مُؤْمِن

2:178; 3:115; 4:40, 60; 6:93; 58:23.

Important Words:

آمنا (we believe) is derived from امن for which see 2:4. The word ایمان (belief or faith) does not consist in a lip-profession of truth, or a vague realization of it. It combines three necessary elements, viz. (1) conviction of mind; (2) profession by tongue; and (3) demonstration through actions (Mufradat). The Quran itself explains ایمان in this light (49:15; 27:15).

Commentary:

After describing the condition of believers (vv. 4-6) and that of disbelievers (vv. 7-8) the Quran proceeds to describe the condition of a third group, the hypocrites. They intermingled with the believers and posed as such. They were divided into two classes: (1) disbelievers at heart but united with the believers for the sake of some material or communal advantages; (2) believers at heart but lacking the strength of conviction necessary for thorough conversion and complete obedience. The reference here is to the first class of hypocrites, those who mixed with the believers but did not at heart believe in the truth of Islam.

It may be noted that only God and the Last Day are mentioned here, other Islamic beliefs being left out. This has led some to think that Islam requires belief only in God and the Last Day. The truth, however, is that 'God' and the 'Last Day' are respectively the first and the last items in the Islamic formula of faith and a profession of them ipso facto implies profession of the other items. Elsewhere the Quran clearly states how belief in the Last Day implies belief in angels as well as in the Divine Books (6:93).

The omission may also be explained in another way. The hypocrites wanted to deceive the believers, so possibly they expressed themselves purposely in these words, omitting all reference to the Prophet and the Quran. By mentioning God and the Last Day they would induce believers to think that they subscribed fully to the Islamic faith, but in their hearts they made a reservation as regards belief in the Quran and the Prophet. This interpretation finds support in the following verse which says that the hypocrites wished to deceive the believers. The expression, they are not believers at all, has been used to intensify the repudiation of the claim of the hypocrites to be believers. If a mere negation of their claim had been intended, it would have been expressed by some such expression as "they are hypocrites".

Strong denunciation of hypocrites is characteristic of the Quran (3:168; 5:42 & 5:62). According to the Quran, hypocrites are sheer disbelievers. This view of the Quran furnishes a strong refutation of the criticism that Islam permits the use of force in religious matters. Conversion by force can never be sincere, while the Quran insists upon sincerity in believers. A religion which makes sincerity a necessary quality of belief cannot tolerate, much less encourage, the use of force in religion.

2:144.

3:105, 115; 7:158; 9:71; 31:18.

Commentary:

The verse not only claims that the Muslims are the best people—a great claim indeed—but also gives reasons for it. These reasons are: (1) Muslims have been raised for the good of others; (2) they have been raised not for the good of any one people or any one country but for the good of all mankind; (3) it has been made their duty to enjoin what is good and forbid evil and believe in one God. The history of Islam bears ample testimony to the fact that Muslims fulfilled all the hopes expressed in this verse. They were not only the torch-bearers of Islam to the four corners of the world but they also contributed to the betterment of other peoples in a most remarkable manner. The renaissance of the west was mostly, if not entirely, due to their influence (The Making of Humanity by Robert Briffault).

The greatness of a people is proportionate to the magnitude of their work. As Muslims were to bring about the good of all mankind, they have been declared the greatest of all peoples. In fact, the real purpose of a Muslim’s life is to do good for humanity. As Islam is the greatest good, so Muslims have been enjoined to convey its message to the whole world. They are also required to enjoin what is good and forbid what is evil. There are other people also who claim to enjoin good and forbid evil, but their aim in doing so is to contribute to the strength or betterment of their own respective communities. The Quran warns Muslims against having such restricted motives by adding the words, and you believe in Allah, i.e. your preaching should only be for God’s sake Who is the Lord of the worlds.

The assignment of this great task to Muslims also implies the appearance of Divine Messengers among them from time to time, for it is heavenly Messengers alone who can best perform this duty; and it is through them that we can properly realize the true significance of this task.

It may also be pointed out here that, according to this verse, the excellence of the Muslim people is governed by, and is subject to, the above conditions, i.e. preaching Islam to mankind and enjoining what is good and forbidding what is evil; mere lip-profession of Islam cannot entitle anyone to claim excellence.

26:194, 195.

See 2:90.

