................................................... 2900
Chapter 47 (Muhammad)
Introduction .............................................................................................................. 2917
Text, Translation and Commentary .......................................................................... 2919
Chapter 48 (Al-Fath)
Introduction .............................................................................................................. 2935
Text, Translation and Commentary .......................................................................... 2937
Chapter 49 (Al-Hujurat)
Introduction .............................................................................................................. 2956
Text, Translation and Commentary .......................................................................... 2958
Chapter 50 (Qaf)
Introduction .............................................................................................................. 2967
Text, Translation and Commentary .......................................................................... 2969
Chapter 51 (Adh-Dhariyat)
Introduction .............................................................................................................. 2983
Text, Translation and Commentary .......................................................................... 2984
Chapter 52 (At-Tur)
Introduction .............................................................................................................. 2998
Text, Translation and Commentary .......................................................................... 2999
Chapter 53 (An-Najm)
Introduction .............................................................................................................. 3014
Text, Translation and Commentary .......................................................................... 3016
Chapter 54 (Al-Qamar)
Introduction .............................................................................................................. 3031
Text, Translation and Commentary .......................................................................... 3032
Chapter 55 (Ar-Rahman)
Introduction .............................................................................................................. 3047
Text, Translation and Commentary .......................................................................... 3049
Chapter 56 (Al-Waqi‘ah)
Introduction .............................................................................................................. 3069
Text, Translation and Commentary .......................................................................... 3071 |
CONTENTS
f Chapter 57 (Al-Hadid)
Introduction .............................................................................................................. 3090
Text, Translation and Commentary .......................................................................... 3092
Chapter 58 (Al-Mujadalah)
Introduction .............................................................................................................. 3107
Text, Translation and Commentary .......................................................................... 3109
Chapter 59 (Al-Hashr)
Introduction .............................................................................................................. 3118
Text, Translation and Commentary .......................................................................... 3120
Chapter 60 (Al-Mumta hinah)
Introduction .............................................................................................................. 3133
Text, Translation and Commentary .......................................................................... 3134
Chapter 61 (As-Saff)
Introduction .............................................................................................................. 3142
Text, Translation and Commentary .......................................................................... 3143
Chapter 62 (Al-Jumu‘ah)
Introduction .............................................................................................................. 3150
Text, Translation and Commentary .......................................................................... 3151
Chapter 63 (Al-Munafiqun)
Introduction .............................................................................................................. 3156
Text, Translation and Commentary .......................................................................... 3157
Chapter 64 (At-Tagh abun)
Introduction .............................................................................................................. 3162
Text, Translation and Commentary .......................................................................... 3163
Chapter 65 (At-Talaq)
Introduction .............................................................................................................. 3169
Text, Translation and Commentary .......................................................................... 3171
Chapter 66 (At-Tahrim)
Introduction .............................................................................................................. 3177
Text, Translation and Commentary .......................................................................... 3178
Chapter 67 (Al-Mulk)
Introduction .............................................................................................................. 3186
Text, Translation and Commentary .......................................................................... 3187
Chapter 68 (Al-Qalam)
Introduction .............................................................................................................. 3195
Text, Translation and Commentary .......................................................................... 3196
Chapter 69 (Al-Haqqah)
Introduction .............................................................................................................. 3207
Text, Translation and Commentary .......................................................................... 3208 |
CONTENTS
g Chapter 7 0 (Al-Ma‘arij)
Introduction ................................ ................................ ................................ .............. 3219
Text, Translation and Commentary ................................ ................................ .......... 3220
Chapter 7 1 (Nuh)
Introduction ................................ ................................ ................................ .............. 3228
Text, Translation and Commentary ................................ ................................ .......... 3229
Chapter 7 2 (Al-Jinn )
Introduction ................................ ................................ ................................ .............. 3235
Text, Translation and Commentary ................................ ................................ .......... 3236
Chapter 7 3 (Al-Muzzammil )
Introduction ................................ ................................ ................................ .............. 3244
Text, Translation and Commentary ................................ ................................ .......... 3245
Chapter 7 4 (Al-Muddaththir )
Introduction ................................ ................................ ................................ .............. 3253
Text, Translation and Commentary ................................ ................................ .......... 3254
Chapter 7 5 (Al-Qiyamah )
Introduction ................................ ................................ ................................ .............. 3263
Text, Translation and Commentary ................................ ................................ .......... 3264
Chapter 7 6 (Ad-Dahr )
Introduction ................................ ................................ ................................ .............. 3272
Text, Translation and Commentary ................................ ................................ .......... 3273
Chapter 7 7 (Al-Mursal at)
Introduction ................................ ................................ ................................ .............. 3281
Text, Translation and Commentary ................................ ................................ .......... 3282
Chapter 7 8 (An-Naba’ )
Introduction ................................ ................................ ................................ .............. 3290
Text, Translation and Commentary ................................ ................................ .......... 3291
Chapter 7 9 (An-Nazi‘at)
Introduction ................................ ................................ ................................ .............. 3300
Text, Translation and Commentary ................................ ................................ .......... 3301
Chapter 8 0 (‘Abasa )
Introduction ................................ ................................ ................................ .............. 3310
Text, Translation and Commentary ................................ ................................ .......... 3312
Chapter 8 1 (At-Takw ir)
Introduction ................................ ................................ ................................ .............. 3319
Text, Translation and Commentary ................................ ................................ .......... 3320
Chapter 8 2 (Al-Infitar)
Introduction ................................ ................................ ................................ .............. 3328
Text, Translation and Commentary ................................ ................................ .......... 3329
|
CONTENTS
h Chapter 8 3 (At-Tatfif)
Introduction ................................ ................................ ................................ .............. 3333
Text, Translation and Commentary ................................ ................................ .......... 3334
Chapter 8 4 (Al-Inshiq aq)
Introduction ................................ ................................ ................................ .............. 3341
Text, Translation and Commentary ................................ ................................ .......... 3342
Chapter 8 5 (Al-Buruj)
Introduction ................................ ................................ ................................ .............. 3347
Text, Translation and Commentary ................................ ................................ .......... 3348
Chapter 8 6 (At-Tariq)
Introduction ................................ ................................ ................................ .............. 3353
Text, Translation and Commentary ................................ ................................ .......... 3354
Chapter 8 7 (Al-A‘la)
Introduction ................................ ................................ ................................ .............. 3358
Text, Translation and Commentary ................................ ................................ .......... 3359
Chapter 8 8 (Al-Ghashiyah )
Introduction ................................ ................................ ................................ .............. 3364
Text, Translation and Commentary ................................ ................................ .......... 3365
Chapter 8 9 (Al-Fajr )
Introduction ................................ ................................ ................................ .............. 3369
Text, Translation and Commentary ................................ ................................ .......... 3370
Chapter 9 0 (Al-Balad )
Introduction ................................ ................................ ................................ .............. 3377
Text, Translation and Commentary ................................ ................................ .......... 3378
Chapter 9 1 (Ash-Shams )
Introduction ................................ ................................ ................................ .............. 3383
Text, Translation and Commentary ................................ ................................ .......... 3384
Chapter 9 2 (Al-Lail)
Introduction ................................ ................................ ................................ .............. 3389
Text, Translation and Commentary ................................ ................................ .......... 3390
Chapter 9 3 (Ad-Duha)
Introduction ................................ ................................ ................................ .............. 3394
Text, Translation and Commentary ................................ ................................ .......... 3395
Chapter 9 4 (Al-Inshir ah)
Introduction ................................ ................................ ................................ .............. 3399
Text, Translation and Commentary ................................ ................................ .......... 3400
Chapter 9 5 (At-Tin)
Introduction ................................ ................................ ................................ .............. 3403
Text, Translation and Commentary ................................ ................................ .......... 3404
|
CONTENTS
i Chapter 9 6 (Al-‘Alaq )
Introduction ................................ ................................ ................................ .............. 3408
Text, Translation and Commentary ................................ ................................ .......... 3409
Chapter 9 7 (Al-Qadr )
Introduction ................................ ................................ ................................ .............. 3413
Text, Translation and Commentary ................................ ................................ .......... 3414
Chapter 9 8 (Al-Bayyinah )
Introduction ................................ ................................ ................................ .............. 3417
Text, Translation and Commentary ................................ ................................ .......... 3418
Chapter 9 9 (Az-Zilzal)
Introduction ................................ ................................ ................................ .............. 3421
Text, Translation and Commentary ................................ ................................ .......... 3422
Chapter 1 00 (Al-‘Adiyat)
Introduction ................................ ................................ ................................ .............. 3425
Text, Translation and Commentary ................................ ................................ .......... 3426
Chapter 10 1 (Al-Qari‘ah )
Introduction ................................ ................................ ................................ .............. 3430
Text, Translation and Commentary ................................ ................................ .......... 3431
Chapter 10 2 (At-Takathur )
Introduction ................................ ................................ ................................ .............. 3433
Text, Translation and Commentary ................................ ................................ .......... 3434
Chapter 10 3 (Al-‘Asr)
Introduction ................................ ................................ ................................ .............. 3437
Text, Translation and Commentary ................................ ................................ .......... 3438
Chapter 10 4 (Al-Humazah )
Introduction ................................ ................................ ................................ .............. 3440
Text, Translation and Commentary ................................ ................................ .......... 3441
Chapter 10 5 (Al-Fil)
Introduction ................................ ................................ ................................ .............. 3444
Text, Translation and Commentary ................................ ................................ .......... 3446
Chapter 10 6 (Al-Quraish )
Introduction ................................ ................................ ................................ .............. 3448
Text, Translation and Commentary ................................ ................................ .......... 3449
Chapter 10 7 (Al-Ma‘un)
Introduction ................................ ................................ ................................ .............. 3451
Text, Translation and Commentary ................................ ................................ .......... 3452
Chapter 10 8 (Al-Kauthar )
Introduction ................................ ................................ ................................ .............. 3454
Text, Translation and Commentary ................................ ................................ .......... 3455
|
CONTENTS
j Chapter 10 9 (Al-Kafirun)
Introduction ................................ ................................ ................................ .............. 3458
Text, Translation and Commentary ................................ ................................ .......... 3459
Chapter 110 (An-Nasr)
Introduction ................................ ................................ ................................ .............. 3461
Text, Translation and Commentary ................................ ................................ .......... 3462
Chapter 111 (Al-Lahab )
Introduction ................................ ................................ ................................ .............. 3464
Text, Translation and Commentary ................................ ................................ .......... 3465
Chapter 112 (Al-Ikhlas)
Introduction ................................ ................................ ................................ .............. 3468
Text, Translation and Commentary ................................ ................................ .......... 3469
Chapter 113 (Al-Falaq )
Introduction ................................ ................................ ................................ .............. 3472
Text, Translation and Commentary ................................ ................................ .......... 3473
Chapter 114 (An-Nas)
Introduction ................................ ................................ ................................ .............. 3476
Text, Translation and Commentary ................................ ................................ .......... 3477
Index
Table of Contents of the Index ................................ ................................ ................. 3481
Alphabetical Listing of Chapters of the Holy Quran ................................ ................ 3491
Important Arabic Words and Expressions Explained in the Commentary ............... 3493
The Index of Subjects ................................ ................................ ............................... 3507
|
FOREWORD
The Holy Quran is the Word of God Almighty that was revealed to the
Holy Prophet Mu hammad, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
over a period of 23 years. Since its revelation, the inimitability of its text has
been widely acclaimed and acknowledged by friend and foe alike. Its verses
made such a miraculous impact that some enemies of Islam, driven by
extreme frustration, resorted to calling it magic, accusing the Holy Prophetsa
of being a sorcerer, and preve nting their fellow non-Muslims from hearing its
recitation. Nevertheless, it was only a matter of time before its greatest
enemies became its greatest admirers, or were destroyed in the very process of
seeking its destruction.
Allah the Exalted says in the Holy Quran that He Himself would
safeguard it:
اِنَِّّا َنَّْنُ نَّزَِّّلْنَّا الذِِّکْرَّ وَّاِنَِّّا لَّہٗ َلَّٰفِظُوْنَّ
Verily We Ourself have sent down this Exhortation, and most
surely We will be its Guardian. (Al-Hijr 15:10)
Under the close and careful guidance of the Holy Prophetsa, the earliest
Muslims —including the scribes, and those who had memorized the Book —
exercised great care and precaution in its compilation, recitation, and
preservation. Meticulous care was taken to ensure that the words of the Holy
Prophetsa and the personal notes of his Companionsra were not intermixed
with the Word of God.
Once the text had been fully preserved and disseminated widely, the need
was felt for commentaries. However, as the Word of God is replete with
sublime prophecies and profound verities, the infinite magnificence of the
Holy Quran can never be fully comprehended in any commentary.
Nevertheless, to help readers understand the historical context and
significance of the revealed verse s, several commentaries were written by
eminent scholars. These commentaries generally relied on the Hadith, Sunnah,
lexicons, and historical texts. However, in this process, some went to the
extent of accepting the traditions of the Jews and Christians in commenting
upon some verses. In the last few centuries, some orientalists have written
commentaries on the Holy Quran and have critiqued some verses based upon
their own traditi ons and perceptions of history.
The Founder of the A hmadiyya Muslim Community, Hadrat Mirz a
Ghulam Ahmad, the Promised Messiah and Im am Mahd ias was commissioned
to revive faith and establish the law of Islam. Accordingly, his very first book, |
FOREWORD
l Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya, was devoted to establish the divine origin of the Holy
Quran and the P rophethood of the Holy Prophet Mu hammadsa.
The Five V olume Commentary is based upon the divinely inspired
commentaries made by Hadrat al-Musleh al-Mau‘ ud, Mirz a Bashir-ud-Din
Mahmud Ahmadra, the second Successor of the Promised Messiahas. It builds
upon the early Islamic sources and the divinely inspired insights of the
Promised Messiahas to bring a fresh new perspective on the Quran’s versatility
and meaning. It also effectively and forcefully responds to the criticism of the
Latter Day orientalists.
The current edition of the Five V olume Commentary corrects scribal
errors and makes minor editorial changes to promote readability. Typesetting
and initial formatting of this edition of the Five V olume Commentary was
done by Wakalat-e-Isha‘at under the supervision of Mirza Anas A hmad,
M.A., M.Litt., (Oxon.). Final proofreading and valuable suggestions for
improvement were provided by various individuals, including the following:
Khalil Malik, Rashida Kalim Rana, Naser-ud-Din Shams, Sardar Ane es
Ahmad, Sabahat Ahmad Cheema, Hassan Khan, Faraz Husain, Abdul-Wahab
Mirza, Qamar Ahmed Zafar, Zulfiqar Abbasi, Ahmad Nooruddeen
Jangeerkhan, Aneeq ur Rehman, Nafees Qamar Ahmed, and Syed Tanwir
Mujtaba. May Allah the Almighty grant all of them the best reward in this life
and the Hereafter. Amin.
Al-Haj Munir-ud-Din Shams
Additional Wak il-ut-Tasnif
London, England
September 2018
|
PREFACE
(1988 Edition)
Glory be to the name of our Lord that the great and noble work of
preparing an exhaustive Commentary of the Qur ’an has come to a successful
end. Enormous labour, money and time have gone into the preparation of this
Commentary, covering, as it does over 3, 300 page s, including a very learned
Introduction from the pen of Hadrat Mirz a Bashir-ud-Din, Mahmud Ahmad,
Second Successor of the Promised Messiah. The present book constitutes the
Third V olume of the Commentary and deals with 69 chapters —from Sura
Al-Ahqaf to Sura An-Nas.
The preparation of the Commentary was originally entrusted to a Board
of Editors, Consisting of the late Maulaw i Sher ‘Al i, Mirz a Bashir Ahmad,
M.A., and Malik Ghul am Far id, M.A., present Editor of the Commentary. The
Commentary is based mainly on the material culled and collected from the
writings and speeches of Hadrat Mirz a Bashir-ud-Din Ma hmud Ahmad,
present Head of the A hmadiyya Community. The First V olume had hardly
appeared w hen, with the Partition of India, in 1947, the whole work was
thrown out of gear. The Headquarters of the Movement had to be shifted to
Pakistan, and much of the very useful religious literature produced by the
Community in the past five decades was left b ehind . Immediately after,
Maulaw i Sher ‘Al i died and Mirz a Bashir Ahmad was called to other
important duties, and the writer of these lines was left alone to carry on the
work which by the grace of God has now been successfully completed.
This V olume follo ws the same scheme and arrangement with regard to
Test, Translation & Commentary of the Holy Book as followed in the earlier
V olumes. It would be useful, therefore, to reproduce here the relevant extract
from the Preface of V olume I.
The Arabic text has be en given side by side with the English
translation. A mere translation without the text is likely to endanger the purity
of the text, besides depriving the reader of the opportunity of comparison,
verification, and of making a critical study of the Holy Bo ok.
The annotations of the text have been generally divided into two parts.
The first deals with Important Words in the verse under comment. These
words, along with other words derived from the same root, particularly those
occurring in other parts of the Qur’an, have been explained and examples
given to illustrate their different uses. These explanations are based on the
standard lexicons of the Arabic language, such as the Lis an al-‘Arab, the T aj |
PREFACE
n al-‘Arus, the Mufrad at of Im am Raghib, the Arabic-English L exicon by E. W.
Lane and the Aqrab al-Maw arid. As regards the Translation, our procedure has
been to base the meaning of every word first on the corroborative testimony
of other parts of the Quran and secondly on the context. The words printed in
italics h ave been added to explain the meaning of the text, in case where are
no words corresponding to them in the original.
The second part consists of Explanatory Notes or Commentary. Every
Note first derives its authority from the tenor and spirit of the Qur’an as
expressed in various other places. Next to the Qur’an precedence is given to
the Hadith and then come the standard dictionaries of the Arabic language.
Last of all, recourse has been had to the evidence of history which is
necessary for the explanatio n of such verses as refer to well-known historical
events.
In the course of the preparation of these notes light has been thrown
from time to time on the order which runs through the verses of each chapter,
the one following the other in natural sequence; and a careful perusal of these
Notes will convince the reader that the Qur’an forms a thoroughly consistent
and coherent reading.
A system of cross-references has been introduced. These cross-
references ha ve been placed below the text and the translation. They give at a
glance the various places where the subject of a particular verse has been dealt
with elsewhere in the Qur’ an.
An Introduction is prefixed to each chapter (a General Introduction
appears in volume I, which serves as an introduction to a scientific study of
whole Book). The Introduction to each chapter discusses the place and date of
its revelation and gives a summary of its contents and the relation it has with
the chapters precedi ng or following it. It also provides sufficient material for
the reader to understand and realize that not only the position of every chapter
of the Qur’an as a whole but also the verses of each chapter themselves are
governed by an intelligent order.
The abbreviations, CH. and PT. appearing at the top of each page
stand for Chapter and Part respectively. The Qur’ an has been divided into ( a)
Suras or Chapters, and ( b) Siparas or Parts. The division of the Qur’ an into
Suras is made according to its subject matter and has behind it the authority of
the Holy Prophet and the Qur’ an; each of these Suras having been so
designated in the Holy Book, as in 2:24 and 24:2. The total number of the
Suras is 114.
