ROOT ق و ي

2:84, 94; 4:155.

7:172.

Important Words:

میثاق (covenant) is derived from وثق i.e. it was or became firm and established. اوثقه means, he made it firm and fast; he bound or tied it firmly and strongly. میثاق means, a firmly made promise; a covenant (Aqrab & Lane). It should be noted that every commandment of God has the force of a covenant for those who believe, because once an individual or a people believe in God and accept His guidance, they, as it were, enter into a covenant with Him that they will obey all His Commandments, a formal agreement not being necessary. See also 2:28.

رفعنا (We raised high) is derived from رفع which means, he raised or lifted a thing or person; he raised a person in rank, honour, position or dignity; he took a report or complaint to a person in authority (Mufradat & Aqrab). It also means, to make a thing tower above another standing beside it. We read in a hadith رفع لنا صخرة طویلة لھا ظل i.e. a big stone giving good shade was raised above us, i.e. we found ourselves beside a high shady stone (Bukhari, ch. on Hijrah).

فوق (above) is derived from فاق meaning, he surpassed it or him; he stood higher than it or him. Thus فوق is the opposite of "beneath" meaning "above", both literally and figuratively (Aqrab). It is also used to denote a place higher than that which one is occupying. The Quran says: اذجاءوکم من فوقکم i.e. when the enemy made a descent on you from a higher position (33:11).

الطور (the Mount) means: (1) a hill or mountain; (2) the mount Tur or Sinai (Mufradat & Aqrab). Thus, it is both a common and a proper name.

Commentary:

In this verse the Quran again reverts to the previous subject, i.e. the iniquities of the Israelites, but in a different field. The verse refers to the time when Moses went up the Mount Sinai to receive the Ten Commandments and left his followers standing at the foot of the Mount (Exod. 19:17). So the covenant spoken of in the verse refers to the Ten Commandments which were given to Moses on this occasion.

The clause We raised high above you the Mount, does not mean that Mount Sinai was physically lifted up to hang over the heads of the Israelites. It only means that the covenant was taken at a time when the Israelites were standing at the foot of the mountain—a meaning quite consistent with the Arabic idiom as explained under Important Words. The raising of the Mount above the Israelites has been ascribed to God, because it was He Who had commanded them to come and stand at the foot of the Mount.

The verse may also refer to the scene when the Mount Sinai was terribly shaken with an earthquake, while the Israelites were camping near it (Exod. 19:18). On such an occasion the shaking of a high mountain peak appears as if it were hanging over the heads of those standing near it.

2:64; 4:155; 7:172.

Important Words:

اشربوا (were permeated with) is derived from شرب meaning, he drank. اشرب means, he was made to drink. The expression,اشرب فی قلبه حب فلان means, the love of such and such a person permeated his heart (Aqrab). The word is so used because love is like alcohol that intoxicates one who partakes of it. The clause, اشربوا فی قلوبھم العجل (lit. they were made to drink into their hearts the calf) must really be read as اشربوا فی قلوبھم حب العجل (lit. they were made to drink into their hearts the love of the calf), the word حب (love) being understood before the word عجل (calf).

Commentary:

For an explanation of the expression, raised high above you the Mount, see under 2:64.

The words, they said, We hear and we disobey, signify that they practically refused to obey God. They did not necessarily use these exact words; for the word, as pointed out under 2:31, sometimes conveys the sense not of actual speech but of practical conduct.

Reference to calf-worship in verse 93 is not a mere reiteration of what has been already said in verse 55; the incident has been mentioned here as an illustration of what has been said about the Jews in the previous verse. Their attention is drawn to their conduct in the days of Moses. When Moses was absent from them for a short time only, they took the image of a calf for their idol, although they had witnessed how God had helped Moses and had shown mighty Signs at his hands; and that at a time when they had given a solemn promise not to worship anything besides God. In spite of that promise, they showed active opposition to the commandments of God by their deeds.

