فَطَرَ

3:21.

Commentary:

Verses 77 to 80 contain an argument which Abraham employed to bring home to his idolatrous people the absurdity of their belief in the godhead of the sun, the moon and the stars, which they worshipped (Jew. Enc.). It is an error to infer from these verses that Abraham was himself groping in the dark and did not know who his God was, that he took the evening star, the moon and the sun for God one after another and, when each of them set in its turn, he gave up his belief in their divinity and turned to the One God, the Creator of heavens and earth. The passage contains no less than eleven clear evidences to show that Abraham was not really taking these heavenly bodies for gods, but that his object was to demonstrate to his people the vanity of their beliefs, step by step. Some of these evidences may be summed up as below:

Firstly, the opening part of this passage, i.e. the first part of 6:77 is connected with the previous verses with the double particle فلما (and when) which denotes close sequence, i.e. that which has been said in this passage is connected with, and occurred immediately after, what is related in the preceding verses. Now the preceding verses, i.e. vv. 75 and 76, clearly show Abraham as having attained certainty and conviction of faith and as being a firm believer in one God and being advanced in spirituality. Thus placed and protected, he cannot be considered as groping in the dark like a blind man and wandering from one deity to another.

Secondly, there is no sense in supposing Abraham to have seen the star or the moon for the first time that night. He belonged to a community which used to worship stars and he must have seen the stars many times before. If he was really a star-worshipper, he ought to have first imbibed the idea from what he had heard from his father and others, and not by seeing a star himself and reflecting over it. Star-worship was not at all a new idea discovered by him by looking at a star. Thus, there is no doubt that Abraham’s words, This is my Lord, were not meant as an expression of faith, but simply as an argument against star-worship. He assumed the star he saw to be his Lord merely to expose its lordship afterwards on the basis of its setting and thereby to tell his people that they were wrong in taking the star for their Lord.

Thirdly, when the star disappeared, Abraham is reported to have said, I like not those that set. Now Abraham certainly knew already that the star must set; he must have already seen it disappear times without number. So the argument, I like not those that set, must have already been familiar to his mind and he could not take to worshipping the star in view of this argument. In fact, what he wanted was to use the argument against star-worshippers in a way that might prove effective. So he first assumed or supposed the star to be his Lord and, when it disappeared, he hastened to declare, I like not those that set. Similar was the case with the setting of the moon and the sun. Of the sun he spoke the word "greater" or "greatest" ironically in order, to taunt his people for their folly. It should be incidentally noted here that Abraham did not use the word اکبر (greater or greatest) for the moon which was also greater than the evening star. The omission is significant, as it clearly shows, that he was already intending to refer to the sun after disposing of the case of the moon.

Fourthly, if Abraham was really searching for God and had sincerely taken the star, the moon and the sun, in turn, for his Lord, then the conclusion at which he ought to have naturally arrived, after gradually rejecting the godhead of these three heavenly bodies, should have been that there was no God at all, but instead of declaring that there was no God, Abraham forthwith turned to his people saying: O my people, surely I am clear of that which you associate with God, I have turned my face toward Him Who created the heavens and the earth, being over inclined to God. This shows that Abraham already knew the true God and believed in Him and was simply trying gradually to draw his people towards Him. Let the reader only read the whole reply of Abraham (vv. 81-83) and it will become crystal clear to him that Abraham was not only familiar with the name of Allah and believed in Him, but also possessed a deep knowledge of His attributes.

26:128.

Commentary:

This verse reveals on the one hand an independence of spirit and an absence of any selfish motive on the part of the Prophet Hud and, on the other, represents him as helplessly crying for God’s mercy. Such, indeed, is the true nature of all holy men. In their attitude towards the men of this world they display complete independence of spirit, but before God they exhibit such humility and lowliness as if they are virtually nothing.

36:79-80.

34:30; 36:49; 67:26.

Commentary:

The expression, Who shall restore us to life, does not mean that disbelievers really enquire as to who will bring them to life again. It only signifies that they ridicule the very idea of their being restored to a new life.

The words, maybe it is nigh, signify that the resurrection promised to disbelievers in this verse is not the one which will take place after death, but the one which was to take place shortly in their lives. This prophecy was fulfilled after the Fall of Mecca when the whole of Arabia embraced Islam. Those who were spiritually dead were restored to a new life.

26:51.

Commentary:

Mark the wonderful change that true faith works in man. The greedy and materialistic magicians who only a short while ago were asking for reward from Pharaoh, in the form of money, position or honour (7:114), became quite indifferent even to the most horrible form of death with which he threatened them when they found and accepted the truth.

Commentary:

The verse points to the supreme truth that Divine Messengers, when they talk about God, speak from personal experience. They do not merely make an assertion about God but substantiate it with practical proofs from their own life. They do not invite people to God merely because human reason demands belief in His existence but they do it with full conviction and firm faith. When they say that God exists they say it with full conviction because they constantly hear His sweet voice and because also they themselves speak to Him and receive answer to their prayers from Him. God reveals Himself to them and they witness practical proofs of His power and omniscience in their own persons. So their testimony about the existence of God is based not on hearsay, nor on reason alone but primarily and principally on their personal experience. It is for this reason that God has commanded the Holy Prophet to declare:

"I call unto Allah on sure knowledge, I and those who follow me" (12:109).

10:106; 30:44.

12:41; 98:6.

Commentary:

This verse continues the theme of v. 29 above, the theme, briefly, of the Almightiness and Unity of God, and, by implication, of the oneness of all humanity. The fact, that God is One and all humanity, too, is one, has been called فطرة اللّٰه(nature given by God) or دین الفطرة i.e. the religion which is rooted in the pure and unsullied nature of man. This in other words is Islam and to it has the Holy Prophet referred in his well-known saying… کل مولود یولد علی فطرة الاسلام i.e. every child is born with an unsullied and pure nature, which is دین الفطرة i.e. the religion to which pure human nature conforms and instinctively reacts. It is in this religion that a child is born, but it is his environments, the ideas and beliefs of his parents and the training he receives from them that subsequently make him a Jew, a Magian or a Christian (Bukhari).

The words, "There is no altering the creation of Allah," mean that true religion is rooted in the very nature of man. False beliefs are the result of the influences of environment. Once those vicious extraneous influences are removed, he at once reacts to it and hastens to accept it.

Commentary:

The implied reference in this and the preceding verse seems to be to the special pledge which the Promised Messiah used to take from every new Ahmadi in the words:

میں دین کو دنیا پر مقدم کروں گا

i.e. I will give precedence to Faith over the things of the world.

26:29.

73:19.

Commentary:

As mentioned in the Introduction, the Surah deals particularly with the time when Christianity would be very much in the ascendant, and Christian doctrines of the Trinity and the Sonship of Jesus Christ would reign supreme. To this dominance of Christian beliefs, the Quran has referred in very strong language in the words: "The heavens might well-nigh be rent thereat, and the earth cleave asunder, and the mountains fall down in pieces, because they ascribe a son to the Gracious God" (19:91-92). The verse under comment thus signifies that at that time false doctrines of Christianity would dominate the world, and as a result of it God’s wrath would be excited and Divine punishment would overtake the world in various forms. The reference is clearly to the present time.

The verse may also signify that God’s righteous servants would feel so grieved at seeing sin and iniquity spreading all round in the world as a result of false Christian doctrines that their hearts would, as it were, become rent; the word "heavens" referring to the hearts of the righteous believers which in religious phraseology are called God’s Throne.