The number of Chapter and that of Part is shown at the top of each |
PREFACE
o page. In numbering the verses we have followed the system in vogue in the
standard editions of the Qur’ an in India and Pakistan, with the exception that
in our numbering Bismillah is counted as the first verse of every chapter,
while in other editions the verse following Bismillah is numbered as the first
verse of the chapter . Chapter 9, however, is an exception to this rule. It does
not begin with Bismillah, and, therefore, numbering in this chapter is identical
with that of o ther editions of the Qur’ an. Numbering of the Notes, however, is
continuous. It does not end where a Sura ends but is continued into the next
Sura throughout the book.
References to verses have been made by two figures separated by a
colon; the first figur e shows the number of the chapter, while the second that
of the verse. When the reference is to a chapter of the Qur’an, the word
“Qur’ an” is invariably omitted for the sake of brevity. Thus, 20:8 refers to the
8th verse of the 20th chapter of the Qur’an. In the case of references to other
religious Scriptures, however, the name of the Book is always mentioned,
though in an abbreviated form. Thus Gen. 5:6 means the 6th verse of the fifth
chapter of Genesis, the first Book of Moses.
Index of the whole book i s under preparation and will take some time to
be ready as it is expected to run into several hundred pages. It will be
published as a separate volume.
The Editor thanks Maulaw i Nurud-Din Mun ir, M.A., Maulaw i
Muhammad A hmad Jal il, B.A., H.A., and particularly Q azi ‘Abdul Hamid.
B.A., LL.B., for carefully reading the proofs and making useful suggestions.
Rabwah, West Pakistan
10th March, 1963.
|
System of Transliteration
In transliterating Arabic words we have followed the system adopted
by the Royal Asiatic Society.
ا at the beginning of a word, pronounced as a, i, u preceded by a very
slight aspiration, like h in the English word 'honour'.
ث th, pronounced like th in the English word 'thing'.
ح h, a guttural aspirate, stronger than h.
خ kh, pronounced, like the Scotch ch in 'loch'.
ذ dh, pronounced like the English th in 'that', 'with'.
ص ṣ, strongly artic ulated s.
ض ḍ, similar to the English th in 'this'.
ط ṭ, strongly articulated palatal t.
ظ ẓ, strongly articulated z.
ع ,‘a strong guttural, the pronunciation of which must be learnt by the
ear.
غ gh, a sound approaches very nearly in the r 'grasseye ' in French, and
in the German r. It requires the muscles of the throat to be in the
'gargling' position whilst pronouncing it.
ق q, a deep guttural k sound.
ء ,’a sort of catch in the voice.
Short vowels are represented by a for – َ– (like u in 'bud'); i for – َ– (like
i in 'bid'); u for – َ– (like oo in 'wood'); the long vowels by ā for – َ– or ٓا (like a
in 'father'); ī for ی or – َ– (like ee in 'deep'); ai for ی –َ – (like i in 'site'); ū for
و –َ – (like oo in 'root'); au for و –َ – (resembling ou in 'sound').
The consonants not included in the above list have the same phonetic
value as in the principal languages of Europe.
|
2897 CHAPTER 46
AL-AHQA F
(Revealed before Hijrah )
General Remarks
This is the seventh and last Surah of the Ha Mim group. Like other
Surahs of this group, it was revealed at Mecca towards the middle of the
Prophet’s ministry before Hijrah, at a time when opposition to the new
Message had become bitter, persistent and organized. N öldeke places the
revelation of the Surah immediately after chapter 7. It seems to resemble its
sister Surahs of the Ha Mim group in tone and tenor. The Surah has 36 verses
including Bismillah and takes its title from v. 22.
The preceding Surah had ended on the solemn declaration that "God is
the Lord of the heavens and the earth, His is the Majesty, and He is the Mighty,
the Wise. " In the present Surah the claim made in th ese words is justified. The
Qura n has been revealed by the Wise and Mighty God. God is Wise in the
sense that the Quranic teaching is based on sound and solid foundations, and
is supported by reason, common sense and accumulated human experience;
and He is Mighty in the sense that by living up to its ideals and principles the
Muslims will gain ascendancy and predominance over their opponents. The
Surah deals primarily with the subjects of prophethood and Divine revelation,
with special reference to the revelation of the Qur an, and with Unity of God,
and life after death, in regard to which fulfilment of prophecies made in the
Quran is adduced as an argument.
Subject Matter
Like its six predecessors of the Ha Mim group, the Surah opens with
the subject of the Quranic revelation and Divine Unity which constitutes its
main theme, and gives the following few argu ments in refutation of idolatry :
(a) Onl y that being can command and demand of us that we should
adore and worship Him Who, besides being our Creator and Sustainer, is
Almighty and All-Powerful and can therefore compel obedience to His laws
and commandments; but the false gods of idolaters are n ot only not creators
but are themselves created. (b) Idolatry finds no suppo rt in any revealed
Scripture. (c ) Human knowledge, reason, and experience repel it and revolt
against it. (d) A deity which cannot, and does not, answer our prayer is of no |
2898 use, and the so-called gods of idolaters not only are incapable of responding to
the prayers of their votaries, they are even unconscious of having been called
upon by them.
The Surah then proceeds to say t hat by laying claim to prophethood,
the Holy Prophet has not brought forward any innovation . Divine Messengers
have been appearing at all times and among all peoples to teach them Unity of
God and their duty to their fellow beings, and the revelation vouch safed to the
Holy Prophet contains the essentials of all those revealed teachings. The
Surah further says that the truth of the Quranic revelation is supported not
only by the intrinsic worth of its teaching but also by the prophecies which
Moses, the greatest Israelite Prophet, centuries ago, had made about it. The
Surah then dismisses as foolish and unfounded the disbelievers’ plea which, in
their conceit and ignorance, they put forward as an excuse for rejecting the
Divine revelation, viz. "if there had been any good in the revelation presented
to us, we, being better informed and better placed in life, would have been the
first to accept it. " The Surah further says that whereas disbelievers, proud of
their great material resources and social status, reje ct the Divine Message,
others who are endowed with faith and spiritual wealth, accept it, and stick to
it under the severest trials and tribulations, till they are comforted with the
Divine assurance, viz. "no fear shall come upon them, nor shall they grie ve.
These are the fortunate ones from whom God shall accept their good works
and overlook their ill deeds. "
The Surah then cites the fate of ‘ Ad—a people who had flouri shed in
the neighbourhood of the Meccans —to show that disbelief never prospers and
is su re to come to grief in the long run. The Adites were so completely
destroyed that not a vestige of their great and gloriou s civilization remained
behind.
Towards its end the Surah sounds a note of warning to the people of
the Holy Prophet. They are told that they should not be misled by their wealth
and prosperity and by the poverty and weakness of Muslims, and that if they
persisted in rejecting the Divine Message, their present p rosperity itself would
prove to be their ruin, because rejection of Truth never goes unpunished.
The Surah ends with an exhortation to the Holy Prophet and his
followers, calling upon them, as brave votaries of Truth, to bear with patience
and fortitude, a ll the suffering and persecution to which they were being
subjected, as the time was fast approaching when the cause of Truth would |
2899 triumph and their persecutors would stand before them in utter disgrace and
humiliation, begging for forgiveness and mercy.
|
CH.46 PT.26
2900 (AL-AHQAF)
1. aIn the name of Allah, the
Gracious the Merciful.3757
2. bHa Mim. 3758
3. cThe revelation of this Book
is from Allah, the Mighty, the
Wise. 3759
4. dWe have not created the
heavens and the earth, and all that
is between them, but with truth,
and for an appointed term; but
those who disbelieve turn away
aSee 1:1. b40:2; 41:2; 42:2; 43:2; 44:2; 45:2. c20:5; 32:3; 36:6; 40:3; 45:3. d21:17; 38:28; 44:39.
3757 . Commentary:
See 1:1.
3758 . Commentary:
For general treatment of
abbreviated letters see 2:2 & 19:2.
Verses 40:2, 42:2 & 45:2, however,
deal particularly with the letters حم
which, as in the preceding six
chapters, are placed at the beginning
of the present Surah . These letters
may be taken as s tanding for one of
the following pairs of Divine
attributes, i.e. محید جمید (Praiseworthy,
and Lord of honour), یح قیوم ( Living,
Self- Subsisting and All-Sustaining),
مزنل الکتاب، حافظ الکتاب (Guardian of the
Book and Revealer of the Book).
These Divine att ributes, as also others
that are represented by these
abbreviated letters, have a strong
bearing on the subject matter of the Surah . Unity of God, refutation and
denunciation of idolatry, Divine
revelation, with special reference to
the revelation of the Quran, life after
death and the triumph of truth over
falsehood are some of the important
topics dealt with in the seven Surahs
of the حم group, as Divine attributes
represented by these abbreviated
letters indicate.
3759 . Commentary:
The verse signifies t hat the
Message of this Book —the Quran —
is bound to succeed as it has been
revealed by God Who is Mighty. And
because its Revealer is the Wise God,
it contains the quintessence of the
accumulated wisdom of saints and
seers of the past ages and is also the
compendium of the imperishable
teachings of all revealed Scriptures.
|
PT.26 AL-AHQĀF CH.46
2901 3760 . Commentary:
The verse means to say that the
creation of heavens and the earth is
intended to serve an eternal purpose
which is to serve man who is, God’s
noblest handiwork, and the aim and
object of whose life is to develop in
himself Divine attributes. For the
attainment by man of this grand and
sublime object, God raised His
Messengers in all times and among
all peoples. To these Messengers He
revealed Himself, and to them He
gave His teaching. The greatest
and noblest of these Divine
Messengers was the Holy Prophet
Muhammad, and the last and most
complete and perfect code o f Divine
laws is the Quran.
The creation of the heavens and the
earth also establishes the eternal truth
that there is only One Designer,
Creator and Controller of the universe.
It constitutes an unassailable
argument against idolatry.
The words "for an ap pointed t ime" signify that the universe had a
beginning and will also have an end.
It is to this great truth that the verses,
"All that is on it will pass away. And
there will remain only the Person of
thy Lord, Master of Glory and
Honour " (55:27-28), refer.
3761. Important Words:
ةأثار( vestige) is the inf. noun from أثر
and means, a remain or relic of a
thing; a trace; sign or mark ; vestige or
track; a footprint ; impression or mark
made by the foot of a man upon the
ground (Lane & Aqrab).
Commentary:
With this verse begins a systematic
refutation and condemnation of شرک
i.e. idolatry. It means to say that only
that Being can command adoration
and is fit to be worshipped Who as
the Architect and Creator of the
universe controls our destinies. But
the false gods of idolaters not only
have not created anything but are
themselves created. They do not even
possess any power to harm or benefit from that of which they have
been warned. 3760
5.Say, a‘Do you know what it is
you call on beside Allah? Show
me what they have created of
the earth. Or have they a share
in the creation of the heavens?
Bring me a Book revealed
before this or some vestige of
knowledge in your support, if
you indeed speak the truth.’ 3761
a35:41.
|
CH.46 AL-AHQĀF PT.26
2902 themselves, nor have they any power
over death, life or Resurrection (25:4).
Then what title or right have they to
man’s worship of them? The verse
further says that in reality no
authority except that of a revealed
Scripture can form the basis for
determining whether a certain belief
is right or wrong. The words "Or
some vestige of knowledge in your
support " signify tha t human science
and reason as well lend no support to
idolatrous beliefs or practices. Thus
this little verse embodies three very
strong and cogent arguments to
repudiate and demolish polytheistic
and idolatrous doctrines.
3762. Important Words:
The verse embodies yet another
very convincing argument against
idol worship . Islam presents a Living
God Who listens to the prayers of His
devotees and has given proof of this
fact in every age. He reveals Himself
to His true votaries by accepting their
prayers and consoles them in the hour of distress by speaking to them words
of comfort. How encouraging and
hope- raising are the Quranic words:
"And when My s ervants ask thee
about Me, say, I am near. I answer the
prayer of the supplicant when he
prays to Me " (2:187). Other religions
hold out no such promise to their
followers. Let them cry hoarse, the
Quran says, their false gods will
never answer their prayer because
they do not possess any such power.
Of what use, then, is that deity which
is deaf and dumb and hears and
answers not the agonised cries of its
votaries?
3763. Commentary:
In this verse the votaries of false
gods are told that not only will their
gods not answer their prayers unto
the Day of Resurrection, but will
disown them on that awful day when
they (the idolaters) will be made to
face the consequences of their
idolatrous beliefs and practices. 6.And who is in greater error
than those who, instead of
Allah, pray unto such as will
not answer them till the Day of
Resurrection, and athey are even
unaware of their prayer?3762
7. bAnd when mankind is
gathered together, they (false
deities) will be enemies to them
(their wors hippers) and will
deny their worship.3763
a10:30. b6:23; 10:29.
|
PT.26 AL-AHQĀF CH.46
2903 3764 . Commentary:
After effectively refuting شرک
(idolatry) in the preceding few verses,
the Surah, in the present verse,
proceeds to deal with the next
important topic —Divine revelation. It
purports to say that forging lies about
God, being a fatal poison, is bound to
bring about the spiritual death and
destruction of the forger. This is the
significance of the words:"You
cannot avail me aught against Allah. "
The words, "Sufficient is He for a
witness bet ween me and you, " signify that "if I am a forger of lies against
God, He would not let me go
unpunished, but if you reject the
Message of Truth, you too will have
to suffer the evil consequences of
your rejection. "
The expression من اّللٰه means:(a) in
opposition to Allah; (b) from the
punishment of A llah.
3765 . Commentary:
بدعا ه( new) is derived from بدع which
means, he originated a thing or
brought it into existence for the first
time, the thing not having existed 8. aAnd when Our clear Signs
are recited unto them, those
who disbelieve say of the truth
when it comes to them, ‘This is
manifest sorcery.’
9.Do they say, ‘He has forged
it?b’ Say, ‘If I have forged it,
you cannot avail me aught
against Allah. He knows best
what idle talk you indulge in.
Sufficient is He for a Witness
between me and you. And He is
the Most Forgiving, the
Merciful.’ 3764
10.Say, ‘I am no t a novelty
among the Messenger s, nor do I
know what will be done with
me or with you in this life . cI do
but follow what is revealed to
me; and I am but a plain
Warner.’ 3765
a34:44; 61:7. b11:36. c6:51; 7:204; 10:16; 33:3.
|
CH.46 AL-AHQĀF PT.26
2904 before, and not after the similitude of
anything pre-existing. They say فالن بدع
یف ھذا االمر i.e. such a one is the first
person to do this thing. بدع means,
first; new; a first doer of a thing;
nove l; a thing existing for the first
time; an innovator (Lane & Aqrab).
See also 2:118 .
Commentary:
The Holy Prophet is here enjoined
to tell his people that his being raised
as a Divine Messenger was not a new
thing. He was no innovator. They
were already conversant with the
phenomenon of prophethood. God
had been raising His Messengers
during the ages when people forsook
the path of righteousness. He had
raised Prophets in their
neighbourhood, and, now, He had
selected them for the bestowal of this
great gift. They should, therefore,
judge the Holy Prophet by the criteria
by which the former Prophets were
judged. The Holy Prophet is further
asked to tell them that though there
was no doubt that ultimately his
cause would triumph, he was not vouchsafed the knowledge of the
vicissitudes of circumstances through
which he himself would h ave to pass
during the interven ing period, nor did
he know how God would treat his
opponents. His mission was confined
to delivering the Divine Message to
them and to warn them that if they did
not behave they would come to grief.
3766. Commentary:
The witn ess from among the
Children of I srael is Moses . It is to
his prophecy concerning the advent
of the Holy Prophet that reference has
been made in this verse. The
prophecy is to this effect:
I will raise them up a Prophet from
among their brethren like unto thee,
and will put M y words in his mouth;
and he shall speak unto them all that I
shall command him. And it shall
come to pass that who soever will not
hearken unto My words which he
shall speak in My name, I w ill require
it of him (Deut. 18:l8-19).
See also 11:18.
The referen ce in the words 'a
witness from among the Children of 11.Say, ‘Tell me, if this is from
Allah and you disbelieve
therein, and a awitness from
among the Children of Israel
bears witness to the advent
of one like him, and he
believed, but you are too proud
to believe, how should you
fare?’ Verily, Allah guides not
the wrongdoing people.3766
a11:18; 61:7.
|
PT.26 AL-AHQĀF CH.46
2905 Israel ' could not be, as generally
misunderstood, to ‘Abdull ah bin Sa lam,
a learned Jew, because ‘Abdull ah had
accepted Islam in M edina while this
Surah was revealed at Mecca.
3767 . Commentary:
One of the great impediments that
stand in the way of truth being
accepted by disbelievers is conceit
and arrogance. Since it is the poor
people and those not high placed in
life and generally not conversant with
current material sciences, who first
accept the Divine Message, the so-
called learned and wealthy people
regard it beneath their dignity to
associate themselves with the humble
and lowly believers. It is to this proud
attitude of dis believers that the verse
refers. It depicts conceited and
arrogant disbelieve rs as saying to believers, that if there h ad been any
good in the new Teaching, they
(disbelievers), who were better
placed in life and possessed better
knowledge, could not have been
outstripped by the former in
accepting it, and that, as it was an old,
old lie, they could not accept it .
3768 . Commentary:
Verse 11 above referred to the
appearance of a Prophet among the
Ishmaelit es. The present verse refers
to Arabia as the scene of the advent
of the Prophet who was to be the like
of Moses and to the Book (the Quran)
which was to fulfil the prophecies
contained in the Book of Moses and
which also was to supersede it. The
relevant prophecy is as follows:
The burden upon Arabia. In the
forest in Arabia shall ye lodge, O ye R. 2.
12.And those who disbelieve
say of those who believe:a‘If it
were any good, they could not
have been ahead of us in
attaining it .’ And since they have
not been guided thereby, they
will say, ‘This is an old lie.’3767
13.And before it there was bthe
Book of Moses, a guide and a
mercy; and cthis is a Book in the
Arabic language fulfilling
previous prophecies, that it may
warn those who do wrong; and
as glad tidings to those who do
good.3768
a11:28. b28:44. c20:114; 42:8; 43:4.
|
CH.46 AL-AHQĀF PT.26
2906 travelling companies of Dedanim.
The inhabitants of the land of Tema
brought water to him that was thirsty,
they presented with their bread him
that fled (Isaiah 21:13-15).
See also 26:198.
3769. Commentary:
What fear or grief, even under the
severest trial, can possibly disturb the
equanimity and mental poise of a true believer, who possesses an invincible
faith that Allah, the Creator and Lord
of the whole universe, is at his back?
It is th is certain faith that has caused
the Faithful in all ages to lay down
their lives smilingly in the cause of
Truth. Such believers have been
called حمسننی( doers of good) in verse
13 above. They abide in the Garden
of heavenly bliss and bask in the sun
of God’s love. See also 41:31 . 14. aVerily, those who say, ‘Our
Lord is Allah,’ and then are
steadfast —no fear shall come
upon them, nor shall they
grieve.3769
15.These are the dwellers of the
Garden; they shall abide
therein —a recompense for what
they did.