In the concluding portion of the verse, it is pointed out that the Jews professed to believe in what was revealed to them by God, but their belief was of a strange character for in spite of it, they persisted in their opposition to the Prophets. If this was believing, then their faith was only leading them astray.

Important Words:

دون (other than) is derived from دان i.e. he or it was or became low, mean or weak. دون used as an adjective means, low, mean, paltry, or contemptible; also high and noble. When used as a preposition, as in the present verse, دون gives the sense of (1) this side of, i.e. behind or lower in tank; (2) that side of, i.e. ahead or higher in rank; (3) other than (Aqrab).

انداد (objects of worship). See 2:23.

Commentary:

While dealing with the subject of idolatry the Quran makes use of the following four words: (1) ند (like or equal); (2) شریك (co-partner or sharer); (3) اله (worthy of worship); and (4) رب (sustainer). While the first two words are used only about those objects of worship that are other than God, the last two are used about God also. The word ند (like or equal) which is used in the present verse refers to such objects of worship as are supposed to be like God or equal to Him, being contrary or opposed to the true God. Among those who have set up انداد (equals) with God may be mentioned the Zoroastrians who believe in two independent gods, i.e. Ormazd, the God of Light, and Ahriman, the God of Darkness.

Love of God is the essence of all religion. In Islam it forms the central point, the pivot round which the whole Islamic teaching revolves. No religion has emphasised the love of God as much as Islam has. The Holy Prophet was so much engrossed in God that he was spoken of by the pagan Arabs as having fallen in love with Him, even as a lover falls in love with his beloved. No other subject has been so completely and so repeatedly dealt with in the Quran as God’s beauty and excellence and such of His attributes as create an irresistible love and longing in the human soul for his Lord and Master Who is spoken of in the Quran as a "Most Loving God" (11:91; 85:15). Yet Christian writers accuse Islam of being a cold and calculating religion, bereft of all love for God. Can anything be farther from the truth?

6:155.

Commentary:

The word "wrote" here does not mean that God actually wrote the commandments upon the tablets with His own hand. The same word has been used elsewhere with regard to the Psalms (21:106). It was indeed Moses, and not God, who wrote on the tablets the commandments that were revealed to him on the Mount; but as the commandments were revealed by God, the act of writing has been ascribed to Him. It is also possible that the word کتبنا does not here mean "We wrote" but "We enjoined" or "We made binding".

The words "everything" and "all things" used in this verse are not absolute but mean respectively "everything" concerning which an admonition was needed at the time of Moses and "all things" that required to be explained to the Israelites.

The words, follow the best thereof, point to a golden principle of individual and national advancement. The teachings of God’s Prophet are of different grades. Some are meant for the weak of faith, others for those whose faith is firm and strong and from whom a high standard of virtue is expected. Moses is asked here to exhort his people to try to practise the higher form of virtue and not to remain content with merely acting upon the injunctions that are meant for the weak of faith.

The words, Soon shall I show you the abode of the transgressors, mean that soon the obedient shall be distinguished and separated from the disobedient. At the time of the flight of the Israelites from Egypt, it was a medley host of all sorts of people that had fled from fear of Pharaoh. But when the Law was revealed to Moses, it served to distinguish the true from the false. Those who were sincere, obeyed the Law, while those who had no faith in their hearts, rejected and defied it. Thus, true believers became distinguished and separated from the transgressors. The word دار (abode) here signifies "station or position".

2:64.

Important Words:

نتقنا (We shook) is formed from نتق. They say نتقه i.e. (1) he shook it; (2) he raised it; or (3) he spread it. An Arab would say نتق الله فوقھم الجبل i.e. God raised the mountain shaking above them (Aqrab).

ظلة (covering). See 2:211.

Commentary:

Owing to the violent shaking, the Mount looked like being suspended over the heads of the Israelites as though it were a covering. See also 2:64, 94 & 4:155.

