العنكبوت
Al-Ankabut
The Spider • makkah • 69 Verses
Filter Aspects
View Aspects
الٓمٓ
2:2; 3:2; 13:2; 30:2; 31:2; 32:2.
Commentary:
The present and the following three chapters are headed by the abbreviated letters (مقطعات) Alif Lam Mim. For an explanation and significance of these letters, in fact for all abbreviations placed at the head of any Surah, see note under 2:2 & 19:2. The above three letters stand for انا الله أعلم i.e. I am Allah, the All-Knowing. See also 30:2.
أَحَسِبَ ٱلنَّاسُ أَن يُتْرَكُوٓا۟ أَن يَقُولُوٓا۟ ءَامَنَّا وَهُمْ لَا يُفْتَنُونَ
3:180; 9:16.
Commentary:
The preceding Surah ended on the note that the Holy Prophet will come back as victor and conqueror to his native town, Mecca, from where he had been driven out as a friendless fugitive. The present Surah opens with the warning to believers that long, hard work and hardships and privations patiently borne are the sine qua non of success in life. This law applies as much to communities and nations as to individuals. Mere lip-profession of faith is not enough. Individuals and communities have to go through the fire of trials and tribulations to achieve their ends. The greater and harder the sacrifice, the more glorious and enduring the success.
3:180; 9:16.
وَلَقَدْ فَتَنَّا ٱلَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِهِمْ ۖ فَلَيَعْلَمَنَّ ٱللَّهُ ٱلَّذِينَ صَدَقُوا۟ وَلَيَعْلَمَنَّ ٱلْكَٰذِبِينَ
Commentary:
The verse means to say that believers are made to pass through great hardships and privations and that their belief is put to a severe test, and after they come out of the ordeal successful the fact becomes established that they are true and sincere servants of God, and thus they are distinguished from the hypocrites and from those who are false in their profession of faith. علم (‘Ilm) which means knowledge, is of two kinds. One kind of knowledge consists in knowing a thing before it comes into existence. This kind of knowledge is not meant here because God is عالم الغیب و الشھادة i.e. He is the Knower of the unseen and the seen (59:23). The other kind of knowledge consists in knowing an event after it has actually taken place. It is in this sense that the expression فلیعلمن has been used in the present verse. The expression signifies that the primeval knowledge of God will take the form of matter-of-fact knowledge. Or it means that God will distinguish between the liars and the truthful as the word علم (‘Ilm) also possesses the sense of distinguishing between two things, particularly when it is followed by the particle من i.e. from. See also 2:144 & 3:141.
‘Ilm (knowledge) is of two kinds: (a) That which consists in knowing a thing before it comes into existence. This kind of knowledge is not meant here because God is the Knower of the seen and the unseen (59:23). (b) The kind of knowledge which consists in knowing an event after it has actually taken place. It is this knowledge which is meant here. The verse signifies that the primeval knowledge of God will take the form of the matter of fact knowledge. Or, it means that God will distinguish the liars from the truthful as the word ‘Ilm also possesses the sense of distinguishing between two things, particularly when it is followed by the particle min (from). See also 2:144 and 3:141.
Believers are made to pass through great hardships and privations and their belief is put to a severe test, and it is after they come out of the ordeal successfully that the fact becomes established that they are true and sincere servants of God. It is in this way that they are distinguished from t
أَمْ حَسِبَ ٱلَّذِينَ يَعْمَلُونَ ٱلسَّيِّـَٔاتِ أَن يَسْبِقُونَا ۚ سَآءَ مَا يَحْكُمُونَ
Commentary:
The expression "will escape Us" has been used in this verse in one of the following two senses:
(1) they will frustrate Our plan;
(2) they will escape Our punishment.
مَن كَانَ يَرْجُوا۟ لِقَآءَ ٱللَّهِ فَإِنَّ أَجَلَ ٱللَّهِ لَءَاتٍ ۚ وَهُوَ ٱلسَّمِيعُ ٱلْعَلِيمُ
2:224; 11:30; 18:111; 84:7.