16. bAnd We have enjoined on
man to be good to his parents.
His mother bears him with pain,
and brings him forth with pain,
and the bearing of him and his
weaning takes thirty months,
till, when he attains his full
maturity and reaches the age of
forty years, he says, c‘My Lord,
grant me that I may be grateful
for Thy favour which Thou hast
bestowed upon me and upon my
parents, and I may do such
good works as may please Thee.
And establish righteous ness
among my progeny for me. I do
a41:31. b6:152; 19:33 ; 29:9. c27:20.
|
PT.26 AL-AHQĀF CH.46
2907 3770. Important Words:
أشد( full maturity) is derived from شد .
They say شد الیشء i.e. he made the thing
hard, firm, compact, strong, or he
bound it fast. أشد( ashudd) means,
physical and intellectual and also
spiritual mat urity as gives evidence of
rectitude of conduct or course of life;
firmness or soundness of judg ement
produced by experience . (Lane).
Commentary:
The word seems to have been used
in the sense of spiritual maturity in
the present verse and in 12:23 ; and in
the sense of intellec tual and physical
maturity in 6:153 and 18:83.
Generally, Divine Messengers are
invested with their divine mission at
the age of forty. The belief that Jesus
was made a Prophet at the age of 33
seems to be an historical anachronism,
as recent research into Christian
history has proved his birth to have
taken place about six years earlier
than generally understood (Enc. B rit.
under "Chronicle ").
أوزعین( grant me the power) is
derived from وزع .They say وزع فالنا او بفالن
i.e. he hindered or led or drove forth such a one and restrained him; he
urged or incited such a one. فالنا أوزع اّللٰه
means, God inspired or granted such
a one the power to do a thing. See
also 27:18.
In verse 13 above a brief reference
has been made to حمسننی( doers of
good). The present verse enjoins a
believer to do good )(احسان to all his
fellow beings, irrespective of caste,
colour or clime, starting, however,
with his parents, the mother having
secured a special mention, as also in
31:15 because "she bears him with
pain, and brings him forth with pain".
In 31:15, it was sta ted that the
weaning of a child takes two years,
but in the verse under comment the
combi ned period of pregnancy and
suckling is given as thirty months
which leaves six months as the period
of gestation, and that seems to be the
period during which a pregnant
woman feels the burden of pregnancy,
the fourth month being the time when
she begins to have such a feeling.
3771 . Important Words:
نتجاوز( We shall overlook) is derived
from جاز.They say جاز املکان او جاوزہ i.e. heturn to Thee; and, truly, I am of
those who submit to Thee .’3770
17.Those are they from whom
We accept their good works and
overlook their ill deeds. They
shall be among the inmates of
the Garden, in fulfilment of athe
true promise which was made to
them.3771
a17:109; 19:62; 73:19.
|
CH.46 AL-AHQĀF PT.26
2908 passed along the place and left it
behind. جاوز احلد means, he exceeded
the proper limit or became
extravagant or exorbitant. هجتاوز عن ذنب
means, he overlooked sin; he forgave
him. (Lane) .
3772 . Commentary:
In verse 16, reference was made to
a class of men who spend their God-
given gifts in the service of noble
causes in order to win the pleasure of God, and who are anxious that they
might be succeeded by a generation
who should carry on their noble work.
The verse under comment speaks of
those unfortunate people who ar e
born of good and righteous parents
and are brought up in very healthy
environments and yet lead a life of
disbelief and sin.
3773 . Commentary:
The verse purports to say that all 18.But the one who says to his
parents, ‘Fie on you both! do
you threaten me that I shall be
brought forth again, when
generations have already passed
away b efore me?’ And they both
cry unto Allah for help and say
to him :‘Woe unto thee! believe;
for the promise of Allah is true.’
But he says, ‘This is nothing but
the fables of the ancients.’3772
19.These are they against whom
the sentence of punishment
became due, aalong with the
communities of the jinn and
mankind that had gone before
them. Indeed, they were the
losers.
20.And for all are degrees of
rank according to what they
did,b and that Allah may fully
repay them for their deeds; and
they sh all not be wronged.3773
a3:138; 7:39; 13:31; 41:26. b6:133.
|
PT.26 AL-AHQĀF CH.46
2909 the works, good or evil, of the two
classes of men mentioned in vv. 16
and 18 above, will be properl y judged
and weighed, and, while being
requited, their motives and intentions
and all relevant circumst ances, will
be taken into consideration, as the
Divine law of compensation works in
this way that whereas the reward of a
good deed is many times greater than
the deed itself, the punishment of the
evil deed is proportionate to the deed
committed.
3774 . Commentary:
When confronted with the consequences of their evil deeds, the
disbelievers will be told on the Day
of Reckoning that as they had fully
exploited and drained to dregs the
material gifts that God had bestowed
upon them and had used them not in
the service of good causes but to
further their own sordid ends, they
should be prepared to suffer disgrace
and ignominy as a fit requital for their
misdeeds.
3775 . Commentary:
‘Ad was not the name of one tribe
but of a group of tribes. The tribe has 21.And on the day when those
who disbelieve will be brought
before the Fire, it will be said to
them, ‘You exhausted your good
things in the life of the world,
and you fully enjoyed them.
aNow this day you shall be
requited with ignominious
punishment because you were
arrogant in the earth without
justification, and because you
acted rebelliously.’3774
R. 3.
22.And make mention ofbthe
brother of ‘ Ad, when he warned
his people among the sandhills
—and Warners there have been
before him and after him —
saying, ‘Worship none but
Allah. I fear for you the
punishment of a great day.’3775
a6:94. b7:66; 11:51.
|
CH.46 AL-AHQĀF PT.26
2910 been called ‘Adi Iram in the Qura n
(89:8). They were a highly powerful
and cultured people and had
specialized in architecture. They
ruled over rich and ferti le territories
in Yemen. As a result of their
rejection of the Prophet H ud, and
their wicked and immoral deeds, they
were destroyed by a violent wind
which continued to lash them for
seven consecutive days, burying their
chief cities under heaps of sand and
dust. For detailed notes on ‘ Ad see
11:51 and 26:124.
3776 . Important Words:
لتأفکنا( that thou turn us away) is
derived from أفک( afaka ). هأفک means,
he changed his or its condition or
manner of being; he turned him o r it
away or back from a thing by lying; he perverted his judg ement; he
deceived or beguiled him; he lied or
said what was untrue (Lane & Aqrab ).
Almost all these meanings are
applicable here.
3777 . Commentary:
When tauntingly asked by his
people, when and how they would be
punished for rejecting him, H ud
pleaded ignorance of the time and
manner of the Divine punishment.
But he warned them at the same time
that Divine punishment was sure to
overtake them and that if they had
some wisdom left with them they
should have read th e writing on the
wall because the rejection of Divine
Message never goes unpunished. This
is the significance of the words :"but I
see you to be a very ignorant people. " 23.They said, ‘Hast thou come
to us to turn us away from our
gods? Bring us then that with
which thou dost threaten us, if
indeed thou art of the
truthful.’a 3776
24.He said, ‘The knowledge
thereof is only with Allah.b And
I convey to you what I have
been sent with, but I see you to
be a very ignorant people.’3777
25.Then, when they saw it
coming towards their valleys as
a cloud, they said, ‘This is a
cloud which will give us rain.’
‘Nay, but it is that which you
a7:71. b11:34.
|
PT.26 AL-AHQĀF CH.46
2911 3778 . Important Words:
عارض( cloud) is the act. part. from
عرض Theyهsay ءعرض الیش i.e. he showed,
manifested, presented the thing. عارض
means, anything showing its breadth
or side, hence appearing; a collection
of clouds extending sideways in the
horizon or a collection of clouds that
come over in the sky unexpectedly or
appear like a mountain; a gift
appearing from a person (Lane &
Aqrab).
Whereas the word ریح( wind) has
been used in the Qura n both in a good
and a bad sen se, its plural always is
used in a good sense. 3779 . Commentary:
As mentioned above, the Adites
were specially advanced in
architecture. They built monuments
on high places and erected palatial
buildings. They had their summer
residences, their factories a nd
mechanical works. But they were so
completely destroyed that it seemed
that they had never existed and only
the ruined remnants of their once
lofty and strongly-built dwellings
could be seen.
3780 . Important Words:
أفئدة( hearts) is the plural of فؤادsought to hasten —aa wind
wherein is a grievous
punishment.3778
26.‘It will destroy everything
by the command of its Lord.’
bAnd they became such that there
was n aught to be seen, except
their dwellings. Thus do We
requite the guilty people.3779
27.AndcWe had established
them in wherein We have not
established you; and We gave
them ears and eyes and hearts.
But their ears and their eyes and
their hearts availed them
naught, since they denied the
Signs of Allah; and dthat at
which they used to mock
encompassed them.3780
a41:17. b7:73. c6:7; 7:11 . d11:9; 21:42.
|
CH.46 AL-AHQĀF PT.26
2912 which is derived from فاد .They say فادہ,
i.e. he or it hit, struck, smote or hurt
his فؤاد i.e. heart. فاد اللحم یف النار means, he
roasted the flesh meat in the fire. فؤاد is
synonymous with قلب both meaning
heart, mind or intellect. In the Qur an,
too, b oth these words have been used
synonymously. In 28 :11, both the
words have been used together,
signifying the heart. It is the context
which determines where any of these
words is used in the sense of mind or
heart. Some authors, however, make a
distinction between فؤاد and قلب ; the
latter is said to have a more special
signification than the former which is
said to be the غشاء or the وعاء of the قلب
or the middle or the interior thereof.
They say طار فؤادہ i.e. his mind or
intellect or courage ti ed (Lane & Aqrab).
Commentary:
This verse also shows that the
Adites were a very powerful and
prosperous people. Their dominions
extended over vast areas.
3781 . Commentary:
The reference in the words "We did
destroy townships round about you "
is to the destruction of the once very
powerful and prosperous people of ‘Ad and of Tubba’ who held sway
over vast territories in the south of
Arabia. To the northwest, the
complete ruin of the Tham ud tribe
held out a severe warning and on the
shores of the Dead Sea were situated
the towns of Sodom and Gomorrah
which were turned upside down on
account of the vice indulged in b y
them. The destruction of all these
places constituted an eye-opener to
the Meccans. If they did not eschew
their evil ways and con tinued to
reject the Divine Message, they
would meet with no better fate. As
the Quran, the final Law for all
mankind, was revealed at Mecca, the
words, ما حولکم من القری ه may also signify
the whole world.
The Quran reverts again and again
to the fundamental problems of faith,
morals and other kindred subjects,
and deals with them from different
angles and points of view in order to
satisfy doubts and misgivings of men
of varied attitudes, mental make-up
or outlook on life. People of shallow
thinki ng and prejudiced minds may
call it a repetition, but in fact it is the
right approach to different human
problems. R. 4.
28.And We did destroy
townships round about you; and
We have varied the Signs, that
they might turn to Us .3781
29.Why,athen, did not those
help them whom they had taken
for gods beside Allah, seeking
a42:47.
|
PT.26 AL-AHQĀF CH.46
2913 3782 . Important Words:
قربانا ه( seeking nearness) is infinitive
noun from قرب .They say هومن هقرب الی i.e.
he was or became near to him or it.
قربانا ه قرب ّللٰه (qarra ba):he made an
offeri ng to God. قربان means, an
offering or oblation; a sacrifice;
anything by means of which one
seeks nearness to God; a near or
favourite associate or companion
(Lane & Aqrab). The word has been
used in the latter sense in 39:4.
Commentary:
The verse contains a very
challenging argument against idolatry
and drives home to polytheists the
futility of their idolatrous beliefs and
practices, saying that their false gods
can never help them in time of need
while the True Almighty God comes
to the rescue of His servants when they
are in distress and call for His help.
3783. Important Words:
نفرا ه( a party) is derived from نفر(nafara ) which means, he ran away at
random; he broke loose and went
hither and thither; he became
separated and returned to a distance .
نفر( nafar un) means, a numb er of men
from three to ten or l ess than ten; a
man’s people or tribe consisting of
his near relations (Lane).
Commentary:
The party of men referred to in the
verse were the Jews of N usaybi n or, as
some say, from Mosul or Nineveh in
Iraq. Being apprehen sive of the
Meccans’ opposition, they met the
Holy Prophet at night and after
listening to the Quran and to the Holy
Prophet ’s discourse, they converted to
Islam and carried the new Message to
their people who also re adily accepted
it. The next verse leaves no doubt that
they were Jews and seemed to be the
leaders of their people (Bay an, vol. 8).
See also 72:2. His nearness through them ?
Nay, they were lost to them.
That was the result of their lie,
and of what they fabricated.3782
30.And remember whenaWe
turned towards thee a party of
the jinn who wished to hear the
Quran and, when they were
present at its recitation, they
said to one another, ‘Be silent
and listen,’ and, when it was
finished, they went back to their
people, warning them .3783
a72:2.
|
CH.46 AL-AHQĀF PT.26
2914 3784 . Commentary:
This verse clearly shows that the
party of men mentioned in the
previous verse were Jews because
they spoke of the Qura n as "the Book
which has been sent down after Moses ".
3785 . Commentary:
This and the next verse contain
some basic arguments which establish
the truth of the claims of a Divine
Reformer. First, people are cleansed
of sins and impurities and become a
model of virtue and righteousness through the Teaching revealed to him
and by his own ennobling example.
3786 . Commentary:
Secondly, the Divine Reformer
does eventually succeed in his
mission as it is God’s unalterable
Decree and Law that Truth must
prevail and falsehood must come to
an evil end. The disbelievers cannot
alter this Divine decree, try as they
might. The gods which they adore
leave them in the lurch when they are
confronted with the consequences of
their wicked deeds. 31.They said, ‘O our people
awe have heard a Book, which
has been sent down after Moses,
fulfilling that which is before it;
it guides to the truth, and to the
right path.3784
32.‘O our people, respond to
Allah’s Summoner and believe
in Him. bHe will forgive you
your sins, and protect you from
a painful punishment.3785
33. c‘And whoso does not
respond to Allah’s Summoner,
he cannot escape Him in the
earth, nor can he have any
protector beside Him. Such are
in manifest error.’3786
34.Have they not seen that
Allah, Who created the he avens
and the earth and was not
a72:2-3. b72:14. c72:16.
|
PT.26 AL-AHQĀF CH.46
2915 3787. Important Words:
لم ییع( was not wearied). یع بأمرہ means,
he lacked power, strength or ability
for, or was unable to perform or
execute, his affair thoroughly. أعیا
means, he was or became disabled or
incapacitated; he was or became
fatigued, tired, wearied. اعیاء is
weakness and fatigue which is the
result of doing a thing (Lane &
Aqrab). Commentary:
The verse means to say that the
process of the creation of new
heavens and earth has not ceased.
Neither is it an empty and
unsub stantiated claim. With the
coming of a great Divine Reformer
the old order dies and a new one
takes its place. This signifies the
coming into being of a new heaven
and a new ear th. wearied by their creation, ahas
the power to give life to the
dead? Yea, verily, He has power
over all things .3787
35.And on the day when those
who disbelieve wi ll be brought
before the Fire, bit will be said
to them, ‘Is not this the truth?’
They will say, ‘Aye, by our
Lord.’ He will say, ‘Then taste
the punishment, because you
disbelieved.’
36.Have patience, then, as the
Messengers possessed of high
resolve had patience ; and be in
no haste about them. On the day
when they see that with which
they are threatened, it will
appear to them cas though they
had not tarried save for an hour
of a day. This warning has been
conveyed; and none but the
a17:100; 36:82; 86:9. b6:28. c10:46; 30:56; 79:47 .
|
CH.46 AL-AHQĀF PT.26
2916 3787A. Commentary:
In this verse the Holy Prophet is
told that with his advent a new
heaven and a new earth would be
born. The old decrepit order would
die and a new and better one would
emerge from its ruins. But before that
great and glorious day his own mettle
and that of his followers would be put
to a sever e test. They will have to
bear, with patience and fortitude, like
great Prophets of God, very great hardships and privations, and it is
after they will come out of the ordeal
triumphantly and unscathed tha t their
cause will prevail. That would be a
glorious day for believers; and for the
disbelievers a time of heart-burning
and gnashing of teeth. So severe and
swift and overwhelming would be
God’s punishment that compared to it
a whole life spent in comfort and ease
would seem but an "hour". disobedient people shall be
destroyed.3787A |
2917 CHAPTER 47
MUHAMMAD
(Revealed after Hijrah )
Title, Date of Revelation and C ontext
The Surah takes its title from its third verse. It is also known as قتال
(war) because it devotes a large portion of its text to the subject of war —its
causes, ethics and consequences. The fact that the Surah deals mainly with the
fighting which took place after the Holy Prophet had Migrated to Medina and
that it makes repeated mention of the hypocrites with whom the Muslims
came in contact at that place, lends powerf ul support to the view held by
Baidawi, Zamakhshar i, Suyuti, and others that the Surah was revealed after
the H ijrah—a large part of it having been revealed probably before the Battle
of Badr, in the early days of the life at Medina .
Towards the end of the previous Surah, it was unambiguously and
emphatically stated that opposition to the Divine Message, however powerfu l,
organized, and persistent, can never succeed and that Truth must prevail. The
subject assumes a certain definiteness in this Surah, and disbelievers are told
that in conformity with the unal terable divine law that Truth must ultimately
triumph over falsehood, the Holy Prophet and his followers, though in a weak
state in the beginning and though their cause seemingly hopeless, will, after
overcoming all difficulties and impediments, succeed in the long run, their
weakness progressively giving place to strength.
Subject Matter of the Surah
The Surah opens with the challenging statement that all the efforts of
disbelievers to retard and arrest the progress of Islam will come to naught and
the condition of the Pr ophet’s followers will improve day by day. It then
proceeds to say that since disbelievers have drawn the sword against the
Prophet they shall perish by the sword. After holding out to Muslims a
definite promise of success against their enemies, it briefly lays down
important rules of war, as for instance, prisoners can be taken only after
regular fighting in which the enemy is decisively beaten ( v. 5), but after the
war is over, they are to be set free either as an act of favour, or, after taking
proper ra nsom. Thus the Surah, in a little verse, strikes effectively at the evil
practice of slavery.
It is further stated that falsehood, though in a position of strength and
power against Truth in the beginning, eventually must suffer defeat. This is a
lesson wr it large on the pages of history, and the evil fate of peoples nearer
home such as ‘ Ad, Tham ud, Midian and the people of Lot should open the
eyes of the Meccans. Next, the Surah says a few words of comfort and good |
2918 cheer to the Holy Prophet, telling him that though he is being hounded out of
his native place, friendless and apparently helpless, to seek refuge in a distant
place among alien people, yet this very fact will lay the foundation of a great
future for his Faith and his followers. H is opponents seem to be very powerful
but "there have been towns, more powerful than the town which has driven
thee out, " and yet God destroyed them and so will He destroy the enemies of
the Prophet. They are satisfied with having driven him out of Mecca a nd seem
to have a false sense of complacency that thereby they have nipped the tender
plant of Islam in the bud, but in fact they have laid the foundation of their own
ruin if they could but read the writing on the wall.
