ROOT ن ج م

16:17.

Commentary:

The argument embodied in this verse runs like this: "When God has made stars for guidance during the hours of night in the physical world, would He make no stars for the guidance of man in the spiritual world? The spiritual welfare of man is much more important than his physical welfare; so when God has created means of guidance for the temporal welfare of man, does it not stand to reason that He should have also provided means for the spiritual guidance of erring humanity?"

10:4; 11:8; 25:60; 32:5; 41:10-13; 50:39; 57:5.

13:4; 36:38.

Important Words:

عرش (Throne) is substantive from the verb عرش which means, he constructed or built a shed or a building, etc. عرش البیتmeans, he built or constructed the house. عرش بالمکان means, he put up, or lodged, in the house. The saying من العرش الی الفرشmeans, from the highest sphere to the lowness of the earth. عرش means, a shed or building constructed for shade; a house in an absolute sense; a dwelling or a place of abode; the wood upon which one stands when drawing water; the roof of a house or the like; the throne or the seat of a king; the means of support of a thing or an affair; might or power; regal power; sovereignty; dominion. The expression استوی علی العرش means, He (God) reigned as King; He settled Himself on the Throne; He was or became established on the Throne of Power and Majesty (Lane & Aqrab). See also 2:30 & 6:142.

Commentary:

The word یوم (day) also means "time" absolutely (1:4); and it is in this sense that the word has been used in the present verse. It is difficult to say how long these six periods of time were in which, according to this verse, the heavens and the earth were created. They may have extended over hundreds of thousands of years. The word ایام (days) evidently is not used here in the sense of ordinary days of 24 hours, because such days are determined by the rising and setting of the sun and the sun itself, being a part of this universe, came into existence simultaneously with it.

The word ثم (then) shows that after completing the creation of the heavens and the earth in six "days" or six "periods", God settled Himself on the Throne on the seventh day. As the Arabic word سبع (seven) is generally used as a symbol of perfection, the expression would signify that on the seventh day when God became established on the Throne of His Power and Majesty, the universe became in perfect working order.

The "night and day" mentioned in the clause, He makes the night cover the day, have been mentioned here as symbolizing sin and virtue. In fact, the phenomenon of sin in a perfectly ordered universe is explainable only by the phenomenon of night. Just as that part of the earth which is hidden from the sun is covered by darkness; similarly, when a man turns away from God, he becomes involved in the darkness of sin; but when he turns his face towards God, the day dawns for him and he basks in the light of truth and righteousness.

The words, He makes the night cover the day which pursues it swiftly, are explained in 2:165 by the expression "the alternation of night and day." The clause may also imply that it is God’s سنة or practice that after a period of darkness He brings a period of light so that mankind may not suffer.

By using the word مسخرات (all made subservient) with respect to the sun, the moon and the stars, the verse reminds us that it was not in the power of man to make all these planets serve him and that it is God alone Who has placed them at his service. Therefore, if, in spite of these great favours, he would not listen to God’s voice, he would be marked as a transgressor and consequently merit His punishment.

The distinction between خلق (the creation) and امر (the command) is that while the former generally means, the measuring out or evolving of a thing out of pre-existing matter, the latter means, bringing into being without matter by uttering the simple command "Be". The clause, His is the creation and the command, may also mean that God has not only created the universe but also exercises authority and command over it.

For the words, He settled Himself on the Throne, see under 10:4 where the expressions "Divine Throne", and "God’s settling on it" have been fully dealt with.

7:55; 13:3; 14:34; 35:14; 39:6.

Commentary:

In this verse mention has been made of another class of Divine blessings viz. the world of inorganic matter, particularly of those things such as the sun, the moon and the stars which exercise a powerful influence upon the mental development of man, either directly or indirectly through the medium of the animal and vegetable worlds. This is why, after animals and vegetables, mention is here made of inorganic and inanimate things which also help the physical and mental sustenance and development of man. Mention has also been made of night and day, because the benefits that man derives from the alternation of night and day are directly bound with the influences of the sun, the moon and the stars.