Important Words:

جبریل (Gabriel) is a compound word made up of جبر (גבך) which in Hebrew means a man or a mighty man or a hero, and ایل (א ל) which means God (Hebrew-English Lexicon by William Geseneus, Boston, 1836. Also see Bukhari, chap. onTafsir). The latter word occurs in many combinations (e.g. in the word Ishmael in Gen. 16:11 which means "God heareth" or "God has heard"). In Arabic, which is the mother of Hebrew, the word جبر means, mending a broken thing; giving a poor man so liberally as to make him well off; a brave man. The word ایل is either derived from the Arabic word الله (God) or from the root آل, the active participle from which is آئل meaning Controller or Ruler, i.e. God (Aqrab). Ibn ‘Abbas relates that the other name of جبریل is عبدالله i.e. the servant of God (Jarir), which is simply another rendering of the word جبریل. Thus the angel جبریل (Gabriel) is so called because he is the servant of God; he is the strong and brave servant of God; he looks after the repairing or reformation of the universe, he bestows God’s bounties on mankind and is a liberal giver.

In Islam جبریل has been described as the chief among the angels (Manthur) and was therefore selected by God to be the bearer of the Quranic message, the best and the last شریعة (Law) to descend from Heaven. Many commentators consider that جبریل (Gabriel) is synonymous with روح القدس (the Spirit of Holiness) spoken of in the Quran and the Hadith. Similarly, Gabriel has been spoken of as روح الامین (the Trusty Spirit) in the Quran (26:194).

Commentary:

The Jews had been invited to believe in the Quran, but they refused to accept it (v. 92 above) on the ground that it was said to have been brought by Gabriel while, according to them, the bearer of Divine Revelation was Michael, and not Gabriel (Musnad). The function of Gabriel, as we learn from the Bible, is to convey the messages of God to His servants (Dan. 8:16; 9:21; and Luke 1:19, 26. It is strange that Gabriel is mentioned in the Old Testament for the first time in Daniel and not earlier). The Quran, as the verse under comment points out, assigns the same function to Gabriel. But in some later writings of the Jews, he is described as "the angel of fire and thunder" (Enc. Bib. under Gabriel).

Such was the idea of the Jews in the days of the Holy Prophet. They looked upon Gabriel as an angel of wars, calamities and hardships (Jarir under 2:98). Muslim historians tell us that this idea had such a firm hold on the minds of the Jews that when they were told that the bearer of the Quranic revelation was Gabriel, they said: جبریل ذالك الذی ینزل بالحرب والقتال والعذاب- عدونا i.e. "Gabriel is the angel who is associated with war and bloodshed and punishment. He is our enemy." By saying this, they meant that they would not believe in a revelation brought by Gabriel (Musnad). The reason why the Jews bore enmity to Gabriel seems to be that they had fallen on evil days and as, according to them, Gabriel was the angel of war and punishment, therefore they ascribed their misfortunes to him. There is no doubt that the Talmudic traditions and the Targums were the origin of this notion which gained such a firm footing among Jews; otherwise originally the Bible declares Gabriel to be the angel of good tidings and of the Divine Word. It is evident that with the lapse of time legends and myths grew round the original truth, which was subsequently lost; and the Jews clung fast to their erroneous belief, which stood in the way of their accepting the Quran or, for that matter, any revelation coming through the agency of Gabriel.

The Quran has, in the verse under comment, brought forward four arguments in refutation of the Jewish plea for rejecting the Quran:

Firstly, that no angel can bring down any revelation unless he receives direct command from God. Hence the angel who brings the revelation, whether he is Gabriel or Michael or any other, is only a vehicle for the Divine Word; and even if Jewish tradition associates an angel with calamities, it cannot call into question the authority from which his message originates.

Secondly, that the revelation sent down to the Prophet of Islam is مصدق (in fulfilment) of the previous Books and in it all the prophecies about the promised Lawgiver contained in the earlier Scriptures find their fulfilment, which is a clear proof of its Divine origin.

Thirdly, that when it is practically established that the teachings of the Quran are a guidance for mankind, its acceptance becomes binding upon all right thinking men.

Fourthly, that the Quran contains teachings which, besides being right, are also بشری (bearers of glad tidings) to its followers and harbingers of God’s mercy and favours. Such revelation should not be rejected simply for the reason that it has been brought down by Gabriel.

Important Words:

حرث (tilth). See 2: 206.

انی (how and when) means: (1) how; (2) when; and (3) where (Aqrab).

قدموا (send ahead) is derived from قدم meaning, he came or stepped forward. قدم (qaddama) means, be sent forward or sent ahead; he put forward; he offered. قدم لنفسه means, he did good or evil that will in future bear good or bad fruit for himself. قدمه علی غیره means, he preferred him to others. قدم له الثمن means, he paid him the price in advance (Aqrab). The Quran uses this expression to point out that whatever good or evil deed a man does, serves like a seed to bear a future crop. No action is ever lost.