Next, the Surah briefly mentions th e aims and objects of war
according to Islam. Since it requires very sincere and honest adherence to a
cause to imperil one’s life, honour, or property for it, war, which puts to test
one’s sincerity or true adherence to a cause, was enjoined upon Muslims in
self-defence so that true and sincere believers might be distinguished from the
hypocrites and those wea k of faith. Whereas, says the Surah, the believers
welcome a revelation enjoining them to fight in the way of Allah, for it is in
fighting that the r eal mettle of a man is tested, the disbelievers, and the
hypocrites feel as if they are being driven to death. Thus true believers are
separated and sifted out from those who are insincere or false in the
profession of their faith. The Surah closes with a further exhortation to
Muslims to be prepared to spend whatever they possess for the cause they
hold so dear, because to be stingy and niggardly when the cause requires its
votaries to spend with both hands, is calculated not only to injure the cause
but a lso the individual himself. |
PT.26 CH.47
2919 (MUHAMMAD )
1. aIn the name of Allah, the
Gracious, the Merciful.3788
2. bThose who disbelieve and
hinder men from the way of
Allah —He renders their works
vain.3789
3.But as for those who believe
and do good works and believe
in that which has been revealed
to Mu hammad —and it is the
truth from their Lordc—He
removes from them their sins
and sets right their affairs .3790
aSee 1:1. b4:168; 16:89. c13:20; 22:55; 34:7.
3788 . Commentary:
See 1:1.
3789 . Commentary:
Works of disbelievers a re rendered
vain in that their effort s to arrest the
progress of the cause of Truth
produce no results. The cause of
Truth triumphs and prevails.
3790. Important Words:
باھلم( their affairs) is substantive
noun from بال( bala ) which means, it
(fat) melted or dissolved. البال means, a
state, condition or case (12:51). ھو یف
البال means:(1) he is in ample and easy
circumstances or condition. (2) A
thing or affair to which one devotes
his special care. They say لیس ھذا من بایل
i.e. this is not of the things for which I
care. (3) The heart or mind. خطر ببایل
means, it occurred to me. (4) Attention. An Arab would say أعطین بالک i.e. give
me thy attention (Lane & Aqrab).
احلق( truth) means, an established
fact which is undeniable; a right,
equity or justice; a thing that is
decreed; a thing suitable to the
requirements of justice; truth;
wisdom; what is binding ; obligatory,
just, proper; right; genuine, authentic,
real; prudence (Lane, Aqrab &
Mufrad at).
Commentary:
Because belief in the Holy Prophet,
as in all Divine Messengers, is
included in the words "those who
believe and do good works, " the
expression "and believe in what has
been revealed to Mu hammad " seems
to be redundant. But nothing in the
Quran is redundant or superfluous,
the expression serves a definite
|
CH.47 MUHAMMAD PT.26
2920 purpose. It removes a possible
misconception, that belief in God and
belief in life after death alone are the
two fundamental articles of Faith
(2:63). The verse leaves no doubt
about the indispensability of belief in
the Holy Prophet by saying that
what has been revealed to him is احلق
i.e. it is the whole truth and nothing
but the truth; it agrees with the
requirements of justice, truth and
wisdom, and fully meets the exigencies and circumstances of time
and the varying human needs, and by
it moral lapses of those who believe
in him ar e obliterated, their
difficulties removed and their
condition progressively bettered.
3791 . Important Words:
أثخنتموھم( you have overcome them).
أثخن is transitive from ثخن( thakhun a
or thakhana ) which means, it was or
became thick or coarse. هأثخن means, he4.That is because those who
disbelieve follow falsehood
while those who believe follow
the truth from their Lord . Thus
does Allah set forth for men
their similitudes.
5.Andawhen you meet in
regular battle those who
disbelieve, smite their necks;
and, when you have overcome
them, bind fast the fetters —then
afterwards either release them
as a favour or by taking
ransom —until the war lays
down its burdens. That is the
ordinance . And if Allah had so
pleased, He could have
punished them Himself, but He
has willed that He may try some
of you by others. And those
who are killed in the way of
Allah —He will never render
their works vain.3791
a8:46, 68.
|
PT.26 MUHAMMAD CH.47
2921 rendered him heavy or languid or
enervated; or he overcame him after
inflicting many wounds on him. أثخن یف
العدو means, he made a great slaughter
among the enemy or inflicted heavy
wounds upon him. أثخن یف االرض means,
he caused much slaughter in the land;
or he fought vehemently in the land
(Lane & Aqrab).
انتصر منھم (He would have punished
them) is derived from نصر . They say
عیل عدوہ نصرہ اّللٰ i.e. God helped, aided or
assisted him against his enemy or
made him victorious. انتصر means, he
defended himself against his injurer.
هانتصر من means, he exacted his right or
due completely from him; he avenged
himself upon him; he punished him
(Lane & Aqrab).
Commentary:
The verse, in a nutshell, lays down
some important rules about the ethics
of war and its conduct and
incidentally deals a dea th blow to
slavery. Briefly these are:(a) When
they are engaged in regular battle in
the defence of their faith, honour,
lives or property, the Muslims are
enjoined to fight bravely and
relentlessly, giving no quarter, and
expecting none from the enemy; a nd
not to flee from the field of battle
under lame or weak excuses. They
must either win or die. "He who turns
his back to the enemy ", says the
Quran, "draws upon himself the
wrath of Allah " (8:13-17). (b) When
war is once started, it should continue
till peace is established and freedom
of conscience secured (8:40). (c)
Prisoners are to be taken from the
enemy, only after regular and pitched battle has been fought, and the enemy
is decidedly and positively beaten.
Thus regular war is declared to be the
only reason for taking prisoners for
no other cause free men ar e to be
deprived of their liberty. (d) When
war is over, prisoners should be
released, either as an act of favour, or
on taking ransom or by negotiating
mutual exchange. They should not be
held pe rmanently in captivity or
treated as slaves. The Holy Prophet
carried this Divine commandment
into actual practice by setting at
liberty about a hundred families of
Banu Mustaliq and several thousand
prisoners of Haw azin after both these
tribes had been de cisively beaten in
battle. It was a fter the Battle of Badr
that ransom was accepted for the
prisoners who were set free. This was
perhaps, because Islam was then in a
very weak state. But, on this occasion
too, those of them who could not pay
their ransom in money but were
literate, were required to teach
reading and writing to some of the
Muslims. The verse thus has struck
very effectively at the roots of slavery,
abolishing it completely and for ever.
(Muir, Zurqani & Hish am).
The words "And if Allah had so
pleased, he could have punished them
Himself, but He has willed that He
may try s ome of you by others,"
signify that God possessed the power
to punish the enemies of Truth
without the instrumentality of
Muslims but H e got the latter
engaged in fighting with disbelievers
so that on the one hand their own
good qualities of character should
have an opportunity to come into play |
CH.47 MUHAMMAD PT.26
2922 and on the other the bad qualities of
disbelievers should become exposed.
Perhaps i n no other aspect of life was
the moral superiority of the
Companions of the Holy Prophet so
clearly demonstrated as in their
treatment of their fallen foes.
The words "And those who are
killed in the way of Allah —He will
never render their works vain, " mean
that the sacrifice of Muslims slain in
the field of battle would not be
wasted. It was their sacrifice that
firmly laid the foundation of a bright
future for Islam.
3792. Important Words:
Since one of the meanings of ةھدای is
to follow the right path till one
reaches one’s destination and
achieves the object of one’s quest
(Lane), the verse purports to say that
the martyred Muslims have achieved,
by their death, the o bject for which
they gave their lives which was to
attain God’s pleasure and to make
Islam secure and strong. 3793. Important Words:
عرف( made known) is transitive verb
from عرف(‘arafa ) which means, he
knew it or became acquainted with it;
he knew it by means of one of the
senses and also by mental perception.
هعرف االمر ‘(arrafa ) means, he
acquainted him with the affair. عرف
also means, rendering a thing fragrant,
and adorning, decorating or
embellishing it (Lane).
Commentary:
The verse means that the M uslims
slain in the way of Allah will be
admitted into gardens of Paradise of
which they had a foretaste in the
present life. They had a foretaste of
them in the sense that they enjoyed in
their physical form all those spiritual
blessings and favours which are
mentioned in the Qur an as having
been promised to them in the next
world. Or the verse may signify that
Muslims had a spiritual foretaste of
"the Garden " because they saw with
their own eyes promises, made to 6.He will guide them and
improve their condition .3792
7.Andaadmit them into the
Garden which He has made
known to them.3793
8.O ye who believe! if you help
the cause of Allah, He will help
you and will make your steps
firm.
9.But as for those who
disbelieve, perdition is their lot;
a3:196; 9:111.
|
PT.26 MUHAMMAD CH.47
2923 them in the Quran about Paradise,
being fulfilled in this very life.
3794 . Important Words:
تعسا( perdition) is inf. noun from تعس
(ta’sa) which means, he stumbled and
fell upon his face; he missed his proof
in litigation and the object of his
search in seeking; he became far-
removed; he became degraded. اّللٰ هتعس
means, God destroyed him; degraded
him; made him fall on his face. هتعسا ل
means, may he fall never to rise; may
he perish; may ruin cleave to him or
may he be degraded. تعس means,
ruin, degradation, mischief, evil
(Lane & Aqrab).
3795. Commentary:
Three times in the few verses that
have gone before is it stated that
"God has made the works of disbelievers vain." This signifies that
disbelievers had bent all their
energies of mind and body, to the
achievement of one supreme desire —
to see Islam fail and come to naught .
But Islam triumphed. It progressed
and prospered and the disbelievers
failed to have their desire fulfilled.
3796 . Commentary:
As many as fifteen times, the
disbelievers of the Holy Prophet have
been warned in the Qur an to travel in
the earth and see the dreadful end to
which the disbelievers of former
Prophets have come. How can they,
the verse warns them, expect to
escape a similar fate? The expression
أمثاھلا shows that Divine punishment
will overtake disbelievers in var ious
forms and shapes. and He will make their works
vain.3794
10.That is because they hate
what Allah has revealed; so He
has made their works futile .3795
11. aHave they not travelled in
the earth and seen what was the
end of those who were before
them? Allah utterly destroyed
them, and for the disbelievers
there will be the like thereof.3796
12.That is because bAllah is the
Protector of those who believe,
and as for the disbelievers, there
is no protector for them.
a12:110; 22:47; 30:10; 35:45; 40:22. b3:151; 8:41.
|
CH.47 MUHAMMAD PT.26
2924 3797. Commentary:
The believers make use of the
things of the world and eat and drink
as do the disbelievers, but whereas
the former eat to live in order to serve
God and man, the latter live to eat,
drink, and be merry, and have no
nobler objects to pursue. They do not
rise above the level of animals as
their whole concept of life is
materialistic.
3798 . Commentary:
The verse constitutes a mighty
prophecy. According to the ma jority
of scholarly opinion it was revealed while the Holy Prophet was on his
way from Mecca to Medina, having
been driven out of his beloved
native place, with a price put on his
head. The Prophet was friendless
and his cause seemed hopeless.
He was hourly in fear of being
caught, as Medina was far away
and the countryside swarmed with
adventurers wh o sought to bring him
dead or alive to get the much-coveted
prize. It was at that critical hour that
the verse was revealed. It promised a
safe journey for the Prophet and the
eventual destruction of his enemies. R. 2.
13.Verily, Allah will make
those who believe and do good
works enter the Gardens
underneath which rivers flow;a
while those who disbelieve
enjoy themselves and eat even
as the cattle eat, and the Fire
will be their resortb.3797
14.And how many a township,
more powerful than thy town
which has driven thee out, have
We destroyed, and they had no
helper!3798
15.Then,cis he who takes his
stand upon a clear proof from
his Lord like those to whom the
evil of their deeds is made to
a14:24; 22:24; 29:10 . b14:31; 15:4; 77:47. c11:29.
|
PT.26 MUHAMMAD CH.47
2925 3799 . Commentary:
The preceding verse promi sed a
bright future for Islam and the
ultimate destruction of disbelief, at a
time when the Prophet’s cause
seemed quite hopeless. The verse
under comment continues the them e
and says that the outcome could not
possibly be otherwise a s the claim of
the Hol y Prophet was reinforced an d
substantiated by incontrovertible
heavenly signs while disbelievers had
nothing to their credit but wicked
deeds and evil desires .
3800 . Important Words:
أھنار( rivers) is the plural of ھنر which
is inf. noun from ھنر( nahara ) which
means, it flowed or flowed with force.
ھنر means, a river, a brook, a stream.The word also means, amplitude, or
light and amplitude (Lane).
عسل( honey) is inf . noun fro m عسل
‘(asala). عسل الطعام means, h e prepared
the food with honey. They say هعسل i.e.
he made him an object of eulogy; he
made him an object of love to men.
عسل means, honey; flowers or
blossoms because honey is made
therefrom; a good or righteous deed,
the eulogy for which a person is
deeme d sweet (Lane).
Commentary:
The verse mentions four kinds of
favours and blessings promised to
believers in this and the next life, i.e.
rivers of pure water, rivers of milk of
which the taste does not change,
rivers of wine which gives delight look beautiful and who follow
their evil inclinations?3799
16. aA description of the Gar den
promised to the righteous:
Therein are rivers of water
which corrupts not; and rivers
of milk of which the taste
changes not; and rivers of wine,
a delight to those who drink,
and rivers of clarified honey.
And in it will they have all
kinds of fruit, and forgiveness
from their Lord. Can those who
enjoy such bliss be like those
who abide in the Fire and who
are given boiling water to drink
so that it tears their bowels?3800
a13:36.
|
CH.47 MUHAMMAD PT.26
2926 and rivers of clarified honey. The
word أھنار which has been used four
times in the verse, besides other
senses, signifies light and amplitude;
and عسل among other things, means a
good or righteous deed which wins
for the doer the love and esteem of
men. In view of the signification of
these two words the verse may mean
that the four things mentioned will be
given to the righteous in plenty:viz.
water which is the source of all life
(21:31); milk which, besides giving
health and vigour to the body, stands
for spiritual knowledge; wine which
gives pleasant sensations and
forgetfulness of worries; and honey,
being the means of curing many a
disease, represents good and
righteous deeds which make the
believers beloved of men. Taken in
the physical sense, i.e. pertaining to
the present life, the verse would
signify that in the present life the
believers will have in plenty all those
things which make life pleasant,
delightful and useful; and taken
symbolically and in a spiritual sense,
it would mean that believ ers will have a full life, they will be endowed
with spiritual knowledge, will drink
the wine of God’s love and will do
deeds that will win for them love and
esteem of men.
3801 . Commentary:
As the principal subject of the
Surah is war, it naturally deals with
three categories of men, viz. true
believers, firm disbeli evers and the
hypocrites who va cillate between
faith and disbelief. The verse under
comment deals wi th the third
category of men.
The expression ما ذا قال ٓانفا has a
twofold meaning. A hypocrite being a
double-faced person generally uses
language susceptible of double
meaning. This he does in order to
extricate himself from an awkward
position, wherein, should one
construction of his speech land him in
trouble, he might be able to avoid that
consequence by putting quite a
different construction on it. The
above expression is an appropriate
instance of the equivocal language
used by the hypocrites of Medina . If 17.And among them are some
who listen to thee till, when
they go forth from thy presence,
they say to those who have been
given knowledge, ‘What has he
been talking about just now?’
aThose are they whose hearts
Allah has sealed, and who
follow their own evil
inclinations.3801
a9:93; 1 6:109; 63:4.
|
PT.26 MUHAMMAD CH.47
2927 one of them, after a meeting with the
Prophet, happened to meet a Muslim,
he would say "What was it that he
said just now, " meaning, what
beautiful and highly useful things had
the Prophet said. But if he chanced to
meet a hypocrite like himself he
would use the same expression but
meaning "what non sense talk had the
Prophet indulged in. "
3802. Commentary:
The expression ٓاتا ھم تقواھم may mean:
(a) God made them righteous; (b) He
disclosed to them the ways and
means by employing which they
could attain تقوی( c) Allah bestowed
upon believers favours and blessings
which are the result of a life of
righteousness.
3803 . Important Words:
أشراط( signs) is the plural of شرط .They say بکذا هشرط علی i.e. he imposed
upon him such a condition. لکذا هأشرط نفس
means, he marked himself for such an
affair. شرط means, a sign, token or
mark. أشراط الناس means, the best or
meanest of men (Lane & Aqrab).
Commentary:
Disbelievers are so obstinate in
rejecting the Divine Message that
they would not listen to any argument
but would conti nue to insist that the
threatened punishment should come
soon. But, the verse purports to say,
the signs of their destruction have
already appeared if they but read
them. When, however, punishment
would actually arrive, their
repentance would be of no avai l. Why
don’t they then take heed before it is
too late? The reference in the word
أشراط( signs) seems to be to the Holy
Prophet’s flight from Mecca which 18.But as for those who follow
guidance, aHe adds to their
guidance, and bestows on them
righteousness suited to their
condition .3802
19.They wait not but for the
Hour, that it should come upon
them suddenly. bThe signs
thereof have already come. But
of what avail will their
admonition be to them when it
has actually come upon
them?3803
20.Know, therefore, that there
is no God other than Allah, and
a8:3; 9:124; 18:14. b22:56; 43:67.
|
CH.47 MUHAMMAD PT.26
2928 proved to be the prelude to the
appearance of many signs.
3804 . Commentary:
For the meaning and significance of
the expression استغفر لذنبک see a detailed
note on 40:56 & 48:3. The words
متقلبکم و مثواکم may mean, when you move
about transacting your affairs and
when you take rest, or متقلبکم may apply
to this world and مثواکم to the next.
3805. Important Words:
أویل( ruin) is derived from ویل and
means, nearer; more deserving; more
competent; more fit. The expression
لکأویل is used to give warning, andmeans mischief or trouble has
approached near thee, so be on your
guard. The expression also means,
woe to thee; woe be thy lot (Aqrab).
Commentary:
The verse means to say that
whereas true believers avidly wait for
a verse to be revealed which should
embody a Divine commandment
directing them to fight in the way of
Allah, "those in whose heart is a
disease, " shudder at the very idea of
being invited t o fight.
3806 . Important Words:
صدقوا اّللٰ(were true to Allah). صدقask protection for thy frailties,
and for believing men and
believing women. And Allah
knows the place where you
move about and the place where
you stay.3804
R. 3.
21.And those who believe say,
‘Why is not a Surah revealed?’
But when a decisive Surah is
revealed and fighting is
mentioned therein, thou seest
those in whose hearts is a
disease, looking towards thee
with the look of one in a death-
faint. So ruin seize them!3805
22.Obedience andareasonable
speech is proper for them . And
when the matter is determined
upon, it is good for them if they
were true to Allah.3806
a2:264.
|
PT.26 MUHAMMAD CH.47
2929 یف احلدیث means, he told or spoke the
truth. صدق یف القتال means, he fought well;
he gave a good account of himself in
the fight . صدق اللقاء means, he was firm
in fight صدق الصبح means, the dawn
shone clearly. صدقین وعدہ means, he
fulfilled, or he was true to his
promise with me. The Quranic
expression هعلی صدقوا ما عاھدوا اّللٰ ( 33:24)
means, they were tru e to their
covenant with Allah and fulfilled it
(Lane & Aqrab).
