بَال

Commentary:

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

3:29; 4:140, 145.

9:47.

Important Words:

بطانة (intimate friends) is derived from بطن i.e. it was or became hidden. بطانة means a lining; an inner vest; a close and intimate friend or friends; a friend or friends to whom one reveals one’s secrets (Aqrab).

خبالا (corruption) is derived from خبل. They say خبله i.e. he made him or it corrupt or evil. خبله الحزن means, the grief affected and vitiated his reason. خبل الرجل عن کذا means, he confined the man and prevented him from it. خبالا means, corruption or bad condition whether of body or reason or actions; loss or deterioration; ruin or destruction; fatal poison (Aqrab).

عنتم (in trouble) is derived from عنت. They say عنت الشیء i.e. the thing became bad or corrupt. عنت فلان means, misfortune befell him and he got into trouble. عنت زید means Zaid met with a calamity and was ruined. عنت العظم means, the bone became weak and broke after it was in a good condition. عنت الرجل means, the man committed a sin (Aqrab). See also 2:221.

Commentary:

The words لایالونکم خبالا rendered as, they will not fail to corrupt you, may also mean: (1) they have no scruple in ruining you; (2) they leave no stone unturned to spoil your work; (3) they will do what they can to corrupt your religion; (4) they are always busy injuring you.

The words ودوا ما عنتم (they love to see you in trouble) may, in the light of the meanings given under Important Words above, mean: (1) they love to see you fall into calamity and misfortune; (2) they love to see you perish; (3) they love to see you become weak and broken; (4) they love to see you become sinful.

Obviously, this verse refers to avoiding such non-Muslims only as are at war with Muslims or such as seek to injure Islam in any other way. It does not require Muslims to have absolutely no relations with any non-Muslim. Elsewhere, the Quran says:

Allah forbids you not respecting those who have not fought against you on account of your religion and who have not driven you out from your homes, that you be kind to them and deal equitably with them. Surely Allah loves those who are equitable (60:9).

5:2, 97.

Important Words:

انتقام (retribution) is derived from نقم. They say نقم الیه i.e. he exacted vengeance upon him; he punished him. انتقمت منهmeans, I took vengeance on him; I inflicted penal retribution on him or I punished him. انتقام thus means, vengeance, punishment or penal retribution (Lane & Aqrab). See also 3:5 and 5:60.

Commentary:

If a man kills game, when he is in the state of احرام (pilgrimage), he should give as compensation a like animal to be taken to Mecca for sacrifice. For instance, if the game killed by him is a deer, he should offer a goat. If the like of the game killed cannot be found, then an animal costing approximately as much as the game killed should be offered, or failing that, the pilgrim should spend the estimated price of the game in feeding the poor, which is two مد per head according to some theologians and one صاع according to others, a مد being roughly two handfuls of corn while a صاع is four times as much as a مد. If, however, the pilgrim is unable to do even that, he should fast for as many days as the number of the poor he could feed with the estimated price of the game killed. The fasting and the feeding of the poor, as the case may be, should preferably be done at Mecca.

6:166; 7:70,130; 10:15.

15:83; 26:150.

Important Words:

بواکم (assigned you an abode). بوا is derived from باء which means, he returned. بواہ منزلا means, he lodged him in an abode. بوأله منزلا means, he prepared for him an abode and assigned or gave him a place therein (Lane).

Commentary:

The words, you build palaces in its plains, refer to the winter residences of the tribe, while the expression, and you hew the mountains into houses, allude to their summer residences in the hills. The tribe of Thamud were a cultured people—industrious, wealthy and resourceful. Judged by the standards of that time, they led a luxurious and comfortable life, going up the hills in the hot season and spending their winters in the plains.

14:33; 22:6; 30:51; 45:6.

Important Words:

الوانھا (their colours) is the plural of لون which is substantive noun from لون (lawwana). They say لون الشیء i.e. he coloured the thing. لون الشیب فیه means, old age appeared in his hair. تلون الرجل means, the man became fickle minded. لون means, colour, exterior; form, shape; kind, sort, species (Aqrab & Lane).

جدد (streaks) is the plural of جدة which is derived from جد which means, it (a garment) was or became new; جدة (juddatun) means, a beaten way or road; a road leading to water; a main road; a sign; the bank or side of a river; the stripe or streak that is in the back of an ass differing from his general colour, a streak in anything as in a mountain, differing in colour from the rest of the mountain (Lane & Aqrab).

غرابیب سود (raven black). غرابیب is the plural of غربیب which is derived from غرب (ghariba) which means, he or it was or became black; or it was or became black on account of very hot wind. غربیب means, intensely black; of which the colour resembles the colour of a crow; when applied to an old man it means one whose hair is intensely black or whose hair does not become white or who blackens his white hair with dye. أسود غربیب means, intensely black. But if you say غرابیب سود you make the latter word a substitute for the former; because a word corroborative of one signifying a colour cannot precede, nor can the corroborative of any word; one of the most excellent kinds of grapes; a variety of grapes growing at At-Ta’if; intensely black; of the most excellent and most delicate and blackest of grapes. غرابیب سود relating to mountains, may mean streaks having black rocks.