مؤمنین (those who obey) is derived from آمن meaning: (1) he believed; (2) he obeyed (Aqrab). Here it gives the latter meaning. For a fuller discussion of this word see 2:4.

Commentary:

This verse constitutes an eloquent testimony to the inimitably pure and dignified language of the Quran. An extremely delicate subject has been dealt with in a most decent and discreet manner, and the whole philosophy of marriage and conjugal relations has been given in one brief sentence, i.e. Your wives are a tilth for you. A woman is indeed like a tilth in which the seed of progeny is sown. The expression has a twofold significance depending on the meaning of the words اتوا حرثکم (approach your tilth). If approaching the tilth means coition, then the expression approach your tilth how you like would signify that: (1) you should go in unto your wife in a manner suited to her capacity as a tilth and in no other manner; and (2) that both of you should try to keep your hearts pure at the time of coition so that the issue of the process may also share that purity. Says the Holy Prophet, "When the husband goes in unto his wife, they should both pray to God saying, 'Our Lord, keep both of us away from Satan; and if Thou grant us an issue, keep that also away from him' " (Muslim Kitabun-Nikah).

On the contrary, if "approaching the tilth" means selecting and dealing with the wife, the expression approach your tilth how you like would mean: (1) That you should select a wife who is best suited as a tilth, i.e. (a) she should be ولودviz. capable of producing children and not barren; (b) she should be healthy, capable of producing healthy children; (c) she should be well qualified to give good training to the children; and (d) she should be ودود i.e. of loving nature so that there may reign an atmosphere of love and harmony in the house and the children may benefit by it. (2) That you should look after and treat your wife well so that her life may be happy and contented and she may become best disposed to bring up the children well. (3) That you should keep yourselves also in a state of good physical and moral health so that your seed for your tilth may also be healthy in every respect.

A wise husbandman selects the best soil, prepares the best tilth, secures the best seed, and chooses the best time and manner of sowing it. So should you, for on the harvest which you are to reap in the form of children depends not only your own but also your community’s entire future. It is to this supreme fact that the clause, and send ahead some good for yourselves, so pointedly refers. In short, the likening of woman to tilth throws a flood of light on the morality of eugenics and sex. But the real basis of all happiness and progress is the fear of God and in the words, fear Allah and know that you shall meet Him, the Quran warns the Faithful never to lose sight of the real object of marriage even in the heat of carnal passions for even the seat of these passions is the source of the procreation of children and the continuation of a good race on the earth. Finally, the clause, and bear glad tidings to those who obey, contains a mighty بشارة (good news) for those who may obey this injunction, for it would not only make their own lives supremely happy but would also secure for them the best progeny for all time.

See 2:137.

3:148, 194; 60:6.

Important Words:

غفرانك (Thy forgiveness). غفران is the noun-infinitive from غفر for which see 2:59 and 2:200. غفران on the part of God signifies, covering man with mercy and forgiveness and saving him from the punishment of sins. It is used in the infinitive form for the sake of emphasis, words like "I or we implore" being understood before it.

Commentary:

The mention of the believers along with the Prophet has a special significance in the verse; the purifying influence of the Holy Prophet has brought into existence a class of men who have become purified both in belief and in deeds, thus fulfilling the object for which the Prophet for whom Abraham had prayed was to make his appearance.

Good deeds are indeed the principal means for the attainment of purification, but they have their origin in the purity of the heart, which can be attained only by holding true beliefs. Hence, the verse details the fundamental points of belief which the Holy Prophet taught his followers, i.e. belief in God and His angels and His Books and His Messengers, mentioned in their natural order.

Among the points of belief detailed here, one is that true believers say, We make no distinction between any of His Messengers. This means that true believers should accept all the Messengers of God, without exception, and should make no distinction between them by accepting some and rejecting others. There is in this, food for thought for those Muslims who reject the Promised Messiah, Founder of the Ahmadiyya Movement, whom God raised in fulfilment of the prophecies of the Holy Prophet and who came to demonstrate the truth of Islam, by cogent reasons and powerful signs.

Another very important means of attaining purification is prayer. The verse represents true believers as offering prayer to God in the ennobling words, We hear and we obey. We implore Thy forgiveness, O our Lord, and to Thee is the returning. This prayer contains four basic elements of purification: (1) man should ever be prepared to listen to God’s commandments; (2) he should be ever ready to obey His commandments, whatever the circumstances; (3) he should always be asking for God’s forgiveness for his sins and shortcomings; and (4) he should never forget that he will one day return to, and stand before, his Maker and will render an account of his works.