3807. Commentary:
The verse signifies that believers
have been allowed to fight because if
the power of disbelievers had not
been broken, they would have created
disorder in the land and would have severed all tie s of kinship and
trampled underfoot all rightful claims.
The verse also signifies that if
believers refused to fight the
disbelievers now, Arabia would
continue to suffer from disruption and
disintegration and forces of evil
would stalk the land.
3808. Commentary:
This verse constitutes an enlargement
of the one preceding it. It purports to
say that it is because disbelievers do
not ponder over the Qura n and do not
try to understand and realise the real
purpose of Islamic wars that they lose
their spiritual sight and hearing and
begin to find fault with the Quranic
commandments about war. 23.Would you then, if you are
placed in authority, create
disorder in the land and sever
your ties of kinship?3807
24.It is these whom Allah
curses so that He makes them
deaf and makes their eyes blind.
25. aWill they not, then, ponder
over the Quran, or is it that on
the hearts are their locks?3808
26.Surely, bthose who turn their
backs after guidance has
become manifest to them, Satan
has seduced them, and holds out
false hopes to them.
27.That is because they said t o
those who hate what Allah has
a4:83. b2:218; 3:87; 5:55 .
|
CH.47 MUHAMMAD PT.26
2930 3809. Commentary:
The reference in the words, "those
who hate what Allah has revealed, " is
to disbelievers who never like d that
any good should be sent down to the
Faithful from their Lord (2:106) . The
hypocrites would not side with
disbelievers openly and unreservedly.
A hypocrite is too wily a person to
burn his boats. He faces both ways.
But, says the verse, God would
expose their double-facedness. This is the significance of the words "Allah
knows their secrets. "
3810 . Important Words:
أضغاھنم( their ma lice) is the plural of
ضغن( dighnun ) which is inf. noun from
ضغن( daghana ). هضغن علی means, he was
or became affected wi th rancour,
malice or spite against him. ضغن means,
rancour, malice, spite; violent hatred,
enmity; desire or yearning or longing
of the soul, etc. (Lane & Aqrab). revealed, ‘We will obey you in
some matters;’ and Allah knows
their secrets.3809
28.But how will they fare when
the angels will cause them to
diea, smiting their faces and
their backs?
29.This is because they
followed that which displeased
Allah, and disliked the seeking
of His pleasure . So He rendered
their works vain.
R. 4.
30. Do those in whose hearts is
a disease suppose that Allah
will not bring to light their
malice?3810
31.And if We pleased, We
could show them to thee so that
thou shouldst know them by
their marks. And thou sha lt
surely recognize them by the
a4:98; 8:51; 16:29.
|
PT.26 MUHAMMAD CH.47
2931 3811. Important Words:
حلن( tone) is inf. noun from حلن
(Lahan a). They say حلن له i.e. he said to
him something which he (the latter)
understood but which was
unintelligible to others; he intimated
to him something which he alone
understood; he spoke obliquely or
ambiguously. حلن means, the meaning
of speech; its intended sense or
import; i ts intent (it is direct and also
indirect); an oblique or ambiguous
mode of speech; an inclining of
speech to obliqueness, or ambiguity,
and equivocal allusion (Lane & Aqrab).
Commentary:
A hypocrite faces both ways. He
never talks straight and always
indulges in ambiguous and equivocal
speech so that it conveys one sense to
one person and quite another sense
to another person. It is to this
crooked manne r of speech of the
hypocrites that reference has also
been made in 2:105.
3812 . Important Words :
نعلم( We distinguish). هعلم means; he
knew it; he became acquainted with it.
It is syn. with هعرف but علم ‘(ilm ) iswider and more general in
signification than عرف and means, he
knew it intuitively and inferentially
(i.e. تیقن .)They say من عمر داّللٰ أل علم عب i.e.
that I may distinguish ‘Abdull ah from
‘Umar. The root meaning of علم ‘(ilm )
is that of a mark or sign by which
one thing is distinguished from
another (Lane & Aqrab). See also
2:144 and 3:141.
نبلو( make known) is derived from
بال. They say ابتالہ or أبالہ or بالہ i.e. He
(God) tested him with good or evil;
he knew it or became acquainted with
it; he informed him or acquainted him
with it; he manifested it; he revealed
it (Lane & Aqrab).
أخبارکم( facts about you), أخبار is the
plural of خرب which means, a piece of
information; an announcement; an
account; a man’s case or state, etc.
The difference between خرب and نبأ is
that while the former word means,
an ordinary news, the latter
signifies a news or announcement or
information of g reat import and
significance (Lane & Aqrab).
Commentary:
Taking into consideration the root-
meanings of the words بال and خرب andtone of their speech. And Allah
knows your deeds.3811
32.And We will surely try you
until We distinguish those
among you who strive for the
cause of God and those who are
steadfasta. And We will make
known the facts about you.3812
a3:141-143; 29:4, 12.
|
CH.47 MUHAMMAD PT.26
2932 علم the verse would signify that God
makes believers pass through travails,
trials and tribulations and He has
enjoined fighting on th em that sincere
believers ma y become distinguished
from the hypocrites and that the
qualities of head and heart of
believers and also the results of their
steadfastness and fortitude amidst
hardships and privations may have an
opportunity to come into actual play.
It may also be noted that knowledge ( علم )is of two kinds:
(a) knowledge about a thing before
its occurrence; and (b) knowledge
about it after it has actually happened.
Know ledge referred to in the
verse under comment belongs to the
latter category.
3813. Important Words:
لن یرتکم ( will not deprive you). یرت is
derived from وتر .They say هوترہ حق i.e.
he made him to suffer loss or
detriment in respect of his right; or he 33.Those who disbelieve and
hinder men from the way of
Allah and aoppose the
Messenger after guidance has
become manifest to them, shall
not harm Allah in the least; and
He will make their works
fruitless.
34.O ye who believe ! Obey
Allah and O bey the Messenger
and let not your works go vain.
35. bVerily, those who disbelieve
and hinder men from the way of
Allah, and then die while
they are disbelievers —Allah
certainly will not forgive them.
36.So cbe not slack and sue not
for peace; for you will certainly
have the upper hand. And Allah
is with you, and He will not
deprive you of the reward
of your actions.3813
a8:14; 59:5 . b3:92; 4:19. c3:140.
|
PT.26 MUHAMMAD CH.47
2933 deprived him or defrauded him of it
partially or wholly (Aqrab).
Commentary:
As the Surah primarily deals with
the subject of war, the Muslims are
enjoined here that when once the
fighting has started, they are not to
sue for peace, whatever form or shape
the fortunes of war may take. They
are to win either victory or
martyrdom. The verse, besides laying
this heavy responsibility on Muslims,
makes to them an unequivocal
promise of victory in the words "You
will certainly h ave the upper hand as
Allah is with you. " But whereas, on
the one hand, Muslims are not to sue
for peace under any circumstances,
on the other, they are not to reject
overtures of peace made by the
enemy even if by doing so he seeks to
deceive Muslims or t o gain time
(8:62). Islam is a religion of peace. It
has certainly permitted its followers
to take up arms in self-defence, or,
when refusal to fight means sure
destruction. But it has also enjoined
them to cease fighting, whatever the circumstances, when an offer of
peace is made by the opposite side.
3814. Commentary:
The verse purports to say that as
Muslims have been enjoined to fight
in the cause of God, they will have to
bear the expenses of war and for this
purpose they will have to make
sacrifices o f life and money. But God
does not ne ed their money. It is for
their own benefit that sacrifices of
life and money are demanded of them
because no success is possible
without such sacrifices. True
believers must understand and realise
this supreme lesson.
3815. Commentary:
The verse applies to hypocrite s.
Though professing to be Muslim s,
they will not spend their money in the
cause of Islam, however pressing its
need might be, because their hearts
are full of rancour, malice and spite
against it. But whatev er they may or
may not do, Islam will be victorious
and their rancour and malevolence
would be exposed. 37. aThe life of this world is but
a sport and a pastime, and if you
believe and be righteous, He
will give you your rewards, and
will not ask of you your
possessions.3814
38.If He ask them of you, and
press you, you would be
niggardly, and He would bring
to light your malice.3815
a6:33; 29:65; 57:21.
|
CH.47 MUHAMMAD PT.26
2934 3816. Commentary:
The address in this verse is of
general application. Miserliness is a
deadly moral disease that eats into the
vitals of man’s moral and spiritual
well-being. Elsewhere the Qur an has
used very strong language about
misers or niggardly people (9:35). When th e Holy Prophet was on ce
asked as to whom the words, "He will
bring instead a people other than
you," referred, he is reported to have
said, "If Faith were to go up to the
Pleiades, a man of Persian descent
will bring it back to the earth "
(Ruhul-Ma‘ani). 39.Behold, you are those who
are called upon to spend in the
way of Allah; but of you there
are some who are niggardly.
And whoso is niggardly, is
niggardly only against his own
soul. And Allah is Self-
Sufficienta, and it is you that are
needy. bAnd if you turn your
backs, He will bring in your
stead a people other than you,
then they will not be like
you.3816
a35:16. b5:55.
|
2935 CHAPTER 48
AL-FATH
(Revealed after Hijrah )
Title, Date of Revelation, and Context
According to consensus of scholarly opinion the Surah was revealed
when, after signing the Treaty of Hudaibi yyah, the Holy Prophet was on his
way back to Medina, in the 6th year of H ijrah in the month of Dhul-Qa‘dah
(Bukh ari). The Treaty being an epoch-making event, all incidents connected
with it have been carefully preserved in Islamic history. So complete
agreement exists concerning the date and place of the revelation of this Surah .
The Surah is entitled A l-Fath (the Victory). The title is appropriate in that a
seemingly diplomatic defeat eventually proved to be a master stroke of
strategy and led to the Fall of Mecca, and consequently the conquest of the
whole of Arabia. The Surah further, referring by implication to the Fall of the
Roman and Persian Empires, embodies a prophecy about the eventual triumph
of Islam over all the religions of the world.
Towards the close of the preceding Surah, believers were given
definite promise of victory over their opponents. The present Surah declares
in clear and unequivocal terms that the promised victory is not a thing of some
indefinite distant future, but is near at hand. It is so near that it may be said to
have actually arrived, and it will be so d ecisive and overwhelming that even
the most skeptic will find it hard to deny.
Summary of Subject Matter
The Surah opens with a firm and unequivocal declaration that the
promised victory has actually arrived and that it would be clear, definite, and
overwhelming. The Holy Prophet is told that as a result of the victory people
will join the fold of Islam in such large numbers that it would prove a
formidable task for him adequately to train and educate the new co nverts in
the tenets and principles of Islam. He should therefore implore God’s
assistance in the discharge of his onerous duty, and ask for His forgiveness
and mercy lest, due to human limitations, some defects should remain in its
full execution.
The Surah proceeds to say that because of lack of proper realization of
the import of the Treaty of Hudaibiyyah the believers were downcast. God
would send down solace and tranquillity on them and their faith would
increase, while the false satisfaction and delight of disbelievers would be
short-lived. The believers are further told that they should not have doubted
the wisdom of the Prophet’s action in signing the Treaty since he was God’s |
2936 Messenger and all his actions were done under His direction and guidance.
Their duty was "to believe in him, help him, and honour him ".
Further, the Surah says that believers earned the pleasure of God when
they swore allegiance to the Prophet under "the tree" that they would stand by
him through thick and thin, even unto death. It was God’s own plan that
fighting did not take place because in Mecca there lived tru e and sincere
Muslims whom believers did not know, and some of whom would have
unwittingly been killed, though disbelievers also would certainly have
suffered a crushing defeat, since it is God’s unalterable law that disbelief
should suffer defeat when it is face to face with belief.
Next, the hypocrites and the laggers-behind receive a severe rebuke
and their hypocrisy is exposed. Whenever the y are invited to fight in the cause
of God, the Surah says, they invent false excuses to justify their tarrying
behind, but by their foolish subterfuges they deceive no one but themselves,
and their false excuses would not save them from Divine punishment that is in
store for them .
Towards the close, the Surah reverts to the subject that not only would
the Treaty of Hudaibi yyah prove a great victory but other victories would also
follow in its wake, and the neighbouring countries would fall to the victorious
arms of Muslims, because it is decreed in the heavens that Islam, being the
last Divine Message, should prevail over all religions and mankind should
worship one God and follow one Prophet. |
PT.26 CH.48
2937 (AL-FATH)
1. aIn the name of Allah, the
Gracious, the Merciful.3816A
2.Verily, We have granted thee
a clear victory, 3817
aSee 1:1.
3816A. Commentary:
See 1:1.
3817 . Commentary:
The reference in the words "a clear
victory " seems to be to the Treaty of
Hudaibi yyah. It is remarkable that
though, during the previous brief six
years of his life a t Medina, the Holy
Prophet had gained great victories
over his enemies which had crippled
and crushed their fighting power, yet
none of them is call ed "a clear
victory " in the Quran. It was reserved
for the Treaty of Hudaibi yyah to
receive this single honour, in s pite of
the fact that its terms were seemingly
so humiliating that the M uslims were
greatly perturbed over this apparently
rude rebuff to the prestige of Islam,
and even a stalwart like ‘Umar
exclaimed in extreme grief and
indignation that had the terms been
settled by any other person than the
Holy Prophet, he would have scorned
to listen to them (Hish am). The
Treaty was indeed a great victory in
that it opened the way to the
expansion an d spread of Islam and
led to the Fall of Mecca and
ultimately to the conquest of the
whole of Arabia. It proved to be a master stroke of strategy as the Holy
Prophet’s "political status as an equal
and independent power was
acknowledged by the Quraish "
(Mohammad at Medina by
Montgomery Watt).
As the Treaty of Hudaibiy yah
constitutes a great landmark in the
early history of Islam and as it forms
the principal topic dealt with in the
Surah under comment, it needs to be
treated at some length.
The Holy Prophet had seen a vision
that he was making a circuit of the
Ka‘ba h along with a party of his
followers. In fulfilment of his vision,
the Prophet started for Mecca with
about 1500 Muslims to perform the
Lesser Pilgrimage in 6 A .H., in the
month of Dhu l-Qa‘dah, o ne of the
four sacred months in which,
according to Arab tradition and usage,
fighting was forbidden, even before
Islam. When he reached ‘Usf an, a
place a few miles distant from Mecca,
he was informed by an advance party
whom he had sent under the
command of ‘Abb ad bin Bishar that
the Quraish were bent upon barring
his entry into Mecca. In order to
avoid an armed clash the Prophet
changed his route and "after a
|
CH.48 AL-FAT H PT.26
2938 fatiguing march through devious and
rugged pathways reached Hudai-
biyyah," where he encamped. The
Prophet had declared t hat he would
accept all the demands of the Quraish
for the honour of the Holy Place
(Hish am), but the Quraish were
firmly resolved not to allow him to
enter Mecca, whatever he might say
or do. Messages were exchanged in
an atte mpt to find a solution to the
impass e. After heated and protracted
parleys in which the Holy Prophet
left no stone unturned, even at the
cost of his prestige, to arrive at a
reasonable compromise with the
Quraish, a treaty was signed of which
the terms were :
War shall be suspended for ten
years. Whosoever would like to
join the Holy Prophet or enter into
treaty with h im, shall have liberty
to do so. The same will apply to
whosoever would like to join the
Quraish o r enter into treaty with
them. If a believing man goes
over to the Prophet from Mecca
without the permission of his
guardian, he shall be sent back to
his guardian; but should any of the
followers of the Prophet return to
the Quraish, they shall not be sent
back. The Prophet shall retire this
year without entering the city.
Next year he and his Companions
may visit Mecca only for three
days to perform عمرة( Lesser
Pilgrimage), but they shall carry
no arms save sheathed swords
(Bukh ari, Hish am & Muir).
The terms of the Treaty were
demonstr ably very humiliating. The
Muslims were greatly upset. No words could adequately describe their
grief, and sense of humiliation and
injured pride. The third term was
particularly galling. But the Holy
Prophet was quite calm and tranquil.
Being convinced of the moral force
of Islam, he knew that "a believer
who had once tasted the sweetness of
faith would prefer to be cast into fire
than to revert to disbelief " (Bukh ari),
and that he would be a source of
strength to his religion and other
believers wherever he might happen
to be. The case of Ab u Basir, and that
of Ab u Jandal and their associates
fully justified his conviction. He
wanted to have a peaceful atmosphere.
He knew that a peaceful soil was
most congenial for the spread of
Islam, and Islam did spread very
rapidly after the signing of the Treaty
of Hudaibi yyah. When as a resu lt of
violation by the Quraish of the terms
of the Treaty, the Prophet marched on
Mecca two years later, ten thousand
faithful Companions were under his
command, instead of the paltry 1500
who were with him on the occasion
of the signing of the Treaty. Thus the
Treaty and its aftermath gave in
advance the direct lie to the false and
foolish propaganda that was to be
conducted by Christian missionaries
in our own time, that Islam was
propagated by the sword.
One immediate effect of the Treaty
was that the tribes of Ban u Khuz a‘ah
entered into an alliance with the Holy
Prophet, while the Ban u Bakar sided
with the Quraish, an incident which
1ater on led to the march on Mecca .
The Trea ty did indeed prove to be "a
clear victory. " The Companions of the |
PT.26 AL-FAT H CH.48
2939 Holy Prophet were rightly proud of
being present on the occasion, and
quite justified in regarding the
signing of the Treaty, and not the
conquest of Mecca as "the victory
referred to in the present verse "
(Bukh ari). According to them n o
victory was greater and more far-
reaching in its results and effects than
this Treaty (Hish am). And the Holy
Prophet himself called it a victory
(Baihaq i as quoted by Zurq ani).
3818 . Important Words:
یغفرل( that He may cover up). They
say املتاعغفر i.e. he put the goods into
the bag and covered and protected
them. غفران and مغفرة both infinitive
nouns mean, protection and
preservation. مغفر means, helmet and
غفارة means, cloth worn beneath the
veil to keep it clean (Lane, Mufrad at
& Aqrab). See also 2:59; 14:42 &
40:56.
ذنبک( thy shortc omings). هذنب means,
he followed his trail, not q uitting his
track. ذنب therefore, signifies such
natural failings or frailties as adh ere
to human nature. أذنب means, he
committed a sin, a crime, a
misdemeanour, fault, etc. According
to Im am R aghib ذنب means, such
errors and mistakes as bring about a
harmful result. It di ffers from اثم in
being either intentional or committed through inadvertence while اثم
is peculiarly intentional (Lane). See
also 3:17.