3:12; 8:55.

Commentary:

The verse signifies that Allah has dealt with the opponents of Islam just as He dealt with the people of Pharaoh. The reference is to the Battle of Badr, where God destroyed Abu Jahl and his host as He destroyed Pharaoh and his people in the sea. The verse thus points to the similarity between the Holy Prophet and Moses (see Deut. 18:18).

3:201.

2:273; 9:121; 64:18; 65:8.

Important Words:

رباط الخیل (mounted pickets at the frontier). For رباط see 3:201. خیل is derived from خال i.e. he thought or fancied. اختال means, he was proud and haughty. خیل means, horses collectively, so called because of the pride and conceit in their gait; also horsemen (Lane).

Commentary:

This verse teaches Muslims that efficient preparation is the best means of preventing war. It teaches them that they should not only keep a sufficient fighting force in the country but also an adequate number of troops on the frontier so that the enemy might refrain from attack, thus enabling the Faithful to live in peace. The verse also points to the necessity of spending freely in war.

It is worthy of note that the verse does not simply say "your enemy" but the enemy of Allah and your enemy, thus hinting that disbelievers had become hostile to Muslims for the sole reason that the latter had accepted Islam, the religion of God. These words throw interesting light on the causes of early Islamic wars.

The verse further informs Muslims that the pagan Arabs were not the only enemies of Islam. There were other nations also which would attack Muslims in the future, as the Arabs had already done. So Muslims were told to keep their frontiers strong and well-protected and to spend freely in the cause of Allah. This prophecy referred to the Greeks and the Persians with whom Muslims came in contact soon after the death of the Holy Prophet.

18:106.

Important Words:

The word الذی in the clauseکالذی خاضوا (as they indulged in idle talk) has been variously explained. Either (1) it is in the sense of منor ما . being used as a plural and giving the sense of الذین; or (2) it has the wordخوض understood before it, the full clause being کخوض الذی خاضوہ i.e. like the idle talk in which they indulged; or (3) it has the word فوج or some similar word understood before it, the full clause in this case being کالفوج الذی خاضوا i.e. like the party which indulged in idle talk, etc. (Kashshaf & Shaukani).

Commentary:

The reference in the pronoun "you" in the words, before you, may be either to the hypocrites in general or to ‘Abdullah bin Ubayy (the leader of the hypocrites) and his close associates in particular. The words, those before you, are explained in the following verse.

11:4, 62; 71:11.

Important Words:

مدرارا (pouring down abundant rain) is derived from در which means, it (the milk) was or became copious or abundant; or it flowed copiously or abundantly. They say درت الناقة بلبنھا i.e. the she-camel yielded her milk, or made it to flow, copiously or abundantly. درت السماء بالمطر means, the sky poured down rain abundantly. سماء مدرار means, a sky pouring down abundance of rain. رزق دار means, continual and, uninterrupted sustenance (Lane & Aqrab).

Commentary:

This verse shows that the chief occupation of the people of ‘Ad was agriculture and that they depended on rainwater for the cultivation of their land, there being no wells or canals to irrigate it. It also hints that the acceptance of a Prophet of God improves and betters not only the moral and spiritual condition of a people but also their material condition and leads to all-round progress and prosperity.

Important Words:

القوی (Powerful) is derived from قوی meaning, he was or became strong; vigorous, robust or sturdy. قوی علیه means, he had strength or power sufficient for it; or he had strength or power to endure it; he prevailed against it. قوة which is the noun-infinitive from this root means, strength, power, potency, might or force. قوی therefore means, powerful, strong, mighty. القوی is one of the attributive names of God, meaning, Powerful, Mighty, etc. (Lane & Aqrab).

Commentary:

Every punishment is a disgrace in itself. The addition of the words, the ignominy of that day, therefore shows that there were some special elements of disgrace in the visitation that overtook the people of Salih.