Commentary:

The present and the next verse invite attention to the study of a wonderful phenomenon of nature which bears striking resemblance to a similar phenomenon in the spiritual realm. The verse purports to say that when rain falls upon dry and parched land it gives rise to a vast variety of crops, flowers and fruits of different colours, tastes, forms and kinds. The rainwater is the same, but the crops, flowers and fruits it produces are vastly different from one another. This difference is evidently due to the nature of the soil and the seed. Similarly, when Divine revelation, which at many places in the Quran has been likened to water, comes to a people, it produces different effects upon different men according to the soil of their hearts and the way in which they receive it. The same revelation which produced such paragons of righteousness and piety as Abu Bakr and ‘Umar, served only to increase Abu Jahl, ‘Utbah or Shaibah in wickedness and opposition to truth. The verse also signifies that the Faithful and the disbelievers are variously graded in goodness and evil. All believers were not like Abu Bakr and ‘Umar in righteousness, nor all disbelievers as wicked as Abu Jahl, ‘Utbah or Shaibah. The verse further says that the vast variety of colour and kind is not to be found only in plants but also in mountains and rocks as well. All of these wonderful phenomena point to an Intelligent and Powerful mind behind it.

3:119.

Important Words:

خبالا (trouble) is the noun-infinitive from خبل (khabila), i.e. he was or became corrupt, unsound or disordered in his reason or intellect. خبله (khabala-hu) of which the infinitive is خبل (khablun) means, it rendered him insane or it corrupted or disordered his reason or intellect. خبال means, corruptness or unsoundness; or a disordered state in an absolute sense, or in reason or intellect; an affection in the heart resembling insanity or egregious stupidity; loss or a state of diminution; a state of perdition or destruction; distress, embarrassment, trouble or difficulty (Lane). See also 3:119.

خلالکم (to and fro in your midst). خلال is derived from خل. They say خل الشیء i.e. he or it perforated or pierced the thing through. خلال which is both singular and plural, means, inter-space or intervening space or a break or breach or gap between two things; looseness or want of compactness. They say دخلت بین خلال القوم i.e. I entered among the inter-spaces of the party. ھو خلالھم means, he is amid them.جسنا خلال دور القوم means, we went to and fro, or went about amid the houses of the people (Lane).

Commentary:

The verse declares that the defection of the hypocrites did no harm to the Muslims. On the contrary, it proved a blessing in disguise. For, if the hypocrites had gone forth with the Muslim army, they would only have caused trouble and mischief and tried to create discord and dissension.

The latter portion of the verse shows that some hypocrites or those weak of faith had actually gone forth with the Muslim army. These were ever ready to lend ear to the leaders among the hypocrites who generally remained behind. So if the latter too had accompanied the army, both would have joined hands to injure the cause of Islam.

Important Words:

حملھا (bore it). حمله means, he bore or carried it, or carried it off or away; he gave him a beast upon which to ride. حمل بدینmeans, he bore or took upon himself the responsibility for the payment of debt. حمل الامانة means, he took upon himself or accepted the trust, or he betrayed the trust, he proved false to it (Lane & Aqrab). See also 7:177.

ظلوما (unjust) is the intensive form of ظالم which is active participle from ظلم which means, he did wrong or acted unjustly, wrongfully or tyrannically; he put the thing in a wrong place or in a place not its own. ظلمه means, he imposed upon him a thing that was beyond his power or ability (Lane & Aqrab). See also 2:36 & 17:60.

جھولا (neglectful) is the intensive form of جاھل which is active participle from جھل (jahila) which means, he was ignorant. جھل علیه means, he acted towards him in a silly and foolish manner and wrongly. جھل الحق means, he neglected or ignored the truth. جاھل means, ignorant, neglectful; foolish or silly and wrong in conduct (Lane & Aqrab).

Commentary:

This verse has presented commentators of the Quran with some difficulty. In view of different significations of the words used, the verse seems to be susceptible of the following interpretations:

(1) Taking the word حمل as meaning to accept, and امانة as signifying the trust of man’s love of God, the verse would mean that a great spiritual destiny awaited man. He was made God’s vicegerent on earth (2:31). He was gifted with the great capacities and powers to assimilate and manifest in his person Divine attributes and to become the image of his Creator. This was indeed a great trust which man, alone of all the universe, was found capable of discharging, other beings and things—the angels, the heavens, the earth and the mountains—being quite unequal to the task. They refused, as it were, to bear it. Man accepted this responsibility because he alone could discharge it, as he had been endowed with great natural qualities. He was capable of being ظلوم (unjust to himself) and جھول (neglectful of himself) i.e. he could be unjust to himself in the sense that he could bear any hardship and undergo any sacrifice for the sake of his Creator, and he was capable of being neglectful in the sense that in the discharge of his great and sacred trust he could be neglectful of his own interest and desire for a life of ease and comfort.