One more interesting point to note here is that whereas in the foregoing verses where animals and vegetables have been mentioned God has used the expression خلق (He has created), in the present verse where the sun, the moon and the stars have been mentioned, the expression سخر (He has pressed into service) has been used. This is done to signify that in the case of animals and vegetables which man uses for his benefit he has to put in some effort to derive that benefit from them; therefore in consideration of this element of the personal effort of man the expression خلق (He has created) has been used. But as the advantages he receives from the sun, the moon and the stars and from the alternation of day and night are completely gratuitous and are without any effort on man’s part, the expression سخر (He has pressed into service) has been used

which signifies service without remuneration. Similarly, the use of the expression یعقلون (who make use of their reason) in this verse as against the expression یتفکرون (who reflect) in the previous verse is also significant. The reason for using these two different expressions is that whereas the word فکر (reflection) means mental cogitation relating to matters which are near at hand, the word عقل (reason) signifies mental cogitation relating to things both near and far. As the influence of inorganic matter upon the life and development of man is a thing which requires deep study and close observation to understand, the expression, یعقلون has been used in this verse. But as the phenomena of the animal and vegetable worlds are matters of common observation and can be studied and understood even by men of ordinary intelligence, the expression یتفکرون has been used in the preceding verse.

Commentary:

علاماة (other marks) being the object of the verb القی (He has placed) in the preceding verse, the present verse means to say that had the surface of the earth presented a uniform surface and had there been no ups and downs, no valleys, mountains or rivers, it would have become almost impossible for men to find their way from one place to another. The distinctive physical features of the earth’s surface help men to know their way. Today these landmarks have proved to be of great help in air navigation. The stars also help wayfarers to find their way on land and sea.

The same is the case with the spiritual journey of man. Different parts of this journey present different characteristics which enable the spiritual wayfarer to know how much distance he has traversed in his journey towards his Eternal Abode and how much of it remains. On his way to the Eternal Abode the Prophets serve as guiding stars for him. Being guided and led by them he safely marches on to his spiritual goal. And, like the stars, the Prophets also are inter-related. Just as the knowledge of the position of one star enables the wayfarer to know the position of another, similarly one Prophet foretells the advent of the Prophet who is to come after him and so on. Thus belief in one Prophet helps man to know and recognize other Prophets and to advance in faith. Moses spoke of the Prophets who were to come after him and the latter foretold the advent of those who in turn were to follow them. Thus all the Prophets guided men to the Holy Prophet of Islam, the Sun and Centre of the spiritual firmament. This is why it is incumbent upon Muslims to believe in them all.

13:16; 16:49-50; 55:7.

Commentary:

God has fixed certain laws—natural laws, which all created things, animate or inanimate, have to obey. There is no escape from submission to these laws. There are, however, certain other laws—the laws of the Shari‘ah—which God has made for the guidance of man. These laws man may obey or disobey and defy and thus may suffer the consequences of his defiance.

The verse further brings home to idolaters the folly and futility of their taking the objects of nature for worship besides Allah. It says that all these things depend upon Him for their very existence. They all submit to the laws He has fixed for them and cannot live independently of God for a moment. It is sheer folly, therefore, to adore and worship things and beings which are themselves subject to God-made laws. The expression یسجد له کثیر من الناس و کثیر حق علیه العذاب besides the meaning given in the text, may also mean that many from among men submit to Allah and many others incur His displeasure and punishment because they do not submit to laws made by Him.

Commentary:

The verse seems to suggest that the controversy between Abraham and his people about Divine attributes dragged on late into the night, and seeing that the talk served no useful purpose Abraham wanted to cut it short. So he cast a glance at the stars suggesting thereby that the talk had dragged on long and far into the night and it should better be stopped.

17:80; 50:41; 73:3-5; 76:27.

Important Words:

النجم (the star). The word has been variously interpreted. Generally it means, star or stemless plant, but when used as a proper noun it signifies "the Pleiades." It is taken by some scholars to signify the gradual revelation of the Quran in pieces, and by some other authorities to refer to the Holy Prophet himself. Its plural النجوم also means, chiefs of a people, or small states or principalities (Lane, Aqrab, Kashshaf, Taj & Ghara’ibul-Quran).