Important Words:
یرجو (hopes) is derived from رجا. They say رجا الشیء i.e. he hoped to get the thing: he deferred or delayed it; he feared it. رجا الرجل means, he granted the man respite or he deferred the matter regarding him. When used in the sense of hoping, the word is used on those occasions when the thing hoped for is likely to afford pleasure (Mufradat & Aqrab).
11:30; 18:111; 84:7.
Yarju (hopes) is derived from Raja, i.e. he hoped to get the thing or he feared it. In the sense of hoping, the word is used on those occasions when the thing hoped for is likely to afford satisfaction (Mufradat).
وَمَن جَٰهَدَ فَإِنَّمَا يُجَٰهِدُ لِنَفْسِهِۦٓ ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ لَغَنِىٌّ عَنِ ٱلْعَٰلَمِينَ
Commentary:
As against the wrong construction deliberately placed on jihad by some prejudiced Christian orientalists, the primary significance of this word, as is apparent from this verse, is 'to strive.' It is in this sense that the word has been frequently used in the Surahs revealed at Mecca where fighting with the sword was out of the question. As to the significance of jihad by the sword and the circumstances under which it is allowed and the conditions that govern its conduct and continuance, see 22:40.
The verse gives a brief but very apt description of a Mujahid—true striver in the way of God. High and noble ideals and consistent and constant effort to carry them out into actual practice is what in Islamic terminology is called Jihad, and the person who possesses these noble ideals and lives up to them is a Mujahid in the true sense of the word.
وَٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ وَعَمِلُوا۟ ٱلصَّٰلِحَٰتِ لَنُكَفِّرَنَّ عَنْهُمْ سَيِّـَٔاتِهِمْ وَلَنَجْزِيَنَّهُمْ أَحْسَنَ ٱلَّذِى كَانُوا۟ يَعْمَلُونَ
2:83; 3:58; 13:30; 22:57; 30:16; 35:8; 42:23; 47:13.
Commentary:
This verse gives a brief but very apt description of a Mujahid,—a true striver in the way of God. High and noble ideals and consistent and constant effort to carry out those ideals into actual practice is what in Islamic terminology is called Jihad, and the person who possesses these noble ideals and lives up to them is a Mujahid in the true sense of the word.
Man’s good actions are of different degrees. Some are better than others, yet some others are of the noblest quality. The expression لیجزیھم أحسن الذی کانوا یعملون signifies that God will reward all the good works of the believers whether good, better or of the highest quality as if they belonged to the last degree, i.e. He will reward the good deeds of a believer, taking the best of them as the basis of reward.
2:83; 3:58; 13:30; 22:57; 30:16; 35:8; 42:23; 47:13.
وَوَصَّيْنَا ٱلْإِنسَٰنَ بِوَٰلِدَيْهِ حُسْنًا ۖ وَإِن جَٰهَدَاكَ لِتُشْرِكَ بِى مَا لَيْسَ لَكَ بِهِۦ عِلْمٌ فَلَا تُطِعْهُمَآ ۚ إِلَىَّ مَرْجِعُكُمْ فَأُنَبِّئُكُم بِمَا كُنتُمْ تَعْمَلُونَ
2:84; 4:37; 6:152; 17:24; 19:15; 31:15; 46:16.
Commentary:
The alpha and omega of all religious teachings is God’s Unity. Man’s loyalty, first and last is to his Creator. All other loyalties proceed from, and are subject to, this supermost of all loyalties. Even man’s loyalty to his parents is not allowed to clash with it. No other Divine Scripture has laid so much emphasis on God’s Oneness as the Quran.
The immediate cause of the revelation of this verse is reported to have been that when Sa‘d bin Waqqas accepted Islam, his mother threatened to starve herself to death if he did not renounce the new Faith. There was a clash of loyalties, and Sa‘d, a firm believer as he was, refused to succumb to his mother’s entreaties and threats.
2:84; 4:37; 6:152; 17:24; 31:15; 46:16.
The alpha and omega of all religious teachings is God’s Unity. Man’s loyalty, first and last, is to his Creator. All other loyalties proceed from, and are subject to, it. Even man’s loyalty to his parents is not allowed to clash with it.
وَٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ وَعَمِلُوا۟ ٱلصَّٰلِحَٰتِ لَنُدْخِلَنَّهُمْ فِى ٱلصَّٰلِحِينَ
14:24.
14:24.