Search Results for "رَسُولُهُۥ"

4:147, 176.

Commentary:

The words, who holds fast to Allah, have two meanings: (1) whoever preserves himself from sin by acting on God’s commandments; (2) whoever connects himself with Allah and cleaves firmly to Him, thereby securing for himself an everlasting source of rise and progress.

3:133; 8:21; 33:72.

See 2:26.

72:24.

9:107.

Commentary:

The verse has two applications. Figuratively it applies to the People of the Book who, by rejecting the Prophet from among their brethren (see the preceding verse), were, as it were, waging war against God. The punishment which the verse prescribes for them finds a fitting illustration in their history. Taken in its apparent sense, the verse lays down the different forms of punishment that may be meted out to those who wage war against innocent Muslims, killing and slaying them and creating disorder in the land.

The object underlying the injunction embodied in the words, their hands and their feet be cut off on alternate sides, is, on the one hand, to disable the culprit from carrying on a war of aggression, and on the other, to leave him fit enough to earn his living by doing some work. The cutting off of the hand and the foot on the same side would leave the victim utterly helpless. The verse also shows that Islam does not hesitate to take extreme measures to uproot an evil when the interests of society or the State demand it. Islam is not a religion of false sentiments but of sound judgement and true reason. See also the next verse.

2:258; 3:69.

Important Words:

راکعون (who worship God alone). See 2:44.

58:23.

Commentary:

People seek the friendship of great men in order to succeed in life. But, asks the verse, who is greater than God and His Messenger and the true believers, and how can those who make friends with them fail in life?

3:33; 4:60; 8:47; 9:71; 24:55.

Important Words:

انفال (spoils) is the plural of النفل which is derived from نفل. They say نفل الرجل فلانا i.e. the man gave to such a one a gift for which he expected no return. نفل الامام الجند means, the leader allotted the spoils to the soldiers. نفله النفل or انفله النفل means, he gave him the spoils of war. نفله also means, he gave him more than his portion or more than his due. انفله (of which the plural is النوافل means, spoils of war; gift or a voluntary gift; something done or recommended to be done voluntarily without its being obligatory; a grandchild, because he or she is over and above one’s own children. نفل —nafal (of which the plural is انفال) means, spoils of war; a free gift; something extra or additional or in excess. النفل—nafl (of which the plural is النوافل) means, an act performed voluntarily, without its being obligatory (Aqrab). النفل (plural انفال) also means, such spoil or gain as comes in the form of God’s favour without one having laboured for it or deserved it (Mufradat).

Commentary:

This verse does not relate to the division of spoils. The law with regard to that is to be found in 8:42 below. The present verse relates only to the attainment of gains and spoils and not to their division. It was revealed after the Battle of Badr. Before that battle, God had promised the Muslims victory over one of the two parties of idolaters, either the caravan which was returning from Syria under the leadership of Abu Sufyan, or the Meccan army that had, under the leadership of Abu Jahl, marched out of Mecca to fight the Muslims. The Muslims were very weak at that time; and, considering their extreme weakness, they naturally asked whether, in spite of the great disparity in numbers and resources between them and their enemy, they were to gain victory over the enemy and win spoils. The question was similar to that of Zachariah who, when given the glad tidings of a son, asked: My Lord, how shall I have a son, when old age has overtaken me, and my wife is barren (3:41)? The question asked by Muslims in the verse under comment pertained not only to the encounter which took place at Badr but also to subsequent encounters which were sure to take place between the two parties. The Quran answers the question by saying, the spoils belong to Allah and the Messenger, meaning that God has decreed that Muslims should secure victories against their enemy and nothing can stop it.

The words: So fear Allah and set things right among yourselves and obey Allah and His Messenger, signify that though victories and spoils will come, yet there are three conditions for the fulfilment of this promise of victory. The first condition requires Muslims to be God-fearing; the second lays down that their mutual relations should be cordial and they should live at peace and amity with one another; the third calls upon them to obey God and follow the instructions of the Holy Prophet. If Muslims fulfilled these three conditions, God would undoubtedly fulfil His promise of victory.

4:116; 47:33; 59:5.

3:33; 4:60; 8:47; 24:55.

Commentary:

As God was the source of all strength and the Prophet was a means thereof, so the Faithful are here enjoined to obey God and His Messenger. Muslims had by this time witnessed many signs of God; they had only just witnessed a mighty sign in the Battle of Badr. Having witnessed so many signs, it was incumbent on them to be obedient to God and His Messenger. Those who had taken part in the Battle of Badr were all true Muslims; there was no hypocrite among them except perhaps one. But in future battles, there were to be hypocrites also; hence there was the greater need for Muslims to be on their guard and to be more careful in the matter of obedience. The fact is that until the Battle of Badr, ‘Abdullah bin Ubayy, the arch-hypocrite, and his confederates had been under the delusion that Islam was only a passing show and that the little group of Muslims would soon disappear. The victory at Badr, therefore, came to them as a severe shock, and their false hopes were shattered. So from this time onward, they became increasingly more active in their machinations against Islam and the Holy Prophet. Hence, the need of an exhortation to Muslims to be ever obedient to God and His Messenger, for it was in obedience and in unity that lay the secret of their future success and prosperity.

