زِينَة

2:169,173; 23:52.

Commentary:

Islam being not a religion of monasticism, the verse implies a rebuke for those who forbid the use of pure and good things.

The good and pure things of God’s provision, which are really meant for, and deserved by, believers only are also shared by disbelievers in this life; but in the life to come they will be enjoyed by believers only, to the exclusion of disbelievers.

10:97-98.

Important Words:

زینة (embellishment) is the substantive noun from زان which means, he or it adorned, decorated, embellished, beautified or graced (him or it). زینة means, a thing with which one is adorned or embellished or beautified; any ornature, decoration, embellishment or grace. The words زینة الحیوة الدنیا (lit. ornature of the present life) particularly include wealth and children (Lane).

ل (with the result that) means, (1) so that; (2) with the result that.

اطمس (destroy) is derived from طمس meaning, it became effaced or obliterated. They say طمس علیه i.e. he effaced or obliterated or extirpated it; or he destroyed it. طمسه means, he transformed or metamorphosed him or it (Lane).

اشدد علی قلوبھم (attack their hearts). اشدد is derived from شد. They say شدہ i.e. he tied, bound or made him or it fast. شد عضده means, he strengthened his arm. شد علی العدو means, he charged or assaulted or attacked the enemy (Aqrab).

Commentary:

The verse does not mean that God gave wealth and splendour to Pharaoh and his chiefs so that by means of these things they might lead men astray from His path. It simply means that God bestowed upon Pharaoh and his chiefs the gifts of this world and the result was that, instead of being thankful to Him for His manifold favours, they began to lead men astray from His path. The verse is, in fact, a forceful expression by Moses of regret and condemnation.

In his words of prayer, Our Lord, destroy their riches and attack their hearts, which form a parenthetical clause, Moses wishes Pharaoh and his chiefs no evil; on the contrary, the words constitute a pathetic prayer for their good. Realizing that they had become so hardened in disbelief that nothing but God’s severe punishment could make them believe, Moses prayed to God to send down His punishment on them not to destroy them but to turn their hearts to truth. So the words, seemingly containing a prayer for the destruction of Pharaoh and his chiefs, in reality embody a prayer for their good and spiritual wellbeing. The prayer in fact resembles a request by a well-wisher for the amputation of the diseased limb of a patient, and is therefore definitely a prayer for mercy though couched in apparently harsh words.

The clause اشدد علی قلوبھم (attack their hearts) has wrongly been interpreted by some as "harden their hearts." According to Arabic idiom, the words only mean "attack their hearts," signifying that some affliction should befall them to turn their hearts to truth. The word قلوب (hearts) corresponds to the word زینة (embellishment) occurring in the foregoing clause and, as زینة here signifies progeny and children (see Important Words), therefore attacking their hearts would mean attacking their progeny. Now an attack upon the progeny of a people may be made in two ways: either by the children being smitten with some calamity or misfortune, or by making the children renounce the faith of their forefathers and go over to the new faith. It was in the latter way that the hearts of disbelievers were attacked in the time of the Holy Prophet, for their children embraced Islam. In the time of Moses, however, his enemies were punished with the death of all their firstborn children (Exod. 12:29).

It is worthy of note here that in the first part of the verse where mention is made of the favours of God, the word زینة (embellishment), which here stands for "children," is placed before اموال (wealth), while in the prayer where reference is made to punishment, اموال(wealth) is mentioned before قلوب (hearts) which here stands for "children," thus reversing the previous order. The reason for this change in the order of words is that while mentioning His favours God has put زینة (embellishment), which represents children, before اموال(wealth), because of its being the more important of the two, but when referring to punishment, the lesser calamity has been mentioned first, hinting thereby that if disbelievers mended their ways after suffering a financial loss, they might still be spared the punishment concerning their progeny. This change in the order of words, besides revealing the wisdom underlying the arrangement of words in the Quran, also throws interesting light on the tender-heartedness of Moses.

36:73; 40:81; 43:13.

Commentary:

The word زینة (as a source of beauty) literally meaning ornament, is here used in the sense of splendour and pomp. This meaning is in keeping with the significance of the words, that you ride them, thus hinting that their beauty lies in their being used as a means of conveyance. The animals mentioned in this verse are those that are used in warfare and serve to show the power and might of a people in opposition to the enemy.