Commentary:
The verse has been deliberately
misrepresented, or, through lack of
knowledge of Arabic idiom and
phrase, misinterpreted, by Christian
missionaries as signifying that the
Holy Prophet was guilty of some
moral lapses. But it bears no such
construction. It is an article of faith
with Muslims, as enjoined by the
Quran that God’s Prophets are born
sinless and they remain sinless
throughout their lives. They are
incapable of saying or doing anything
contrary to Divine commandments
(21:28). As they are commissioned by
God to purge men of sins, they cannot
themselves commit sins. And of
Divine Messengers the Holy Prophet
was the noblest and the purest. The
Quran abounds in verses which speak
in glowing terms of the purity and
spotlessness of his life. Here are a
few of them:
(a) Say, if you love Alla h, follow
me; then will Allah love you
(3:32). (b) Verily, Allah has
conferred a favour on the believers
by raising among them a
Messenger from among
themselves, who recites to them 3.That Allah may cover up for
thee thy shortcomings, past and
future, and that He may
complete His favour upon thee,
and may guide thee on a right
path;3818
|
CH.48 AL-FAT H PT.26
2940 His signs, and purifies them and
teaches them the Book and
wisdom (3:165). (c) Say, my
Prayer and my sacrifice and my
life and my death are all for Allah,
the Lord of all the worlds (6:163).
(d) Those who follow the
Messenger, the Prophet, the
Immaculate (sinless) One …(7:158).
(e) O ye who believe! respond to
Allah, and the Messenger when he
(the Messenger) calls you that he
may give you life (8:25) .
(f) Verily, you have in the Prophet
of Allah an excellent model
(33:22). (g) Verily, those who
swear allegiance to thee, indeed,
swear allegiance to Allah (48:11).
(h) Your Compan ion has neither
erred, nor has he gone astray, nor
does he speak out of his own
desire (53:3-4). (i ) And thou dost
surely possess very high moral
excell ences (68:5). ( j) A noble
Messenger, possessor of power,
established in the presence of the
Lord of the Throne, one who
should be obeyed and who is
faithful to his trust (8 1:20- 22).
A man of such high moral stature,
as the Holy Prophet, who raised a
whol e people sunk into the lowest
depths of mora l turpitude to the
highest pinnacles of spiritual
eminence, co uld not possibly be
guilty of such moral lapses as his
detractors seek to impute to him.
A quite simple and harmless
word — ذنب —is taken advantage of to
malign him. The word, among other
things, signifies such frailties as
adhere to human nature, and errors as
are calculated to bring about harmful results. In this sense of the word the
verse signifies that God would protect
the Holy Prophet from the harmful
results that would follow in the wake
of the promised victory ref erred to in
the preceding verse, inasmuch as,
large masses of people would enter
the fold of Islam, and naturally their
moral and spiritual training and
upbringing would not be of the
desired standard. That is why
wherever in the Qur an success and
victories are promised to the Holy
Prop het, he is enjoined to seek
protection of God from his ذنب i.e.
human weakness which might stand
in the way of the realization of his
great mission which is the spread and
expansion of Islam and the creation
of a disciplined community of high
morals. The f act that of the four
words جناح and جرم and اثم and ذنب,
which possess almost similar
connotations, the first three have not
been used in the Qur an with regard to
Prophets of God, shows that ذنب does
not possess the sinister meaning
which the other three words possess.
Besides, according to the Quranic
idiom, the expression ذنبک,if at all ذنب
be taken to signify a sin or crime,
would mean "the sins attributed to
thee or alleged to have been
committed by thee or the sins
committed against thee. " Elsewhere
in the Qur an (5:30) a similar
expression یاث ( my sin) means, the sin
committed against me. Thus the verse
under comment means that as a result
of the great victory, i.e. the Treaty of
Hudaibi yyah, all the sins and crimes
and faults which his enemies imputed
to the Holy Prophet, viz. that he was
a cheat, an impostor or forger of lies |
PT.26 AL-FATH CH.48
2941 against God and man, etc., would prove to be false, inasmuch as all sorts of people by coming into contact with Muslims would find out the truth about him. Moreover, the context also supports this meaning because grant of a clear victory and the completion of Divine favour upon the Holy Prophet, referred to in this and the preceding verse do not seem to possess any relevance to the forgiveness of sins, if ﺐﻧذ be taken to mean a sin. And the expression ﮏﻟ may also mean "for thy sake". The words "past and present" signify that the charges that have been levelled against the Holy Prophet in the past by the Quraish and those that will be levelled against him in future by his enemies, will all be dispelled and he will stand completely vindicated. The words seem to embody a great prophecy that in some future time the Holy Prophet will be misrepresented and misunderstood but that all misunderstandings will eventually be dissipated and Islam will shine forth in full glory, and its superiority will be established over all rival Faiths. 3819. Commentary:Allah’s help came in the form of the rapid spread of Islam in Arabia after the signing of the Treaty of Hudaibiyyah, and the Holy Prophet was acknowledged as the Head of an independent sovereign State. 3820. Commentary:Twice, in this Surah has the statement been made that "God sent down tranquillity upon the believers" (see v. 27) and twice the declaration that "to Allah belong the hosts of the heavens and the earth." These expressions show that though, due to a misunderstanding about the terms of the Treaty of Hudaibiyyah, the believers were temporarily perturbed, they never lost peace of mind so far as fighting in the cause of Allah was concerned, and were fully convinced that divine hosts were with them. That is why when a false news reached Hudaibiyyah that ‘Uthman, the Prophet’s envoy to the Meccans, had been killed, and the Prophet invited Muslims to take a solemn oath at his hand that they would 4. And that Allah may help thee with a mighty help.3819
5. He it is Who sent down tranquillity into the hearts of the believersa that they might add faith to their faith—band to Allah belong the hosts of the heavens and the earth, and Allah is All-Knowing, Wise—3820 a9:26. b33:10; 74:32.
|
CH.48 AL-FAT H PT.26
2942 avenge the death of ‘Uthm an and
would fight under his banner to the
bitter end, all of them took the oath
without evincing the least hesitation.
3821. Important Words:
ةدائر ( calamity) is derived from دار
which means, it (an event) came about.
دار الدھر means, the time took a turn; it
changed. الکأس مھیندار ب means, the wine-
cup went round them. ةدائر means, the
circuit of a thing; an evil turn of
fortune; calamity; defeat; rout;
slaughter; death. الدوائر مھیدارت عل mean s, calamities befell them (Lane & Aqrab).
Commentary:
The verse means that every turn of
fortune adds to the faith of believers
and any addition to faith of believers
increases the heart- burning and
jealousy of disbelievers and the
hypocrites. The latter had entertained
the false hope that the terms of the
Treaty of Hudaibi yyah would bring
about a weakening of faith among
the believers but the opposite
happened and this caused heart-6.That He may mak e the
believing men and the believing
women enter the Gardens
beneath which streams flow,
wherein they will abide, and
that aHe may remove their evils
from them —and that, in the
sight of Allah, is the supreme
triumph —
7.And that He may punish the
hypocritical men and the
hypocritical womenb, and the
idolatrous men and the
idolatrous women, who
entertain evil thoughts
concerning Allah. cOn them
shall fall an evil calamity; and
the wrath of Allah is upon them.
And He has cursed the m, and
has prepared Hell for them. And
that indeed is an evil
destination.3821
a8:30; 64:10; 66:9. b33:25. c9:98.
|
PT.26 AL-FAT H CH.48
2943 burning among them.
3822 . Commentary:
The verse warns disbelievers and
hypocrites that all their evil thoughts
and designs against believers would
do the latter no harm, because
Allah is with them and His hosts are
at their back.
3822A. Commentary:
The verse refers to three attributes
of the Holy Prophet. He was شاھد i.e.
his whole life constituted a stand ing
testimony to the existence of the
Almighty God Who gave him success against very heavy odds. He was مبشر
because he gave believers th e glad
tidings of bliss and benediction in this
life as well as in the life to come, and
he was یرنذ( Warner) for those who
rejected his Message.
3823 . Commentary:
The reference in the verse is to the
oath taken by the believers at the
hands of the Holy Prophet under a
tree at Hudaibiyyah when a rumour
reached him that ‘Uthm an, his special
envoy, had been killed by the
Meccans. The believers were asked to 8. aAnd to Allah belong the
hosts of the heavens and the
earth; and Allah is Mighty,
Wise.3822
9.We have sent thee as a
witness and ba bearer of glad
tidings and a Warner,3822A
10.That you should believe in
Allah and His Messenger, and
may help him, and honour himc,
and that you may glorify Him
morning and evening.
11.Verily, those who swear
allegiance to thee indeed swear
allegiance to Allah. The hand of
Allah is over their hands. So
whoever breaks his oath, breaks
it to his own loss; and whoever
fulfils the covenant that he has
made with Allah, He will surely
give him a great reward.3823
aSee 48 :5. b25:57; 33:46; 35:25. c5:13.
|
CH.48 AL-FAT H PT.26
2944 declare on solemn oath that they
would stand by the Holy Prophet at
all costs and would fight under his
banner to the bitter end.
3824. Commentary:
Reference in this verse is to those
Bedouin tribes around Medina who
apparently had friendly relations with
the Muslims. These tribes were also
invited to join the party of 1500
Muslims who were going to Mecca to
perform the Lesser Pilgrimage ( عمرة .)
Though the Prophet was going on a
mission of peace, these desert tribes
thought that the Quraish would not allow his entry into Mecca and that in
all likelihood there would be a clash of
arms and Muslims not being properly
armed would be defeated, and
therefore going with the Holy Prophet
was tantamount to marching into the
jaws of d eath (Muir, Hish am &
Kathir). The verse may equally apply
to those tribes who had remained
behind in the expedition to Tab uk
because analogous words have been
used in Surah At-Tauba h about them.
3825. Commentary:
Wish being father to the thought,
the hypocrites, whenever invited by R. 2.
12.Those of the desert Arabs,
who contrived to be left behind,
will say to thee, a‘Our
possessions and our families
kept us occupied, so ask
forgiveness for us.’ bThey say
with their tongues that which is
not in their hearts. Say, ‘cWho
can avail you aught against
Allah, if He intends you some
harm, or if He intends you some
benefit? Nay, Allah is Well-
Aware of what you do.3824
13.‘Nay, you thought that the
Messenger and the believers
would never come back to their
families, and that was made to
appear pleasing to your hearts,
and you thought an evil thought,
and you were a ruined
people.’3825
a102:2. b3:168. c13:17; 25:4 .
|
PT.26 AL-FAT H CH.48
2945 the Prophet to join him in an
expedition, entertained the fond hope
that Muslims being very weak would
never come back safe to their families.
Therefore, on one pretext or another,
they requested to be excused. But
their wishful thinking, says the verse,
always ended in frustration and
severe disappointment, and the
Muslims returned successful from
almost every expedition.
3826. Commentary:
The reference in the words, "When you go forth to the spoils that you
take them, " is to the booty which fell
into the hands of Muslims in the
Khaibar expedition. The Surah under
comment was revealed to the Prophet
when he was on his way back from
Hudaibi yyah . In v. 20, the Muslims
have been promised great spoils. It is
to these spoils that the present verse
refers. Having returned from
Hudaibi yyah, the Prophet, after a
short stay at Medina, marched against
the Jews of Khaibar to punish them 14.And as for those who
believe not in Allah and His
Messenger —aWe have surely
prepared for the disbelievers a
blazing fire.
15. bAnd to Allah belongs the
kingdom of the heavens and the
earth. cHe forgives whom He
pleas es, and punishes whom He
pleases . And Allah is Most
Forgiving, Merciful.
16.Those who contrived to be
left behind will say, when you
go forth to the spoils to take
them, ‘Let us follow you.’ They
seek to change the decree of
Allah. Say, ‘You shall not
follow us. Thus has Allah said
beforehand.’ Then they will say,
‘Nay, but you envy us.’ Not so,
in fact they understand not
except a little.3826
a18:103; 29:69; 33:9; 76:5. b40:17. c3:130; 5:19.
|
CH.48 AL-FAT H PT.26
2946 for their repeated acts of treachery.
Those Bedouin tribes who had
contrived to remain behind when the
Prophet went to Mecca for the Lesser
Pilgrimage, finding that his cause had
prospered and that they would have a
good share of the booty if they joined
the expedition to Khaibar, requested
the Prophet to b e allowed to
accompany the Muslim army. They
were told that they could not do so as
the promise of booty was made only
to those sincere Muslims who were
with th e Holy Prophet at Hudaibiyyah .
3827. Commentary:
The words "a people of mighty
valour, " may r efer to the mighty
forces of the Byzantine and Iranian
Empires which were far superior in means, material and numbers than
any other enemy the Muslims had
met so far. The verse constituted a
warning that the Muslims would
come into conflict with those mighty
foes and would have to wage
prolonged wars with them till the
latter were broken and brought to
their knees. The laggards are thus told
that though they cannot be allowed to
march against the Jews of Khaibar
and partake of the booty, yet in the
near future they would be called upon
to fight against a much more
powerful foe and, if they then
responded to the call, they would
receive a good reward. The verse also
signifies that wars with the Byzantine
and Iranian Empires would be fi erce
and long. 17.Say to the desert Arabs who
contrived to be left behind, ‘You
shall be called to fight against a
people of mighty valour ; you
shall fight them until they
surrender. Then, if you obey,
Allah will give you a good
reward, but if you turn your
backs, as you turned your backs
before, He will punish you with
a painful punishment.’ 3827
18. aThere is no blame on the
blind, nor is there blame on the
lame, nor is there blame on the
sick, if they go not forth to fight .
bAnd whoso obeys Allah and
His Messenger, He will make
a9:91.b4:14; 24:53; 33:72.
|
PT.26 AL-FAT H CH.48
2947 3827A. Commentary:
The disbelievers have repeatedly
been threatened with "a grievous and
burning punishment " in the Surah .
This is to warn them that the terms of
the Treaty of Hudaibi yyah over which
they and their fellows had gloated,
would prove for them an abiding
source of ignominious heart-burning.
3828 . Commentary:
The swearing of allegiance referred
to in the verse took place at
Hudaibi yyah under an acacia tree
after a report had reached the Holy
Prophet that in breach of
ambassadorial usage or etiquette his
envoy, ‘Uthm an, had been killed at
Mecca. It was, perhaps, not so much
the reported murder of ‘Uthm an as
the violation of a sacred and time-
honoured custom that exhausted the
Prophet’s patience. He invited his
followers to take a solemn oath at his
hand that they would fight the
Quraish to the last breath of their lives. The oath came to be known as
Bai‘atu r-Ridwan, which signified that
those lucky people who had taken the
oath had obtained God’s pleasure.
The words, "He knew what was in
their hearts, " mean that God was well
conversant with the state of their
minds, viz. that they were quite
honest and sincere in their oaths and
were anxious to vindicate their
sincerity with their blood.
What greater proof could there be
that "God sent down tranquillity on
Muslims, " than that, being only about
1500 in number and being far away
from home, friendless and surrounded
by hostile tribes and faced by a
powerful enemy who was entrenched
in his citadel, the Muslims were
prepared to fight rather than agree to
the proposed terms of the Treaty. The
expression, "He rewarded them with
a victory near at hand " refers to the
victory of Khaibar. On his ret urn
from Hudaibi yyah the Pro phet led an him enter the Gardens beneath
which streams flow; but whoso
turns his back, him will He
punish with a grievous
punishment.3827A
R. 3.
19.Surely, Allah was well
pleased with the believers when
they were swearing allegiance
to thee under the Tree, and He
knew what was in their hearts,
and He sent down tranquillity
on them, and He rewarded them
with a victory at hand;3828
|
CH.48 AL-FAT H PT.26
2948 expedition against the Jews of
Khaibar (a great hotbed of Jewish
intrigue and conspiracy) with those
Muslims who were with him at
Hudaibi yyah. Judged by worldly
standards of political strategy, and in
view of the apparently humiliating
terms of the Treaty and of the feeling
of frustration that some of the
Compani ons felt at those terms, the
Holy Prophet should have been a
beaten and embittered man, yet God
has styled the Treaty "a clear victory "
(v. 2), "a grand achievement " (v. 6);
"a mighty reward " (v. 11); and "the
completion and perfection of His
favour on the Prophet " (v. 3). What
was it that made this "humiliating "
Treaty such a significant event in the
annals of Islam? The answer is:
Because it opened the floodgates of
spiritual and political conquests for
Islam. The signing of the Treaty of
Hudaibi yyah was immediately
followed by the conquest of Khaibar,
a Jewish stronghold and a source of
great danger and anxiety for Muslims.
Besides, the Islamic Republic at Medina came to be recognized as an
independent sovereign state, and
within the brief space of three or four
years the whole of Arabia was at the
feet of the Holy Prophet, followed by
a chain of victories which culminated
in the defeat and destruction of the
great and powerful Byzantine and
Iranian Empires.
3829. Commentary:
"Great Spoils " may refer to the
great gains which the Muslims got as
a result of the "near victory "
promised in the preceding verse.
The repeated mention in the Surah
of the Divine attributes "Mighty,"
"Wise " and "Powerful over all things "
seems to signify that the seemingly
humiliating Treaty of Hudaibiyyah
proved a source of great power for
Muslims, a s it had been signed by the
Prophet in obedience to God’s
command Who is Mighty, Wise and
Powerful.
3830. Commentary:
"Great Spoils " mentioned here may
refer to the great booty which fell into 20.And great spoils that they
will take. All ah is Mighty, Wise.
3829
21.Allah has promised you
great spoils that you will take,
and He has given you this in
advance, and has arestrained the
hands of men from you, that it
may be a Sign for the believers,
and that He may guide you on a
right path.3830
a5:12.
|
PT.26 AL-FAT H CH.48
2949 the hands of Muslims in the
conquests which followed the victor y
at Khaibar, in the rest of Arabia and
the neighbouring countries, but the
words "He has given you this in
advance, " evidently refer to the spoils
gained at Khaibar. The words فعجل لکم
ھذہ may also signify the good things
of the present life. The words, "has
restrained the hands of men from
you", mean that the Treaty of
Hudaibi yyah had ushered in a period
of peace for Muslims.
3831. Commentary:
The verse embodies a prophecy that
Muslims will achieve other great
victories after the victory of Khaibar. 3832 . Commentary:
The verse purports to say that
whenever true believers will stand
facing disbelievers in battle array, the
disbelievers would suffer defeat. The
verse may also mean that if fighting
had broken out at Hudaibiy yah the
disbelievers would certainly have
suffered defe at.
3833. Commentary:
The verse means that it has always
been the Law of God that truth must
ultimately triumph and falsehood
suffer defeat; and God’s Law knows
no change. This fact is writ large on
the face of human history . 22.And He has promised you
another victory, which you have
not yet achieve d, but Allah has
surely compassed it. And Allah
has p ower over all things.3831
23.And if those who disbelieve
should fight you, they would
certainly turn their backs; then
they would find neither
protector nor helper.3832
24. aSuch has ever been the law
of Allah; and thou shalt not find
any change in the law of
Allah.3833
25.And He it is Who withheld
their hands from you and your
hands from them in the vall ey
of Mecca, after He had given
a17:78; 33:63; 35:44.
|
CH.48 AL-FAT H PT.26
2950 3834. Commentary:
The words "after He had given you
victory over them, " may signify that
in view of the circumstances in which
the Muslims were th en placed and of
the far-reaching results it produced,
the Treaty of Hudaibiy yah was
tantamount to a great victory. The
words may also refer to the victories
that God h ad granted to Muslims
before they came to Hudaibi yyah —
the victory at Badr, the safe ret urn of Muslims and the Holy Prophet to
Medina from Uhud after they had
been placed in a very dangerous and
delicate situation, and the complete
frustration of the Meccans in their
evil designs to destroy Islam in the
Battle of the Ditch when they were
repulsed with severe loss, etc. In a
sense these were all victories of
believers over disbelievers.
