ROOT ج م ل

7:37.

Important Words:

الجمل (camel) is the noun-infinitive from جمل. They say جمل الشیء i.e. he collected the thing. جمل الشھم means, he melted the fat. جمل (jamila) or جمل (jamula) with different vowel points at the central root letter, means, he was or became beautiful, goodly or pleasing in person or behaviour. جمل means, a he-camel; a full grown he-camel; a camel; palm-trees as being likened to the he-camel in respect of their tallness and bigness; a large sea fish or whale (Lane.) It also means a cable or a ship’s rope (Aqrab).

Commentary:

With this verse begins a description of the life after death, a brief reference to which was made in the three preceding verses.

Heaven is the lofty abode of true believers. The Holy Prophet used to say that it is the souls of the righteous that shall reside in the garden of Heaven, while those of the wicked shall descend into the pit of Hell.

The words, the gates of the spiritual firmament will not be opened for them, signify that rejecters of God’s signs are never vouchsafed the spiritual knowledge and the nearness of God granted to believers.

Though in the translation the word جمل has been rendered as 'camel' following a parallel expression in the New Testament (Matt. 19:24), yet the Arabic sentence may be better explained by using the word 'rope', for a rope rather than a camel bears a resemblance to the thread which is passed through the eye of a needle. The expression, until a camel (or a rope) goes through the eye of a needle, signifies that it will be impossible for rejecters of God’s Signs to enter Heaven.

12:84.

Important Words:

کذب (false) really means either a lie or a falsehood or the act of telling a lie, but here it is used in the sense of مکذوب i.e. false or that about which a lie is uttered (Lane).

سولت (made a great thing appear light) is derived from سال. The verb سول (sawila) of which the aorist is یسول means, he or it was or became lax, flaccid or uncompact; or it hung down loosely; or it was or became pendent or pendulous. They say سول له الشیطان i.e. Satan led him into error; or he facilitated to him the commission of great sins; or he incited him to indulgence in lusts; or he made the commission of great sins appear small in his eyes. The Arabic expression سولت له نفسه امراmeans, his soul embellished or commended to him a thing or an affair; or his soul made it appear easy to him; or made it appear as a light matter in his eyes; or pictured to him what is foul as goodly (Lane & Aqrab).

Commentary:

This verse alludes to another point of difference between the Quranic account and the Biblical version. According to the Bible, Jacob believed the report of his sons to be true and declared that Joseph had really been "rent in pieces" by a wolf (Gen. 37:33); while the Quran says that he regarded their report as a concocted story. Other parts of the Bible, however, support the Quranic version. In Gen. 44:28 we have: And the one (child) went out from me, and I said, Surely he is torn in pieces; and I saw him not since. If Jacob was really convinced that Joseph had been torn in pieces, the sentence, "I saw him not since" becomes quite meaningless. These words clearly show that in his heart of hearts Jacob thought Joseph to be alive, though for the time being he yielded to the inevitable.

The Talmud also agrees with the Quranic account and says that Jacob did not believe the statement of his sons to be true and that he was told in a vision that Joseph was alive (Jew. Enc.).

The verse provides another point of resemblance between Joseph and the Holy Prophet. Just as Joseph’s brothers falsely declared that he had been slain, similarly, the Quraish falsely announced first at Uhud and then at Mecca that the Prophet had been killed, with the difference that whereas Joseph’s brethren spoke of Joseph as having been killed by a wolf, the Quraish asserted that they had themselves killed the Holy Prophet. This is the tenth point of resemblance between the Holy Prophet and Joseph.

12:19.

Commentary:

The verse does not mean that Jacob accused his sons of making a false report about the detention of Benjamin. What he is represented here as saying is that, owing to their enmity with Benjamin, the idea that he could not be guilty of theft did not occur to them, but there must certainly have been some misunderstanding in the matter. The verse shows that Jacob had been foretold by God that Joseph was living and that all three brothers would come back safe.

The pronoun ھم (them) used in the words, Maybe, Allah will bring them all to me, is in the plural which, according to the rules of Arabic grammar applies to more than two. The persons referred to here thus are Joseph, Benjamin, and Judah. Judah’s regard for his promise seems to have made a good impression on Jacob’s mind and therefore he began to feel pain at his absence also and did not forget him in his prayer.

In the words, He is the All-Knowing, the Wise, Jacob seems to hint that God had revealed to him the reality of the matter, and that whatever had happened, had happened in pursuance of a divine plan for the welfare of the family and that their past sufferings would serve as a prelude to future prosperity.

Commentary:

As a result of the Battle of the Ditch and of the subsequent banishment of the Banu Quraizah, large booty fell into the hands of Muslims. They were also promised more conquests and wealth (see v. 28 above). From a persecuted and economically very poor minority they had grown into a rich, powerful and prosperous community. Material wealth, however, brings in its train worldly-mindedness, and a desire for ease and comfort and a disinclination to render acts of service and sacrifice. This is a state of affairs which a Reformer has especially to guard against. As love of ease and comfort, generally makes its appearance first in the domestic circle, and as the members of the Holy Prophet’s household were to serve as a model in social behaviour, it was in the fitness of things that they should have been required to set an example in self-denial. Not that the use of money was altogether taboo or that amenities of life were completely forbidden to them, but they were, no doubt, expected to set a very high standard of self-abnegation. It is to this high standard of the sacrifice of material benefits and of an affluent and easy living, to which the present and the following few verses refer. The companionship of the Holy Prophet demanded this sacrifice, and his wives were told to make a choice between comfortable life and his companionship, and it should be said to their credit that they chose the latter alternative and that even when, afterwards, in the time of the Caliphate of ‘Umar and ‘Uthman, very high stipends were paid to them, they lived extremely simple lives and spent most of the money in charity.

The words, "I will provide for you and send you away in a handsome manner" imply that the Holy Prophet’s wives were allowed a free choice and if anyone of them had elected to part company with him, it would have entailed no displeasure of God, on the contrary she would have been handsomely provided.

It may also be noted that just as the Holy Prophet was a perfect exemplar for all sections of humanity, his wives were expected to serve as model for women in their special sphere. This is why they have been called "the Mothers of the Faithful." Naturally, a very strict and high standard of self-discipline and self-denial is demanded of them in this and the next few verses.

2:237.

Commentary:

The words "and send them away in a handsome manner" signify (1) that no reproach or disgrace should be considered to be attached to divorce; (2) that the divorced woman should ordinarily be paid more than her part of the stipulated dower, and (3) that after divorce her freedom to act as she likes with regard to herself should not be interfered with.

15:86.

Commentary:

Divine prophecies sometimes take thousands of years for their fulfilment. The Holy Prophetsa is enjoined to bear with patience the mockery and jibes of disbelievers because the hour of their punishment is delayed in order that they may have time to take heed, repent or make amends.

Commentary:

The Arabs took pride in their camels of yellow colour which formed the greatest source of their wealth.