3:119; 4:140, 145.

Important Words:

نفسه (His punishment). نفس is the noun-infinitive from نفس (nafusa) which literally means, it was or became loved and highly esteemed. نفس به (nafisa) means, he was tenacious or niggardly of it. نفس means, the soul; the spirit; the mind; the body; a person or being; a person’s or being’s self; brother or relative, or one belonging to one’s own religion; purpose, will or desire; punishment, etc. (Aqrab & Lane).

Commentary:

With the advent of political power to Islam, as promised in the preceding verses, the contracting of political alliances became necessary for the Muslim State. The verse under comment embodies the guiding principle that no Muslim state should enter into any treaty or alliance with a non-Muslim state which should in any way injure, or conflict with, the interests of other Muslim states. The interests of Islam should transcend all other interests.

The phrase, in preference to believers, means: (1) that Muslims should not form friendly relations with disbelievers in preference to believers, shunning the latter and seeking the former; (2) that they should not form any connection with disbelievers in a way that may harm the interests of Muslims. They are, however, free to contract friendly relations with such non-Muslims as are friendly to them, according to the exigencies of time and circumstances (60:9, 10).

The verse also instructs Muslims to be on their guard against the plots and machinations of disbelievers. The expression, except that you cautiously guard against them, refers not to the power of the enemy but to his cunning against which Muslims should always be on their guard.

The clause ویحذرکم الله نفسه rendered as And Allah cautions you against His punishment, may also be translated as "and Allah cautions or warns you concerning Himself", meaning that if you do not faithfully accept the guidance of God, and make friends with disbelievers in preference to believers, you will lose God, Who will in that case have no connection with you.

16:124.

Important Words:

اولی (nearest). See 4:136.

Commentary:

Though in a technical sense Abraham was neither a Jew nor a Christian nor yet a Muslim for he lived long before these faiths came into existence, yet keeping in view the inner spirit of the faith he was certainly most nearly related to Islam and its Holy Founder. Jews and Christians had no right to claim him as their spiritual progenitor when all their beliefs and practices were at such variance with his teaching.

Commentary:

In the preceding verses Muslims have been taught the lesson of patience, perseverance, and righteousness. If they act upon it, they will succeed and no enemy can injure them. Now the same lesson is brought home to them by an illustration from their current history.

The verse refers to the important Battle of Uhud, which was fought in the third year of Hijrah. After sustaining a crushing defeat at Badr, the Quraish of Mecca began to make preparations in earnest for another attack on the Holy Prophet and his followers at Medina. Accordingly, next year a well-equipped army of 3,000 warriors marched against Medina under the leadership of Abu Sufyan. When the Holy Prophet heard of it, he consulted his Companions as to the best way of meeting the enemy. The majority of the older Companions were of the opinion that they should remain in the city and defend themselves. ‘Abdullah bin Ubayy bin Salul, leader of the Hypocrites, was also of the same opinion. The Holy Prophet also held the same view. He had seen in a dream that the Muslim army had suffered a loss, although it had also inflicted loss on the enemy. So he desired to remain in the city and there wait for the enemy. But the majority of his followers, mostly young men and such of the older people as had not taken part in the Battle of Badr, were eager to march out of Medina and meet the enemy in pitched battle. The Holy Prophet respected the wishes of the majority and decided to march out. Later, however, the majority thought better of the matter and veered round to the opinion of the Holy Prophet. But now the Holy Prophet refused to change his mind, saying that it did not behove a Prophet of God to put down his armour after he had once put it on till God decided between him and the enemy. So he marched out of Medina with a force of 1,000 men. A large party of Jews, who were apparently in alliance with the Muslims, wished to join him. But the Holy Prophet did not accept their help. They were a treacherous people and God had just warned him against them, saying, They will not fail to corrupt you; they love to see you in trouble (3:119).

When the Holy Prophet had proceeded some distance, ‘Abdullah bin Ubayy, leader of the Hypocrites, deserted and returned to Medina on the pretext that his advice to stay in Medina had been ignored and that the help of the Jews, whom he had brought as reinforcement, had also been rejected. This reduced the Muslim army to only 700 men. At this sudden defection on the part of ‘Abdullah, a tribe from the Khazraj called Banu Harithah, and a tribe from the Aus called Banu Salmah, in spite of being sincere Muslims, showed signs of wavering and thought of deserting, but God saved them from such defection (3:123).