3835 . Important Words:
معرة( blame) is derived from عرyou victory over them. And
Allah sees all that you do.3834
26.It is they who disbelieved
and ahindered you from the
Sacred Mosque and bthe
offering which was prevented
from reaching its place of
sacrifice. And had it not been
for some believing men and
believing women whom you
knew not and whom you might
have trampled down
unwittingly, so that blame might
have attached to you on their
account, He would have
permitted you to fight but He
withheld you that He might
admit into His mercy whom He
will. If they had been separated
from the disbelievers, We would
have surely punished those of
them who disbelieved with a
grievou s punishment.3835
a8:35; 16:89; 22:26; 43:38 . b2:197.
|
PT.26 AL-FAT H CH.48
2951 (‘arra ). They say عرت االبل i.e. the
camels were or became mangy or
scabby. عرہ means, he did to him an
abominable thing ; he did t o him what
he disliked; he disgraced him. عرہ بشر
means, he aspersed him or charged or
upbraided him with evil, or he
wronged him. معرة means, a cause of
reviling or being reviled ; a crime or
sin that is no xious like mange or scab;
a foul or abominable thing; a caus e of
grief or vexation; disgrace; annoyance,
hurt, harm or injury (Lane & Aqrab).
Commentary:
The verse means that though the
Meccans gloated over the terms of
the Treaty of Hudaibi yyah which, in
their ignorance, they thought were
very advantageous to them and
humiliating for Muslims, and though
the latter feeling that the terms were
being forcibly wrung from them were
crestfallen and did not know that in
reality th e terms had laid the foundations of a very prosperous and
bright future for Islam, yet God ha d
His own design in not permitting the
fight to take place. There was a
nucleus of Muslims in Mecca and if
the fight had taken place, the Muslim
army would have unknowingly killed
their own brethren in faith, thereby
causing great injury to their own
cause, and earning obloquy and
opprobrium for themselves. In fact,
from whatever angle the Treaty of
Hudaibi yyah may be viewed it was
indeed a great victory.
3836 . Important Words:
ةمحی( prideful indignation) is inf.
noun from محی which means, he
refused to bear or endure or tolerate
wrongful treatmen t. They say او همحی عن
همن i.e. he was ashamed, and he
disdained or scorned to do it. همحی علی
means, he was angry with him. ةمحی
(syn. ةأنف and غریة )means, disdain,27.When those who disbelieved
harboured in their hearts
prideful indignation, the
indignation of the Days of
Ignorance, aAllah sent down
His tranquillity on His
Messenger and on the believers,
and made them adhere firmly to
the principle of righteousness,
and they were better entitled to
it and more worthy of it. And
Allah knows everything full
well.3836
a9:26.
|
CH.48 AL-FAT H PT.26
2952 scorn or indignation; jealousy;
indignation which is the result of a
feeling of pride (Lane & Aqrab).
Commentary:
The verse means that against their
own tradition and usage that acces s to,
and the circuit of, the Ka ‘bah was not
to be prevented in the four Sacred
Months, the pagans of Mecca, from a
false sense of dignity and national
pride, had made it a point of honour
with them not to allow Muslims to
enter Mecca and perform the Lesser
Pilgrimage ( ةعمر .)But "Allah sent His
tranquillity " upon the Muslims and
though they were greatly upset over
the seemingly humiliating terms of
the Treaty, yet in deference to the
command of their noble Master they
bore it all with becoming restrai nt
and patien t and did not abandon the
path of rectitude and righteousness
under the most severe provocation.
The Companions of the Holy Prophet
alone were capable of setting such a
noble example. 3837. Commentary:
The Holy Prophet had seen a vision
that he was p erforming the circuit of
the Ka‘ba h with his Compa nions
(Bukh ari). The Prophet set out for
Mecca with about 1500 of his
Companions to perform the Lesser
Pilgrimage. It is to this "vision " that
the verse under comment refers. The
Prophet was not allowed access to
the Ka‘bah by the Quraish. On the
contrary, he had to sign a treaty of
which the terms as ment ioned above
seemed to be very humi liating and
hurtful to the Muslims’ self-respect.
They were highly upset, the
illustrious ‘Umar, more than anyone
else, not only at the terms, but also at
the fact that the vision as he
understood it had not been fulfilled,
could not understand how the
Prophet’s journey had served its
purpose. He was not quite satisfied
with the explanation that the vision
did not signify the Pilgrimage would
be perform ed that very year. He was R. 4.
28.Surely has Allah fulfilled for
His Messenger the vision. You
will certainly enter the Sacred
Mosque, if Allah will, in
security, some having their
heads shaven, and others having
their hair cut short; and you will
have no fear. But He knew what
you knew no t. He has, in fact,
ordained for you, besides that, a
victory near at hand.3837
|
PT.26 AL-FAT H CH.48
2953 in this frame of mind when, on the
way back to Medina, this Surah was
revealed and the Prophet called for
him and recited it to him. The Surah
was clear and emphatic that the
Prophet’s vision was true and that
the Muslims would most certainly
enter the Ka‘ba h and perform the
ceremonies of the Lesser Pilgrimage.
The Prophet’s journey, besides
serving other useful purp oses to which reference is already made,
established an important precedent
that sometimes even great Prophets
of God are liable to place seemingly
erroneous interpretations on their
visio ns.
3838 . Commentary:
In the preceding verse reference
was made to the vision of the Holy
Prophet which had brought about the
Treaty of Hudaibi yyah which in turn 29. aHe it is Who has sent His
Messenger, with guidance and
the Religion of Truth, that He
may make it prevail over all
other religions. And bsufficient
is Allah as a Witness.3838
30.Muhammad is the
Messenger of Allah. And those
who are with him are chard
against the disbelievers and
tender among themselves. Thou
seest them bowing and
prostrating themselves in
Prayer, dseeking Allah’s grace
and ple asure. Their mark is
upon their faces, being the
traces of prostrations. This is
their description in the Torah.
And their description in the
Gospel is like unto a seed-
produce that sends forth its
sprout, then makes it strong; it
then becomes thick, and stands
a61:10. b4:167; 6:20; 13:44; 29:53. c9:123. d59:9.
|
CH.48 AL-FAT H PT.26
2954 led to the very rapid expansion of
Islam in Arabia and to its
consolidation, and ultimately to the
Fall of Mecca and the submission of
the whole of Arabia to the Holy
Prophet . The present verse makes a
very bold prophecy to the effect that
not only would Islam prevail in
Arabia but would also eventually
triumph over all other religions. The
signs of the fulfilment of this
prophecy are already in evidence.
3839 . Important Words:
أشداء( hard) is the plural of شدید
which is derived from شد which means,
he was o r became strong . شد عیل عدوہ
means, he attacked his enemy. شدید
means, firm or firm of heart;
strong; compact; powerful; robust;
courageous ; brave; keen or tenacious;
niggardly; avaricious ; exalted (Lane
& Aqrab).
سیما( mark) is derived from سوم
(saw wama). They say سوم الفرس i.e. h e
put a mark upon the horse; he put the
mark with iron such as is used for
branding or with something whereby
he should be known. سیما or ةسوم means,
a mark, sign or token or badge by which a thing is known or by which
the good is known from the bad (Lane
& Aqrab).
Commentary:
The preceding verse had made a
great prophecy about the eventual
triumph of Islam over all other
religious systems. The verse unde r
comment signifies that the foundation
of the grand and glorious future of
Islam have already been lai d by
"Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah
and those who are with him, " and
mentions some of the noble qualities
of good and sincere believers,
through whose selfless efforts this
consummation will be brought about.
They are brave, firm and courageous
and not susceptible to the evil
influenc es of bad per sons and
environment ; on the contrary, they are
loving and kind towards each other.
These are the two essential
characteristics of a progressive an d
rising people who seek to leave their
mark on the course of world events.
Elsewhere in the Quran (5:55) the
true and good Muslims have been
described as الکافرینة عیل املؤمننی أعزة عیل أذل i.e. firm on its stem, delighting the
sowers —that He may cause the
disbelievers to burn with rage at
the sight of them. Allah has
promised, unto those of them
who believe and do good works,
forgiveness and a great
reward.3839
|
PT.26 AL-FAT H CH.48
2955 kind and humble towards believers
and hard and firm against disbelievers.
The words, "this is their description
in the Torah," may refer to the
Biblical description, viz. "he shined
forth from mount Paran and he came
with ten thousands of saint s" (Deut.
33:2). And the expression, "and their
description in the Gospel is like unto
a seed-produce " may refer to another
Biblical parable, viz. "Behold, a
sower went forth to sow; and when he
sowed seeds some fell into good
ground, and brought forth f ruit, some
an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold " (Matt. 13:3-8). The former
description seems to apply to the
Companions of the Holy Prophet and
the latter parable to the followers of
Jesus’ Counterpart, the Promised
Messiah, who, from very small and
insignificant beginning s, are destined
to develop into a mighty organization
and gradually but progressively to
carry the Message of Islam to the
ends of the earth till it will prevail
and triumph over all religions, and its
opponents will wonder at, and be
jealous of, its power and prestige. |
2956 CHAPTER 49
AL-H UJURAT
(Revealed after Hijrah )
Title, Context, and Date of Revelation
By common consent this is a Medinite Surah . It was revealed in th e 9th
year of H ijrah, after the Fall of Mecca. The Surah takes its title from its 5th
verse in which calling out to the Holy Prophet from behind the Hujur at
(private compartments) has been strongly condemned, since shouti ng out to
him is bad manners and is also likely to intrude upon his privacy and precious
time.
As with the Fall of Mecca Islam had become a great political power,
and large masses of people had entered its fold, the Surah was revealed to
teach good manners and morals to the newly-initiated people. The Surah also
deals with some social evils which find their way into a m aterially advanced
and wealthy society (the Muslims had become such a society after the
conquest of Arabia), and speaks of the accession to Islam of great political
power and material wealth. Naturally, the Surah also embodies regulations for
the settlement of international disputes.
Summary of Subject Matter
The Surah opens with strict injunctions to Muslims to show full regard
and respect to the Holy Prophet which befits his station as a Divine Messenger.
They are also enjoined not to anticipate his decisions but to give
unquestioning obedience to his commands . They are further enjoined not to
raise their voices above his voice; this not only constitutes bad manners but
also shows lack of proper respect which is calculated to undermine discipline
in the Muslim Community.
The Surah then warns Muslims to be on their guard against giving
credence to false rumours, as such rumours, if readily accepted as true,
without being subjected to sifting and searching examination, are calculated to
land Muslims into very awkward situations. It further lays down, in brief
words, rules, on whic h, if carried out with sincere i ntent and honest motives, a
League of Nations or a U nited Nations Organisation can be bu ilt on sound and
solid foundations. Next, the Surah, mentions some socia l evils which, if not
effectivel y checked in time, eat into the vitals of a community and undermine
its whole social structure. Of these social evil s the common ones are suspicion,
false accusation, spying, backbiting, and the most pronounced and far-
reaching in its evil consequences, viz. conceit and pride born of a false sense
of racial superiority . The Quran recognizes no basis of superiority save that of
piety and righteous conduct. |
2957 The Surah ends on the note that true and sincere belief is a divine
favour and the test of a true believer lies in the fact that if once he has given
his allegiance to a noble cause, he strives with his whole being to p romote it. |
CH.49 PT.26
2958 (AL-HUJURA T)
1. aIn the name of Allah, the
Gracious, the Merciful.3840
2.O ye who believe! be not
forward in the presence of Allah
and His Messenger, but fear
Allah. Verily, Allah is All-
Hearing, All-Knowing.3841
3.O ye who believe! raise not
your voices above the voice of
the Prophet, nor speak aloud to
him, as you speak aloud to one
another, lest your works become
vain while you perceive not.3842
4.Verily, those who lower their
voices in the presence of the
aSee 1:1.
3840. Commentary:
See 1:1.
3841. Commentary:
Mecca had fal len. The who le of
Arabia lay prostrate at the Prophet’s
feet. Life had become quite safe and
secure for Muslims and wealth and
great riches had come into their
possession. A life of ease and comfort
generally follows in the wake of
riches, resulting in lack of discipline
and other very se rious social evils.
Therefore rules of conduct have been
revealed in this Surah to safeguard the Mus lim Community against these
evils. They ar e told to show proper
respect and regard for the Holy
Prophet and to give him unqualified
obedience and not to anticipate his
commands or to prefer their own
wishes to his.
3842. Commentary:
The verse lays great st ress on
observing an attitude of utmost
respectfulness towards the Holy
Prophet . The Muslims should not talk
loudly in his presence or address him
aloud. This is not only bad manners
|
PT.26 AL-HUJUR AT CH.49
2959 but is calculated to do moral injury to
one so rude as not to show res pect
due to the Leader.
3843 . Important Words:
امتحن is derived from حمن . They say,
حمن فالنا i.e. he tried or put to the t est
such a one. عشرین سوطا هحمن means, he
flogged him with twenty stripes.
ةحمن الفض means, he purified the silver
by putting it in the fire. حمن البئر means,
he
took out the earth from the well
and cleared it (Ta j & Raghib).
Commentar y:
To speak in low tones in the presence of the Prophet is indicative
of respect for him and of one’s own
humility of heart which is a good
moral quality; while unnecessarily
raising of voice smacks of conceit
and arrogance.
3844. Commentary:
Calling out to the Prophet in a loud
voice from outside his house amounts
to intruding upon his privacy and
shows lack of respect for his person
and for his valuable time; and only an
ill-mannered person would be guilty
of such foolish behaviour. Messenger of Allah —those are
they whose hearts Allah has
purified for righteousness. For
them is forgiveness and a great
reward.3843
5.Those who shout out to thee
from without thy private
apartments —most of them lack
understanding.3844
6.And if they had waited
patien tly until thou came out to
them it would be better for
them. But Allah is Most
Forgiving, Merciful.
7.O ye who believe! if an
unrighteous person brings you
any news, ainvestigate it fully,
lest you harm a people in
ignorance, and then be
a4:95.
|
CH.49 AL-HUJUR AT PT.26
2960 3845 . Commentary:
Though after the Fall of Mecca, at
the time when this Surah was
revealed, almost the whole of Arabia
had entered the fold of Islam. Some
tribes still refused to accep t the new
order of things and were determined
upon fighting the Muslims to the
bitter end. Moreover, the
neighbouring Byzantine and Persian
Empires were awakening to a
realization of the challenge to their
power which they thought had arisen
in Arabia, and war with Islam seemed
inevitable. So the direction embodied
in the verse under c omment was
necessary. The Muslims are told that
even when the exigencies of war
necessitate prompt action to forestall
a military move on the enemy’s part,
rumours which ar e naturally very
much rife in time of war should not
be given ready credence. They should be tested and their correctness
ascertained before action is taken
upon them.
3846. Commentary:
The verse continues the general
theme of the Surah, the immediately
preceding verse constitut ing a
necessary parenthesis. In the earlier
verses the Muslims were enjoined to
give unquestioning obedience to the
Holy Prophet and to show respect to
him which befitted his station as
God’s great Prophet. In this verse
they are told that the Prophet would
seek their counsel in matters
concerning them but he should not be
expected to follow their advice as he
received guidance from on high and
because also his was the final
responsibility, and their judg ement, at
best, might be defective. It was
enough for them that God, through
His Grac e, "has endeared faith to you. " repentant for what you have
done.3845
8.And know that among you is
the Messenger of Allah; if he
were to comply with your
wishes in most matters, you
would surely come to trouble;
but Allah has endeared the faith
to you and ahas made it look
beautiful to your hearts, and He
has made disbelief, w ickedness
and disobedience hateful to you.
Such indeed are those who
follow the right course .3846
a6:109.
|
PT.26 AL-HUJUR AT CH.49
2961 3847 . Commentary:
The central theme of the Surah is
the solidarity of Islam. Directions and
rules of conduct which are calculated
to achieve and maintain this solidarity
have been laid down in it in some
detail. Some of these rules have been
mentioned in the pre ceding verses,
others follow in the verses that come
later. A great danger to the security
and solidarity of the Muslim State or
Community are the disputes and
quarrels that haply might arise
between different Muslim groups or
parties. The verse under comm ent
provides a most effective remedy to
compose these quarrels. Primarily, the
verse deals with the settlement of
disputes between Muslim parties, but
it equally embodies a sound basis on
which a really effective "League of
Nations " or a "United Nations
Organis ation " can be built. The verse lays down the following principle s
for the maintenance of international
peace.
As soon as there are indications of
disagreement between two nations,
the other nations, instead of taking
sides with one or the other, should at
once serve notice upon them, calling
upon them to submit their differences
for settlement to a "League of
Nations " or "United Nations
Organi sation", as the case may be. If
they agree, the dispute will be
amicably settled. But if one of them
refuses to submit to the "League", or
having submitted refuses to accept
the award of the "League " and
prepares to make war, the other
nations should all fight it. It is evident
that one nation, however strong,
cannot withstand the united might of
all other nation s and is bound to ma ke
a speedy submission. In that event,
terms of peace should be settled 9.Through the grace and favour
of Allah. And Allah is All-
Knowing, Wise.
10.And if two parties of
believers fight each other,
amake peace between them;
then if after that one of them
transgresses against the other,
fight the party that transgresses
until it returns to the command
of Allah. Then if it returns,
make peace between them with
equity, and act justly. Verily,
Allah loves the just.3847
a8:2.
|
CH.49 AL-HUJUR AT PT.26
2962 between the two original parties to
the dispute. The other nations should
act merely as mediators and not as
parties to the dispute, and should not
put forward new claims arising out of
the conflict with the refractory nation,
for that would lay the foundation of
fresh disputes and quarrels. The terms
of peace should be just and equitable
with reference to the merits of the
dispute; they should be confined to
the original dispute between the
parties and should not be allowed to
travel beyond it.
It is only such a "League" or
"Organi sation" which can safely be
entrusted with the maintenance of
international peace, not a League or
Organi sation whose very existence is dependent upon the goodwill of
others.
3848. Commentary:
The verse lays special stress on
Islamic brotherhood. Islam tolerates
no discord or dissensions between
brothers. If there happens to arise a
quarrel or dispute between two
Muslim individuals or groups, other
Muslims are bound at once to bring
about reconciliation between the
quarrelling parties. Islam’s real
strength lies in this ideal of
brotherhood which transcends all
barriers of caste, colour or clime.