In this and the preceding three verses, the Quran speaks of two kinds of things created for the good of man: (1) those that are of use to him in his private life; (2) those that serve his political ends. These things have been created to serve the following six purposes; (a) to protect man from the inclemency of weather; (b) to provide him with food; (c) to bring him honour and glory; (d) to carry his burdens; (e) to be used as a means of personal conveyance; and (f) to serve as a source of strength and power for him.

The verse purports to say that when God has taken so much care to provide for the above six physical and material needs of man, the idea cannot be entertained for a single moment that He should have neglected to make a similar provision for his spiritual needs. The verse also hints that although man exacts work from other creatures in spite of the fact that he is not their creator, he denies God (Who does not derive any benefit from him) the right to reform and guide him to a stage where he should constitute an evidence of His Holiness and Sanctity and a means of His glorification.

The expression, And He will create what you do not yet know, embodies a prophecy that God will bring into existence new means of conveyance which were yet unknown to man. This prophecy has been wonderfully fulfilled by the discovery of comfortable and ever-increasing means of conveyance such as railway trains, steamships, motor cars, aeroplanes, etc. God only knows what new means of conveyance are yet to be discovered by man.

As against the six physical objects enumerated above, the six spiritual characteristics that the word of God must possess are the following:

(1) It should protect man from the evil effects of heat and cold, i.e. it should guard him against extremes in everything. Absence of the love of God may be called cold in religious terminology and abusing or persecuting in the name of religion those who differ from us in their views and compelling them to subscribe to our views against their will may represent heat. The word of God inspires man with His love on the one hand and on the other enjoins its followers to be tolerant towards those who hold views different from theirs.

(2) It should serve the purpose of spiritual food, i.e. it should contain all those elements which develop and strengthen the spiritual faculties of man. It should inculcate teachings which tend to suppress and subdue his evil inclinations and propensities and inspire him with spiritual strength and vigour.

(3) It should be a source of beauty and glory i.e. those who act upon it should appear beautiful and dignified in the eyes of others. Their compatriots should feel and admit that the word of God has worked a great revolution in their lives.

(4) It should bear man’s burdens, i.e. it should make him realize his duties and responsibilities and, by freeing him from the shackles of superstitious customs and usages, should enable him to achieve true liberty.

(5) It should serve as a means of conveyance, i.e. it should help man speedily to attain nearness to his Creator by understanding and realizing His attributes, and should save him from a long and fatiguing spiritual journey.

(6) It should impart vigour and strength to man, i.e. by acting upon it, its followers should lead a respectable and honourable life in both worlds, their organization should become strong, and they should win the esteem and regard of nations by living up to their ideals and teachings.

These are the six essential qualities which the word of God must possess and without which it forfeits the title of being called Divine.

5:49; 6:166; 11:8; 67:3.

Commentary:

The words, We have made all that is on the earth as an ornament for it, point to the great moral lesson that nothing in this world has been created in vain. Of all the innumerable things that God has created there is not one which has not its particular use or is devoid of all good. All of them add to the beauty of human life. Muslims were expected always to keep in view the great truth underlined in these simple words and to devote their time and energy to delving into the great secrets of nature and to exploring the unlimited properties of its elements. But they ignored this supreme lesson while the Christian peoples of the West remembered it well with the result that they became the most advanced and powerful nations in the world.

It is to be regretted, however, that while Western nations greatly benefited by the lesson taught in the words, We have made all that is on the earth as an ornament for it, they neglected the one embodied in the words, that We may try them as to which of them is best in conduct. No doubt they sought after knowledge and made great advances in science. But the object of the advance and expansion of knowledge is that man’s conduct may become pure and human life more peaceful. But these nations, instead of employing their knowledge and resources to the service of man, have ended by making human life miserable and unbelievable. They have failed to set an example of good conduct and have put their scientific researches to evil use and have thereby laid the foundations of injustice, tyranny and corruption in the world. It is probably to this fact that the present verse refers.

6:53; 7:206.

Commentary:

This verse lends further support to the fact that the preceding verses embody some very important prophecies. In fact, we are here told that at the time of the predominance and ascendancy of Christian nations there will be living in the world a people who, as true representatives of Islam, will be engaged night and day in prayer and Divine worship. The so-called Muslims will, at that time—the time of Imam Mahdi—pin all their hopes about the future political glory and greatness of Islam on the employment of material means and will look down upon the poor and politically unimportant followers of the Imam Mahdi for concentrating on prayer and worship. The verse warns Muslims that on prayer and Divine worship alone will depend the eventual salvation and success of Islam.