ھوی (falls). They say ھوی الشیء i.e. the thing fell from a high to a low place; it rose and ascended. It is said that (al-hawiyyu) is used for going up and الھوی (al-huwiyyu) for coming down (Aqrab).

Commentary:

In view of different meanings of the word النجم given under Important Words, the verse may refer (1) to a well-known saying of the Holy Prophet to the effect that when spiritual darkness will spread over the entire face of the earth and there will remain nothing of Islam but its name and of the Quran but its letters and faith will go up to heavens, a man of the Persian descent, will bring it back to earth (Tirmidhi & Bukhari). Or (2) it may signify that the Quranic revelation hears witness to its own truth. Or (3) it may mean that the tender plant of Islam, which now seems to be going down before the strong and adverse winds of opposition that are fiercely blowing against it, would very shortly rise and develop into a mighty tree under whose cool shade great nations would take shelter. Or (4) the verse may mean that as the Arabs are used to determine the course and direction of, and are guided in, their travels by the movements of the stars in the sandy waste of Arabia (16:17), so they would now be led to the goal and end of their spiritual journey by the star par excellence, i.e. the Holy Prophet. (5) The verse may also embody a prophecy about the fall of the ramshackle State of Arabia, a prophecy much more explicitly stated in the verse, "The Hour has drawn nigh and the moon is rent asunder" (54:2).

13:16; 16:49; 22:19.

Commentary:

The verse, read along with the preceding one, shows that from the largest celestial body to the smallest stemless plant, all things are subject to certain laws and they perform regularly, punctually, and unerringly their allotted tasks. In the huge solar system, which is but one of millions of such systems, every orb proceeds safely on its destined course and never deviates from it. A little disturbance in or deviation from their set course would bring down in pieces the whole universe which has been created for the service of man. It is inconceivable, therefore, that man for whose service this vast and complicated but perfectly regulated universe has been brought into being should have been created without a purpose. The life of man surely has a grand divine aim to which repeated reference has been made in the Quran.

Important Words:

لا (nay) is generally used to impart emphasis to the oath, meaning that the thing which is going to be explained next is so self-evident that it does not need calling anything to bear witness to its truth. When the refutation of a certain hypothesis is intended لا is used to signify that which is said before is not correct but the right thing is that which follows.

أقسم (I swear). For the significance and philosophy of oaths see 37:2; 41:2 and 91:2.

مواقع (shooting) is the plural of موقع which is derived from وقع which means, it fell. موقع means, a place or time where and when a thing happens (Aqrab).

النجوم (stars) is the plural of نجم which among other things means, a portion of the Quran (Mufradat). See also 53:2.

Commentary:

In the foregoing verses it was pointed out that there lies hidden in the inmost recesses of the human heart a longing and yearning for eternity—death not being the end or goal of life—and that adequate provision has been made in nature for the preservation of man’s body. The next few verses deal with his moral and spiritual development and progress. For that purpose God has been sending His Prophets and Messengers and has been revealing to them teachings by acting upon which man could attain the object of his life, that is, continuous and eternal progress of his soul. The Quran is the Last and Complete and Perfect Divine Teaching. The verse swears by, and holds forth مواقع النجوم (portions of the Quran) as evidence to support and substantiate the claim that the Quran is eminently fitted to fulfil the grand object referred to above, as well as to establish its Divine origin. Taking مواقع النجوم as meaning, the place and time of the falling of stars, the verse signifies that it is an unfailing divine law that, at the time of the appearance of a great Divine Reformer or Prophet, stars fall in unusually large numbers, and that this happened in the time of the Holy Prophet. Before him it also happened in the time of Jesus, and, in our own time, when the Founder of the Ahmadiyya Movement announced his claim to be the Promised Reformer. النجوم may also mean those highly righteous persons among the followers of the Holy Prophet whom God favours with His special love and nearness. In this sense of the expression, the verse signifies that the treasures of divine knowledge and mysteries that are revealed to the Divinely-favoured ones constitute an irrefutable proof of the Quran being God’s own revealed Word.