3849. Important Words:
ال تلمزوا( defame not) is derived from
ملز .They say ملزہ i.e. he made a sign to11.Surely all believers are
brothers. So make peace
between your brothers, and fear
Allah that mercy may be shown
to you.3848
R. 2.
12.O ye who believe! let not
one people deride another
people, haply they may be
better than they, nor let women
deride other women, haply they
may be better than they. aAnd
defame not your own people,
nor call one another by
nicknames. Bad indeed is evil
reputation after the profession
of belief; and those who repent
not, such are the wrongdoers.3849
a68:12; 104:2.
|
PT.26 AL-HUJUR AT CH.49
2963 him with the eye, or the like, as the
head, and the lip, with low speech.
This is the original signification;
according to some other authorities
the primary signification of the
expression is:(1) he pushed him or
impelled him or repelled him or he
struck or beat him; (2) he blamed,
upbraided, or reproached him; he
found fault with him; or he did so in
his face; or he spoke evil of him; or
spoke of him in a ma nner that he
disliked, mentioning vices or faults as
chargeable to him, either behind his
back or in his face, though it might be
with truth (Lane, Aqrab & R aghib).
See also 104:2.
ال تنابزوا (call not by nickna mes) is
derived from نبز which means, he
called him by a surname or nick-
name and is syn. with هلقب ( laqqaba ),
mostly signifying, he called him by a
nickname, or a name of reproach or
an opprobrious appellation. It also
signifies, he upbraided or reproached
him; or the like, being syn. with ملزہ
(Lane & Aqrab). Commentary:
See next verse.
3850. Commentary:
As stated above the principal theme
of the Surah is the establishment of
concord, amity and goodwill between
Muslim individuals and groups and
therefore it has mentioned some of
those social evils which cause discord,
dissensions and diff erences, and
corrode, corrupt and conta minate a
society, eating into its vitals, and
enjoins Muslims to be on their guard
against them. Ridiculing and taunting
others, spying, and calling by nick-
names, and suspicion and backbiting
are some of these socia l evils. Women
have been particularly mentioned
here in that they are more prone t o
fall a victim to these evils. The main
cause, which lies at the root of these
evils, is conceit and a false sense of
superiority, which the next verse
expressly deals with. By remov ing
the basic causes of disharmony and
disagreement among Muslims the 13.O ye who believe! avoid
much suspiciona; for suspicion
in some cases is a sin. And spy
not, n either backbite one
another. Would any of you like
to eat the flesh of his brother
who is dead? Certainly you
would loathe it. And fear Allah,
surely, Allah is Oft-Returning
with compassion and is
Merciful.3850
a10:67; 53:29 .
|
CH.49 AL-HUJUR AT PT.26
2964 Surah has laid the foundation of a
firm and solid brotherhood of I slam.
3851. Important Words:
شعوبا ً( tribes) is the plural of شعب
(sha‘ bun) which is inf. noun from شعب
(sha‘ ba) which means, he collected,
brought together or united; or he
separated, put asunder; divided or
separated. شعب means, a great tribe;
the parent of the tribes called قبائل,to
which they refer their origin and
which comprises them; a nation; a
people; a cleft or crack (Lane &
Aqrab).
قبائل( subtribes) is the plural of قبیلة
which is derived from قبل which
means, he accepted; he took or
received willingly. قبیلة means, a tribe;
a subtribe; a family; a body of men
from one father or mother (Lane &
Aqrab).
Commentary:
From the subject of Islamic
brotherhood to which reference has
been made in the preceding two
verses, the Surah proceeds to lay
down, in the verse under comment,
the basis of an all-comprehensive, all-pervading brotherhood of man. The
verse, in fact, constitutes the Magna
Carta of human fraternity and
equality. It has firmly laid the axe at
the false and foolish notions of
superiority, born of racial arrogance
or national conceit. All men having
been "created from a male and a
female " as human beings have been
declared equal in the sight of God.
The worth of a man is not to be
judged by the pigment of his skin, the
amount of wealth he possesses or by
his rank or social status, descent or
pedigree, but by his moral greatness
and the way in which he discharge s
his obligations t o God and man. The
whole human race is but one family.
Division into tribes, nations, and
races is meant to give them a better
knowledge of one another, in order
that they might benefit from one
another’s national characteristics and
good qualities. This, according to
Islam, is the criterion of a person’s
greatness and this is the only true and
real criterion. The Holy Prophet
explained the beautiful idea of the 14.O mankind, We have
created you from a male and a
female; and We have made you
into tribes and subtribes tha t
you may know one another.
Verily, the most honourable
among you, in the sight of
Allah, is he who is the most
righteous among you. Surely,
Allah is All-Knowing, All-
Aware.3851
|
PT.26 AL-HUJUR AT CH.49
2965 brotherhood of man inculcated in this
verse in his own inimitable way on
the occasion of the Last Pilgrimage at
Mecca, a short time before his death.
Addressing a vast concourse of
Muslims the Prophet said, "O ye men!
Your God is One and your ancestor is
one. An Arab possesses no superiority
over a non-Arab, nor does a non-Arab
over an Arab. A white is in no way
superior to a red, nor, for that matter,
a red to a white, but only to the e xtent
to which he discharges his duty to
God and man. The most honoured
among you i n the sight of God is the
one who is most righteous " (Baihaq i).
These noble words spoken by the
Prophet during his Farewell
Pilgrimage which have resounded
through the centuries epitomize one
of Islam’s loftiest ideals and strongest
principles. It goes to the credit of the
Holy Prophet that in a society riven with class distinction, he preached a
message intensely democratic.
3852. Important Words:
ال یلت ( will not detract) is derived
from ألت which means, it (a thing)
decreased, diminished, lessened; it
became defective or deficient;
incomplete or imperfect. هحق هاو ولت هألت
means, he diminished to him his right
or due or defrauded him of a portion
of it (Lane & Aqrab).
Commentary:
All Muslims form an integral part
of Islamic brotherhood. Islam confers
equal rights on the unlettered and
uncultured sons of the desert as it
does on the civilized and cultured
dwellers of cities and towns; only it
exhorts the former to make greater
efforts to learn and assimilate the
teachings of Islam and make them the
rule of their lives. 15.The Arabs of the desert say,
‘We believe.’ Say, “You have
not believed yet, but rather say,
‘We have submitted’, for true
belief has not yet entered into
your hearts.” But if you obey
Allah and His Messenger, He
will not detract anything from
your deeds. Surely, Allah is
Most Forgiving, Merciful.3852
16. aThe believers are only
those who truly believe in Allah
and His Messenger, and then
doubt not, but strive with their
a9:20; 61:12.
|
CH.49 AL-HUJUR AT PT.26
2966 3853. Commentary:
True and sincere belief to which
reference has been made in the
preceding verse consists of three
important ingredients —strong and
firm faith in Allah, absolute freedom
from doubt and misgiving as to the
truth of Islam and striving with all
means within one’s power in the
cause of God. It is only those sincere
and steadfast Muslims who possess these qualifications who are entitled
to be called "the truthful ones " i.e.
those who have fulfilled their pledged
word to God.
3854. Commentary:
True and sincere fa ith is the most
precious possession of a Muslim. By
accepting Islam he does n o favour to
anybody; on the contrary, it is a
favour of God that one is guided to
the Truth. possessions and thei r persons in
the cause of Allah. It is they
who are truthful.3853
17.Say,a‘Will you acquaint
Allah with your faith, while
bAllah knows whatever is in the
heavens and whatever is in the
earth, and Allah knows all
things full well?’
18.They deem it as a favour to
thee that they have embrac ed
Islam. Say, ‘Deem not your
embracing Islam a favour unto
me. On the contrary,c Allah has
bestowed a favour upon you in
that He has guided you to the
true Faith, if you are truthful.’
3854
19.Verily,dAllah knows the
secrets of the heavens and the
earth. And Allah sees all what
you do.
a10:19. b20:8; 22:71; 27:66. c3:165. d11:124; 16:78 .
|
2967 CHAPTER 50
QAF
(Revealed before Hijrah )
Title, Date of Revelation, and Context
This Surah is of Meccan origin. All competent authorities assign its
revelation to the early Meccan period . Its tenor and contents support this view.
The Surah is the first of a group of seven chapters which end with
Surah Al-Waqi‘ah. Like all Meccan Surahs, it lays special stress, in emphatic
and prophetic language, on the Quran being the revealed Word of God, on
Resurrection being an undoubted reality, and particularly on the ultimate
triumph of the cause o f Islam. The Surah points to the phenomena of nature
and to the histories of the past Prophets as guides leading to this inevitable
conclusion. The Surah takes its title from its initial abbreviated letter ق( Qaf).
The preceding t wo Surahs had dealt with the prospects of a great and
glorious future for Islam, and also with the social and political problems that
arise when power and wealth come to a people. the present Surah having the
abbreviated letter ق( Qaf) in its beginning, points to the fact that the Almighty
God has the power to make the weak and disorganized Arabs into a powerful
nation, and that He will certainly bring about this consummation, using the
Quran as the means and instrument for achieving that purpose.
Subject Matter
The Surah opens with the abbreviated letter Qaf (ق )which is the last of
the مقطعات( abbreviat ed letters) used in the Qur an. It represents the Divine
attribute قادر or یرقد (Qadir or Qadi r) meaning, the Mighty, the Powerful, and at
once starts to deal with the all-important subject of Resurrection ; and in order
to prove the truth of this primal fact uses as an argument the phenomenon that
a people, who for long centuries were spiritually dead and defunct, received a
new and vigorous life through the Quran . The Surah proceeds to say that the
Holy Prophet’s enemies cannot bring themselves to accept the fact of a
Warner appearing from among them to tell them that the y will be raised to life
after " they are dead and have become dust. " They are told to study the
wonderful creation of the celestial firmament with the beautiful stars and
planets which adorn it and which work with a regularity and punctuality that
knows no deviation. They are further told to ponder over the creation of the
vast expanse of earth which grows al l sorts of fruits and foods for its dwellers.
The Author and Architect of this great and complex universe, the Surah says,
possesses the power and wisdom to give man a new life after his physical
habitat has disintegrated. |
2968 Next, the Surah points to the pur posefulness of the creation of man —
God’s supreme creature and His noblest handiwork —and to man’s freedom
and complete responsibility and accountability for his actions, in a life after
death, wherein he will be punished or rewarded according to the good or bad
life he might have led in this world. Those who had wasted their lives in the
quest of evil pursuits would be thrown into Hell, the punishments of which
would be the representations of their evil deeds done in this life. And so
would the rewards of Pa radise be the representations of the good and noble
actions of the righteous and the God-fearing in this life. Only the things of the
next world would be of a nature different from those to which we are
accustomed in this life.
The Surah ends on the note t hat the creation of the universe, and of
man—the apex and acme of creation —shows that the wise Creator could not
have brought into existence this co mple x universe without a great purpose
behind it. This leads to the conclusion that there must be and there is a life
beyond the grave and that all Divine Messengers and Prophets were raised to
teach man this important religious doctrine, and that those who refuse to
believe in this divine mission of the Prophets incur a liability in the Hereafter. |
PT.26 CH.50
2969 QAF
1. aIn the name of Allah, the
Gracious, the Merciful.3855
2.Qaf. By bthe glorious Quran,
thou art a Messenger of
God.3856
aSee 1:1. b56:78.
3855. Commentary:
See 1:1.
3856 . Important Words:
The letter ق( Qaf) may stand for the
Divine attribute قادر or قدیر( Qadir or
Qadir) which means, the Mighty God ;
or the letter may stand for حق ةالقیام i.e.
the Resurrection is an undoubted
reality. This is the last abbreviated
letter use d in the Quran and therefore
possesses a special significance. For
a detailed explanation, however, of
the abbreviated letters (املقطعات ) see 2:2
& 19:2.
The letter و( by) among other things
may mean, 'by' or 'I swear ' or 'I cite as
witness or evidence. ' See also 37:2.
املجید( Glorious) is derived from جمد
(majada ) which means, he was or
became possessed of or characterized
by glory, honour, dig nity, nobility, etc.
or he was or became glorious, in a
state of honour, dignity; noble.
جمدت االبل means, the camels fed in a
land abounding with pasture, and
satiated themselves therewith, or
lighted upon abundant herbage. أجمدہ
means, he made it (a gift) large or
abundant. They say أجمدنا فالن قری i.e.
such a one gave us a sufficient and superabundan t entertainment. The
Arabs say أجمدہ سباً و ذماً i.e. he reviled and
dispraised him much. ةأجمد الدای means,
he gave the beast of carnage much
fodder. Thus the primary signification
of the root word is abundance or
superabundance. جمد( majdun ) means,
glory, honour, dignity, nobility; (syn.
شرف و عز & کرم )or ample glory, nobility,
honour, dignity, etc., or the
acquisition of glory, honour, etc., or
acquired or personal glory, honour,
etc., transmitted by one’s ancestors.
جمید means, a man possessing or
characterized by glory, honour,
dignity; nobility. املجید as an epithet of
God signifies the Glorious or Great in
dignity, Who gives liberally or
bountifully. جمید is also applied in the
Quran as an epithet to the Throne
(عرش )of God and to the Quran itself
and signifies exalted, sublime, noble,
glorious (Lane & Aqrab). Sec also
38:2. The words املجیدالقرٓان thus may
mean, the Glorious Quran, the great
Quran, the Quran possessing great
and abundant good. In the last sense
the word جمید may be synonymous
with مبارک which is also one of the
epithets used by the Quran for itself
(6:156). Elsewhere the Quran has
|
CH.50 QAF PT.26
2970 been called the Quran full of wisdom
(36:3), the Quran full of exhortation
(38:2), the Noble Quran (56:78), the
Quran which explains things fully
(12:3).
Commentary:
The construction of this verse
exactly resembles that of 38:2. Taking
the abbreviated letter ق as signifying
'the Powerful God, ' the verse may
mean that the Powerful God swears
by the Quran, or that He cites the
Quran as witness, that by actin g upon
its teaching and making it a rule of
their lives, its followers will achieve
glory, greatness and spiritual and
material grandeur. And by taking the
letter as signifying حق ةالقیام i.e. the
Resurrection is an undoubted reality,
the verse would signi fy that
Resurrection will certainly take place
and that the Glorious Quran can be
cited as an evidence to prove this
claim. The proof consists in the fact:
(1) that the Quran has made two
claims, viz. that by acting upon its
teaching the weak, oppressed and
persecuted followers of the Holy
Prophet will achieve glory, greatness and spiritual and material eminence
and an honoured place in the comity
of the world’s great nations; and (2)
that Resurrection will undoubtedly
take place. The fulfi lment of the fi rst
prophecy, the verse implies, will
substantiate and establish the truth of
the second claim.
3857. Commentary:
The verse purports to say that in
spite of the fact that from time
immemorial God has been sending
His Messengers and Prophets to
guide men to the path of truth and
righteousness, the people, whenever
there appeared a Prophet, wondered,
and considered it highly improbable
that God should commission as His
Messenger an ordinary man f rom
among themselves. This attitude of
disbelievers towards Divine
Messengers has been referred to at
several other places also in the Qur an
(7:64; 10:3; 38:5).
3858. Commentary:
Greater is the disbelievers’ wonder
at the idea, says the verse, that when
they are dead and are reduced to dust,
they will get a new life. 3.But they wonder that there
has come to them a Warner
from among themselves.a And
the disbeliever s say, ‘This is a
strange thing.’3857
4.‘What! when we are dead and
have become dust, shall we be
raised up again ?b That is a
return far from possible .’3858
a7:64. b13:6; 23:36; 27:68; 37:17.
|
PT.26 QAF CH.50
2971 3859. Commentary:
The verse refutes the disbelievers’
objection mentioned in the preceding
verse, viz. that when they are dead
and reduced to broken bones and
particles of dust they would be raised
again . It is the physical body, says the
verse, tha t disintegrates and perishes.
The soul is imperishable and will be
given a new body to account for the
deeds done in this world which are
recorded in "a Book that preserves
everything. " The verse may also
mean that even the particles of
objects which the earth disintegrates
are well preserved in God’s
knowledge. It may also signify that as
compl ete knowledge about all the
details of a thing presupposes the
power to create it, and God being the
Possessor of full knowledge of
human anatomy and the process of its
disintegration could recreate it after it
had perished.
The verse may also signify that just
as the earth corrupts and swallows up
dead bodies, it also possesses the
means of nourishing living ones. 3860. Important Words:
مریج( state of confusion) is derived
from مرج( maraja ) which means, he
mixed a thing with another thing or
two things together. مرج االمر ( mari ja)
means, the affair became corrupt,
spoiled, disordered or in a confused
or disordered state. مرج الناس means, the
people became confused so that they
could not extricate themselves from
their perplexity (Lane & Aqrab).
Commentary:
The verse means that though
disbelie vers always reject the Divine
Message, their rejection or denial
does not rest on sure ground. They
are always in a con fused state of
mind. They do not know what they
should make of the Message. They
call it poetry, sorcery, the day-
dreaming of an ambitiou s visionary,
the confused vapourings of an
unhinged mind, or the forgery of an
impostor (21:6). But the Holy
Prophet and his followers stand on
the bedrock of certainty and sure
knowledge. 5.We know how much the earth
diminishes of them and how
much it adds to them, and with
Us is a Book that preserves
everything .3859
6.Nay, they rejected the truth
when it came to them, and so
they are in a state of
confusion.3860
7.Have they not looked at the
sky above them, how We have
|
CH.50 QAF PT.26
2972 3861. Important Words:
فروج( flaws) is the plural of فرج
which means, a cleft, an opening, a
gap, and hence a flaw or defect (Lane
& Aqra b).
Commentary:
This and the following few verses
draw attention to the marvels of
creation, the wonderful design in the
universe, to the celestial firmament
with its countless beautiful planets
and stars, to earth and its wide
expanse teeming with human and
animal life, and points to the
inevitable inference that the Great
and Wise Designer, the Arch itect and
the Controller, Who could bring into
being this wonderful universe and
who placed man at its centre, does possess the power to recreate the
universe after its disintegration, and
to give man a new life after he is dead.
3862. Commentary:
It is lo gical to assume a purpose
behind physical nature. The concept
of God as Designer and Creator of all
things gives a coherent and complete
picture of origin, design and purpose.
And the existence of a purpose
behind the creation implies the
existence of a life after death because
the very idea that with the dissolution
of its physical tabernacle the human
soul suffers death militates against
the whole design of God and the
purpose in creating the universe.
3863. Important Words:
باسقات( tall) is the plural of ةباسق, fem.made it and adorned it,a and
there are no flaws in it?3861
8.And the earth —We have
spread it out, and placed therein
firm mountains;b and We have
made to grow therein cevery
kind of beautiful species,
9.As a means of enlightenment
and as a reminder to every
servant that turns to God .3862
10. dAnd We send down from
the sky water which is full of
blessings, and We produce
therewith gardens and grain
harvests .
11.And tall palm-trees, with
spathes piled one above the
other .3863
a15:17; 3 7:7; 41:13; 67:6. b13:4; 15:20; 31:11; 77:28 . c27:61; 31:11 . d24:44; 2 5:49.
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