ROOT ن ق م

2:54, 186; 8:42; 21:49; 25:2.

5:96; 14:48; 39:38.

Important Words:

ذوانتقام (Possessor of the power to requite). انتقام is the noun-infinitive from نقم i.e. he took vengeance. They say نقم منه or انتقم منه meaning, he wreaked vengeance on him; he punished him; he inflicted penal retribution on him for what he had done. نقمة and انتقام both mean, vengeance or penal retribution or punishment (Aqrab & Lane).

Commentary:

The words, and He has sent down the Discrimination, placed at the end of the verse refer to the Quran, the coming down of which has already been mentioned in the beginning of the verse. The idea has been repeated here to point out that the Quran has come to take the place of the previous scriptures, the word "Discrimination" also pointing to the same fact. The word may also refer to the heavenly signs vouchsafed to Islam to establish its truth.

For an explanation of the term مصدق (fulfilling) see 2:42.

After the coming down of the Quran as a "Discrimination" and as "fulfilling" what is in the previous scriptures, the persistent rejection of the Holy Prophet becomes indeed deserving of great punishment, and the verse points out that the God of Islam being "Mighty" and "Possessor of the power to requite", those who have rejected the truth must be prepared for divine requital.

7:127; 60:2.

Important Words:

ھل (do you?) is an interrogative particle which, when followed by الا (except or but), may be translated in the form of a negative statement. Thus the words ھل تنقمون منا الا ان آمنا may also be rendered as, "you do not find fault with us but because we believe". Sometimes it is used in the sense of ان (verily) to express a positive statement as ھل اتی علی الانسان حین من الدھر i.e.Surely, there has come upon man a period of time, etc.

تنقمون (you find fault with) is formed from نقم. They say نقم منه i.e. he punished or exacted vengeance on him. نقم منه کذاmeans, he criticized him, found fault with him and severely disliked him for such an evil deed of his. ما تنقم منا means, what fault do you find with us, or what blame do you bring against us while we have committed no offence? (Aqrab). See also 3:5.

Commentary:

The verse drives home to Jews and Christians their folly in persecuting Muslims and finding fault with them. It seems, in effect, to say to them that the only offence which has made Muslims deserving of their persecution and criticism is that they believe in all the Prophets and all the Books of God; while before the advent of Islam they disbelieved in all these things. A Muslim not only believes in the Holy Prophet and the Quran but also in Moses and Jesus and all other Prophets, and looks upon what was revealed to each one of them as of Divine origin. Thus, the verse administers a subtle but very effective rebuke to Christians and Jews, whose Prophets Islam calls upon its followers to respect and honour as true Messengers of God. The verse may equally apply to the opponents of every other Prophet, because the attitude of the rejecters of all Prophets of God and the reason for their persecuting believers are invariably the same.

5:2, 97.

Important Words:

انتقام (retribution) is derived from نقم. They say نقم الیه i.e. he exacted vengeance upon him; he punished him. انتقمت منهmeans, I took vengeance on him; I inflicted penal retribution on him or I punished him. انتقام thus means, vengeance, punishment or penal retribution (Lane & Aqrab). See also 3:5 and 5:60.

Commentary:

If a man kills game, when he is in the state of احرام (pilgrimage), he should give as compensation a like animal to be taken to Mecca for sacrifice. For instance, if the game killed by him is a deer, he should offer a goat. If the like of the game killed cannot be found, then an animal costing approximately as much as the game killed should be offered, or failing that, the pilgrim should spend the estimated price of the game in feeding the poor, which is two مد per head according to some theologians and one صاع according to others, a مد being roughly two handfuls of corn while a صاع is four times as much as a مد. If, however, the pilgrim is unable to do even that, he should fast for as many days as the number of the poor he could feed with the estimated price of the game killed. The fasting and the feeding of the poor, as the case may be, should preferably be done at Mecca.

43:56.

Important Words:

الیم (sea) is substantive from یم or یمم. The Arabs say یم الرجل i.e. the man was thrown into the sea; or he was drowned in the sea. یم الساحلmeans, the water of the sea or the water of the river overflowed its banks. الیم means, the sea; or the sea of unknown or unreached depth; a great body of water either salt or sweet (Lisan). The Quran uses the word یم both in the sense of sea (as in the present verse) and in the sense of a great river as in 20:40. See also 7:139 below.

Commentary:

The words, They swear by Allah that they said nothing, also show that the preceding verse refers not to disbelievers and hypocrites jointly, but only to hypocrites. As the verse points out, some of the disbelievers who later turned hypocrites were not insincere in the beginning; but as time went on and Islam made progress, they gradually drifted into disbelief and hypocrisy. For instance, ‘Abdullah bin Ubayy, who afterwards became leader of the hypocrites, was at first a believer. But when he found that by giving his allegiance to the Holy Prophet his own prestige and importance had declined, he turned hostile and began to plot against Islam.

The expression, because Allah and His Messenger had enriched them out of His bounty, means that with the advent of the Holy Prophet to Medina, the prosperity of the town very much increased, its trade thrived and its inhabitants grew rich.

3:195; 10:104; 58:22.

Commentary:

The verse is addressed to the reader or to each and every individual from among the enemies of Islam. The Divine attributes mentioned in the verse refer to those enemies of Islam who were bent upon extirpating the small Muslim community. God assures the Holy Prophet that He will certainly punish those who seek to destroy Islam and will make the cause of truth triumph.

26:190; 38:15; 50:15.

Important Words:

امام (way) is derived from ام (amma). They say امه i.e. he repaired to or directed his course to him or it. امام inter alia, means, a road or way; a manifest road or way (Lane).

مبین (manifest) means, distinct from others; apparent; manifest; plain (Lane). See also 2:169.

Commentary:

Commentators differ as to the reference of the word "both" in this verse. Most of them take it as referring to the habitations of Lot and Shu‘aib, the account of the people of Lot having just preceded that of the people of Shu‘aib. But the more correct view seems to be that the word "both" refers to the habitations of "the People of the Wood" and "the People of Midian," reference to the latter being understood. The habitations of both lay on a much-frequented highway.

It may also be noted that in the case of the city of Lot the highway has been called سبیل مقیم i.e. the way that still exists (v. 77) signifying that it would continue to be used. Consequently that road has remained in constant use up to the present time. In the case of the habitation of اصحاب الایکة i.e. the People of the Wood, the road has been called امام مبین i.e. a manifest way. Consequently, the old road which connected Asia with Egypt has now ceased to be used by caravans, though, as the word مبین (manifest) hints, the track still remains.

10:104; 40:52; 58:22.

Commentary:

That the enemies of truth and the rejecters of the Divine Message have never prospered is writ large on the pages of history.

18:18.

Commentary:

Another fact which is writ large on the history of all religions is that those unfortunate people who incur Divine wrath by their persistent opposition to God’s Messengers never go unpunished.