3:33; 4:60; 8:21; 24:55.

Important Words:

ریح (power) is derived from راح i.e. it (a day) was violently windy; or it was or became cool and pleasant by means of the wind. راح الشجر means, the tree felt the wind. راح also means, he was or became brisk, lively, active or quick (as though he felt the wind and was refreshed by it). ریح means wind, i.e. the air that is between heaven and earth; the breath of the air, or, in like manner, of anything (said to be so called because it generally brings rest or ease); puff or gust of wind; also predominance or prevalence; power or force; aid against an enemy; victory or conquest; a turn of good fortune. One would say ذھبت ریحھم i.e. their turn of good fortune had departed تذھب ریحکم means, your predominance and power would depart (Lane).

Commentary:

The verse mentions three ways by following which Muslims could remain firm and become successful. Firstly, they are bidden to obey the commandments of God and His Messenger. Secondly, they are enjoined not to dispute with one another, but to remain united. Thirdly, they are commanded to remain patient and steadfast.

9:2.

4:139.

Important Words:

اذان (proclamation) is derived from اذن which means, he gave ear or listened; he permitted or allowed; he knew or he became informed, etc. آذن means, he informed, or notified or announced. اذان means, notification, announcement or call.

بری (clear) see 9:1 above. But whereas in that verse the word signifies absolution from obligations and from fulfilment of promises made by Islam, in the present verse it simply signifies being clear of a person or a thing, i.e. having nothing to do with him or it (Lane).

Commentary:

The declaration, contained in this verse and the one that follows, is different from that embodied in 9:1 & 2 above, for whereas vv. 9:1 & 2 relate to absolution from the fulfilment of promises made to idolaters, the present verse pertains to the severance of connections with them. This severance, however, should not be taken to mean that the verse declares Islam to be free from all treaty obligations; for, as the following verse makes it clear, treaties are to be respected in all cases and must not be violated.

It is related that on his return from Tabuk in the ninth year of the Hijrah, the Holy Prophet sent Abu Bakr to Mecca to announce, on the occasion of the Greater Pilgrimage, that henceforward no one would be allowed to perform the circuit of the Ka‘bah naked or unclothed. Immediately afterwards the first portion of this Surah was revealed. Upon this the Holy Prophet sent ‘Ali to Mecca, and he, as his cousin and representative, after reciting the opening verses of this Surah, made a proclamation containing the following two announcements before the pilgrims who had gathered at Mecca from all parts of Arabia:

1. No idolater shall approach the House of God after this year.

2. Treaties and engagements, made by the Holy Prophet with idolatrous tribes, shall stand and be faithfully respected till the end of their term. The idolaters of Arabia and the hypocrites of Medina had, by their plots and conspiracies against Muslims and by their persistent treacherous conduct, lost all claim to the clemency of the Holy Prophet. When he was absent on the expedition to Tabuk, they spread the false rumour that the whole Muslim army had been captured and the Prophet was dead. Moreover, Abu ‘Amir, a mischievous Arab leader, had gone to Syria to bring a Christian army to attack Muslims and in Arabia itself secret preparations had begun for a general rising. But for the timely return of the Holy Prophet, these plots would have resulted in great disturbance and heavy loss of life. When, on his return, the Holy Prophet learnt of the great mischief, set on foot in his absence and the plots hatched to deal a death-blow to Islam, he, with a view to preventing a recrudescence of such mischief ordered that henceforth no idolater could stay in the Hijaz with the exception of those with whom he had entered into a treaty, and these, too, were allowed to stay only till the expiry of the term of their treaty. The order was justified not only by the persistently treacherous conduct of the idolaters, but also by other political and cultural considerations which demanded its promulgation. The Hijaz had now become the religious as well as the political centre of Islam, and its interests demanded that it should be purged of all foreign and harmful elements likely to endanger its integrity and prove dangerous to the nascent Muslim community which had been brought into being to carry the message of the new Faith to the four corners of the earth.

2:191.

Important Words:

جزیة (tax) is derived from جزی meaning, he or it paid or gave satisfaction. They say, جزیت فلانا حقه i.e. I paid such a one his right or due. جزاہ کذا means, he repaid, requited, or recompensed him for such a thing. جزیة means, the tax that is taken from the free non-Muslim subjects of a Muslim State in lieu of the protection it ensures them (Lane & Aqrab).

ید (hand) also means favour. See 5:65.

صاغرون (acknowledge their subjection) is the plural of صاغرwhich is derived from صغرwhich means, he was or became small or little in body or in years or in estimation or in rank or dignity (Lane). صاغر which is the active participle from صغرsignifies, one who agrees, and is satisfied, to occupy or remain in a subordinate position (Mufradat).