(2) Taking امانة (trust), however, in the sense of the Law of the Quran and الانسان signifying the perfect man, i.e. the Holy Prophet, the verse would mean that of all the denizens of the heavens, and earth, and of all great men, and leaders of thought, the Holy Prophet alone was found to be capable of being entrusted with the revelation of the most perfect and final Law—the Quran, because no other man, or being was endowed with those great qualities which were indispensable for the full and adequate discharge of this great responsibility.

(3) Taking حمل in the sense of betraying or proving false to a trust, the verse would mean that the trust of the divine law was imposed upon man and other terrestrial and celestial beings. All of them with the exception of man refused to betray this trust, i.e. they carried out fully and faithfully all the laws to which they were made subject. The whole nature was true to its laws and the angels also carried out their duties loyally and faithfully (16:51). It is man alone who having been endowed with discretion and volition defies and violates Divine commandments because he is unjust and neglects and ignores his duties and responsibilities. This meaning of the verse is supported by 41:12 wherein it is stated that the heavens and earth were commanded to carry out the laws that were imposed on them and they gave their willing and unconditional obedience to them.

Commentary:

Commentators differ as to whether the person referred to in this verse as Noah’s son was his real son or only a near relative. According to some, he was his stepson. Ibn Mas‘ud, Ibn ‘Abbas, ‘Ikrimah, Ad-Dahhak, Ibn Jubair and many other commentators, however, are inclined to view that he was Noah’s own son. But discussion of this subject seems to be super-fluous and unnecessary.

Christian annotators have question-ed the authenticity of this incident on the ground that it does not agree with the Biblical account. But the authenticity of the Bible itself as a historical record is open to doubt and it is unreasonable to accept or reject an incident on its authority alone.

12:32.

Commentary:

When the King saw that the wise men of his court had failed to interpret his dream and that Joseph had not only interpreted it rightly but had also suggested a remedy for the impending affliction, and when he learnt from his butler that Joseph’s previous interpretation of two dreams had also turned out to be true, he realized that Joseph was no ordinary man and desired to release him from the prison forthwith. But Joseph refused to be released until a full inquiry was made into his case and he was proved to be innocent of the charge laid against him. His object in demanding an inquiry seems to be twofold: firstly, that the King might know that he was innocent so that on no future occasion might his mind be poisoned against him by evilly-disposed persons on the basis of the alleged cause of his imprisonment; secondly, that Potiphar, his benefactor, might not remain under the impression that he had proved faithless to him.

The Holy Prophet is reported to have once said that if he had remained in prison for so long a time as Joseph did and, like Joseph, had received the orders of his release, he would at once have left the prison (Bukhari & Muslim). This readiness of the Holy Prophet to leave the prison in contrast to the hesitancy of Joseph to do so shows the former to be spiritually superior to the latter. It is true that the vindication of one’s honour is an act of virtue, but to welcome the opportunity for discharging one’s duties as a Prophet of God, as the Holy Prophet’s reported readiness implied, leaving one’s honour to take care of itself, is certainly an act of much higher spiritual eminence.

The words, how fare the women who cut their hands, spoken by Joseph show that the incident of the cutting by the women of their hands did actually take place; otherwise Joseph could not have referred to it in these words. Either the women, while absorbed in conversation, had inadvertently cut their hands, or they might have declared that, by bringing a false accusation against Joseph, they had cut their own hands i.e. had landed themselves in a false position. If these words had only expressed the women’s state of mind and nothing actual had happened, Joseph could not have referred to "the cutting of the hands."

3:55; 8:31; 13:43; 27:51.

Important Words:

ان (even though) gives a number of meanings such as, if; though; even though, etc. It is also sometimes used to express negation i.e. not (Aqrab).

Commentary:

The words, they have already designed all their designs, mean that disbelievers did all that lay in their power and left no stone unturned and no plan untried to bring the Holy Prophet to grief.

The expression, their designs are with Allah, means that God knows their designs full well and, as it is God Who produces the result of men’s actions, He will frustrate their designs. The words "their designs" may also be taken to mean the designs of God concerning disbelievers. In this case the expression would mean that the designs which God will employ against the disbelievers are all with Him and He will carry them into effect as and when He deems fit. The words عند الله مکرھم may also mean, "the punishment of their designs is with Allah," for sometimes a word is repeated to signify the punishment thereof. See 2:16.

The word جبال (mountains), as already explained, also means, "great difficulties or insurmountable obstacles" (13:32). Taken in this sense, the verse would mean that though the designs of disbelievers against Islam are such that they can remove mountain-like obstacles yet, as disbelievers seek to frustrate God’s purpose, they will not succeed in their nefarious designs.

If the particle ان be taken in the sense of "not" (see Important Words), then the words ان کان مکرھم لتزول منه الجبال would mean, "and their designs are (surely) not such as to move mountains."