On entering the valley of Uhud, the Holy Prophet arrayed his men in battle order with their backs towards the hill and their faces towards Medina. As a further precaution, he stationed 50 archers at a certain point on the hill in the rear of the Muslim army under the leadership of ‘Abdullah bin Jubair, with express orders not to quit the place until so ordered by the Prophet himself, even if they saw the Meccans fleeing before the Muslim or even if they saw the Muslims being defeated and their bodies eaten by birds.

As was the custom in Arabia, the battle commenced with single combats, resulting in the death of several disbelievers and some Muslims. Then the enemy made a general assault, which was repeated thrice, and each time they were completely repulsed. The battle waged hot, but at last the enemy force broke and they were forced to flee, pursued by the Muslims, so much so that some of the latter began to collect the booty.

When the party stationed on the hill in the rear of the army saw this, they thought of leaving their position, thinking that as the battle was over the object of the Holy Prophet’s command was fulfilled and their presence on the hill was no longer needed. Their leader remonstrated with them and asked them to stick to the place in obedience to the Holy Prophet’s command. But they paid no heed to his words and left the place. A few, however, remained behind with him on the hill. Khalid bin Walid, who was among the disbelievers, having not yet embraced Islam, at once saw his opportunity and with a party of disbelievers attacked and killed the few men with their leader who had remained behind, and fell on the Muslims from the rear. Seeing this, the fleeing Meccans also took heart and returned to the attack, and in the confusion that followed someone mischievously shouted that the Prophet had been killed. This disheartened the believers, some of whom fled to Medina, and others left the battlefield, overwhelmed with grief at the supposed death of their Holy Master. Many, however, not desiring to live when the Prophet was dead, rushed into the ranks of the enemy and died fighting bravely.

The confusion was so complete that the Holy Prophet was at one time left with only twelve Companions; at another time, he had only two Companions with him and was thus practically left all alone. All this time, he was the centre of the enemy’s attacks, but the few Companions that stood by him shielded him with their bodies and, standing like statues of stone, received all the arrows and all the blows on their bodies which became pierced like sieves. But they did not swerve even by the fraction of an inch from their place lest by so doing they should expose the body of the Holy Prophet. Whenever anyone of them fell, his place was promptly taken by another. The Holy Prophet was also wounded. One of his teeth was broken by a stone and a ring of his helmet was smashed into his face by a ruthless blow. When the Companions who still remained in or near the battlefield learned that their Master was alive, a section of them gathered round him and, repelling the attacks of the enemy, slowly took him to a safe place on the hillside. Then the enemy withdrew. More than seventy of the Companions fell in the battle, including Hamzah, the valiant uncle of the Holy Prophet; and many were wounded. But as later events showed, this calamity, however great in itself, did not prove a check to the forward march of Islam. The rest of the battle is described in the succeeding verses.

Important Words:

یتوکل (should rely) is derived from وکل (wakala). They say وکل الیه الامر i.e. he left the matter to him for disposal as he might think fit. وکله بكذا (wakkalahu) means, he appointed him his وکیل or agent for the disposal or management of such and such a matter. توکل بالامر means, he became responsible, or accepted responsibility, for the management of the affair. توکل علی الله means, he relied on God; he put his trust in Him; he submitted himself to Him. The infinitive noun توکل signifies relying on, and trusting in, God alone, to the exclusion of worldly means (Aqrab & Lane).

Commentary:

The two groups mentioned here were, as stated above, the two tribes of Banu Salmah and Banu Harithah, belonging respectively to Aus and Khazraj. Their idea of returning (referred to in the note under the preceding verse) was not due to any doubt on their part with regard to the truth of Islam, but was merely due to weakness born of attending circumstances. But as they were sincere believers, God saved them from yielding to this weakness. See also note on 3:122.

The clause, upon Allah should the believers rely, does not mean that a Muslim should neglect material means and confine himself to praying to God and waiting for His help. This is a misguided conception of توکل (trusting in God) which finds no support in Islamic teachings. What Islam teaches is this, that true believer should use all the available means of attaining an object but should, at the same time, not rely upon them. He should trust in God alone looking upon worldly means as only being effective under the will of God. "Tie the knees of your camel and then trust in God", says the Holy Prophet—an extremely difficult position but nevertheless the only right way of demonstrating true faith in God!

8:10.

Commentary:

The verse means that if the Meccans made another attack upon Muslims sometime after Uhud, God would help the latter by sending down a force of three thousand angels. It is a mistake to think that these words refer to the Battle of Badr which has been mentioned in the preceding verse only incidentally in order to cite an illustration of how God helped steadfast Muslims in times of danger. Moreover, the number of angels sent at the Battle of Badr was, according to 8:10, one thousand and not three thousand, as here stated. The fulfilment of the present promise is referred to in 3:152 below.