The verse further mentions the following three main causes of the misfortunes and miseries of Muslims at that time: (a) they will be neglectful of prayer and Divine worship; (b) love of the world will be their overpowering passion; and (c) they will be wholly lost in the pursuit of material comforts and a life of luxury. But their deliverance will lie in a complete change of their outlook and the programme of their life.

3:15; 57:21.

Commentary:

Riches and children are the ornament of this life and add to its beauty and splendour and generally make men forget God but they can also be employed to serve a very noble cause. Money spent in a righteous cause leaves behind permanent good results. Young men who dedicate their lives to the service of their community, country or humanity at large are not only themselves remembered with honour long after they are dead but also perpetuate the memories of their ancestors. This is the substance and significance of this verse.

The words, are better in the sight of thy Lord in respect of immediate reward and better in respect of future hope, may have two meanings: (a) That good works produce good results in this life and also form the basis of hope for rich reward in the hereafter. (b) That good works not only benefit the doer himself but also his posterity. It is a divine law that the posterity of a righteous man partakes of the divineblessings conferred upon him.

Important Words:

موعدک (thy promise) means, the promise which we made to thee.

Commentary:

Whereas the Quran in this verse says that the Egyptians gave the Israelites jewels of gold and silver of their own accord, the Bible accuses them of having despoiled the Egyptians of their ornaments (Exod. 12:36). But, as generally is the case, in this respect also the Bible has contradicted itself. At another place (Exod. 12:35) it says that the Egyptians themselves gave the ornaments to the Israelites and insisted that they should leave Egypt forthwith. Reason and common sense support the Quranic and the latter statement of the Bible.

Important Words:

قواعد (elderly women) is the plural of قاعد and قاعدة, and قاعد is active participle from قعد which means, he sat. They say قعدت عن الولد او الحیض i.e. she ceased to bear children or to have the menstrual discharge. قعدت الامرأة means, the woman lost her husband. قاعد means, a woman who has ceased to bear children or to have the menstrual discharge or to have a husband; an old woman, advanced in years. امرأة قاعد is like امرأة حامل i.e. a pregnant woman (Mufradat, Aqrab & Lane).

Commentary:

The verse shows that even old women are not allowed to display their finery or ornaments and the beauty of their person and form or countenance to strangers. In the expression ان یضعن ثیابھن the particle ان is مصدریة and the meaning, is their laying aside their clothing.

15:17; 41:13; 67:6.

Commentary:

It is not only the beautiful appearance of planets and stars at night that is meant here. It would be too trivial for a Divine revealed Book to make special mention, merely of the ornamental character of these heavenly bodies. They serve another very useful spiritual purpose. In fact, the verse points to a parallelism between the physical and spiritual realms, viz. that just as physical heaven is sustained by physical planets and stars, so is the spiritual heaven sustained by its spiritual counterparts who are the Prophets and Divine Reformers. Each one of them serves as an ornament for the spiritual heaven, as the stars and planets beautify and embellish the physical heaven.

6:33; 29:65; 47:37.

56:66.

Important Words:

الکفار (tillers) is the plural of کافر which is act. part. from کفر. They say کفر الشیء او کفرہ (kaffara), i.e. he concealed, hid or covered the thing. کفر نعمة اللّٰه او بنعمة اللّٰه means, he denied or did not acknowledge the favour of God, he denied and concealed it. The husbandman is called کافر because he concealed the seed under earth, and a disbeliever is so called because he conceals and denies the favour of God (Lane & Aqrab).

Commentary:

Life spent in forgetfulness of God and disregard of its higher values is, as described in the verse under comment, but a sport and a pastime, otherwise man’s life on earth is a most serious fact. It has a great mission and a noble object to fulfil. The verse implies that at the time when the great Promised Reformer to whom reference is impliedly made in the preceding verse would make his appearance, men would neglect the grim and noble purpose of their lives and would give themselves up, body and soul, to the pursuit of petty and paltry pleasures of life and there would be a mad craze and unhealthy competition among them, and vying with one another, for amassing wealth and material resources. But the end of all this competition and rivalry, says the verse, would be like the end of a blooming and blossoming crop over which a scorching wind has blown turning it into broken pieces of straw.