Commentary:

War with idolaters having been dealt with in previous verses, fighting with the People of the Book is introduced with this verse. The verse refers to those People of the Book who lived in Arabia. Like the idolaters of that country, they too had been actively hostile to Islam and had tried to exterminate it. Muslims were, therefore, ordered to fight them unless they agreed to live as their loyal and peaceful subjects. The Jizyah, referred to in the verse, was the tax which such non-Muslims had to pay as free subjects of the Muslim State in return for the protection they enjoyed under it. Islam has ordained that in Arabia, the birthplace of Islam and its headquarters, only the People of the Book, and not idolaters, could live as subjects by paying the Jizyah, while outside Arabia all non-Muslims could live under a Muslim government on payment of this tax. Arabia, being the cradle and centre of Islam and, as it were, the citadel thereof, was to be kept free from idolaters. It should also be noted that as against Jizyah which was imposed on non-Muslims, the tax imposed on Muslims is called Zakah which is a heavier tax than Jizyah, and Muslims, in addition to this tax, had to perform military service which was very hard in those days and from which non-Muslims were exempt. Thus the latter in a way fared better, for they had to pay a lighter tax and were also free from military service.

The expression عن ید (with their own hand) is used here in a figurative sense, signifying (1) that Jizyah should not be forcibly taken from the People of the Book but that they should pay it with their own hand, i.e. they should agree to pay it willingly and should acknowledge the superior power of the Muslims; or (2) that they should pay it out of hand, i.e. in ready money and not in the form of deferred payment; or (3) that they should pay it considering it as a favour from Muslims, the word, ید (hand) also meaning a favour.

The word صاغرون (acknowledge their subjection) is used here to express the subordinate political status of non-Muslims, i.e. they were to occupy the position of subjects in relation to Muslims. As regards the social relations of Muslims with the dhimmis, as non-Muslim subjects of the Muslim State were called, these may be judged from the fact that the Holy Prophet himself used to stand up in reverence when the bier of a non-Muslim happened to pass by him (Dawud, ch. on Jana’iz), and ‘Ali, the Fourth Caliph, bore on his own shoulders the bier of a Christian who happened to die in the time of his Caliphate.

48:29; 61:10.

Commentary:

The previous verse ends with the word کافرون (disbelievers), while the present verse ends with the word مشرکون (idolaters). Christians are کافر because they disbelieve in the Holy Prophet of Islam and they are مشرک because they associate co-partners with God. The difference is significant in another way also. The word کافرون (used in the preceding verse) is derived from کفر which literally means "to cover." The Quran has used this word to explain the fact that the "light" of God cannot be extinguished by those who try to cover it. In the present verse the word مشرکون (idolaters) has been used to point to the fact that while in the case of God, Christians do not refrain from associating co-partners with Him (thereby implying that His attributes can be shared by others), in their own case they cannot bear to see the favour of prophethood, which they enjoy, shared by others. They cannot reconcile themselves to the idea that Prophets may be raised among any other people, as they have been raised among them. The verse thus tells them that God has caused others to share the gift of prophethood with them, whether they like it or not.

The promise that God would make Islam prevail over every other religion stands for all time. The promise was fulfilled when in its early history Islam triumphed over all peoples, including Christians and the fulfilment of this promise is going to be repeated in the present age, when God has raised the Promised Messiah, Holy Founder of the Ahmadiyya Movement, to serve and help the cause of Islam. This triumph is going to be complete and permanent. In fact, most commentators (e.g. Bayan), agree that the final and perfect fulfilment of this promise, as made in the present verse, is to take place at the time of the second advent of Jesus.

9:96.

Commentary:

The hypocrites used to try to please influential Muslims by making pious professions of good faith. The verse exposes their real motives by saying that if they were really sincere in their professions, they ought to have first tried to please the Prophet, who was their Leader and Master. As they had never done so, their dishonesty was established; and Muslims were, therefore, warned to be ever on their guard against the wiles of the hypocrites and not to allow themselves to be deceived by their flattery.

58:6, 21.

3:105,111; 7:158; 9:112; 31:18.

2:4.

2:44.

8:2.

Commentary:

Compare this verse and the next with 9:67, 68 above. The present verse enumerates some of the signs of true believers. These signs are:(1) that they are friends to one another; (2) that they enjoin good; (3) that they forbid evil; (4) that they are steadfast in the performance of Prayers (5) that they give the prescribed Zakah; (6) that they obey God and His Messenger; and (7) that they are recipients of God’smercy.

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.

Important Words:

المعذرون (those who make excuses) is the plural of معذر which is the active participle from عذر. (‘adhdhara) which again is derived from عذر (‘adhara). They say عذرہ i.e. he excused him or he cleared him from blame, or he accepted his excuse. عذر(‘adhdhara) means, he was without excuse; or he affected to excuse himself but had no excuse; or he excused himself but did not adduce a valid excuse for doing so; he was remiss or wanting or deficient in an affair, setting up an excuse for being so; he did not act vigorously in the affair, causing it to be imagined that he had an excuse when really he had none. Thus معذر is one who falls short of his duty and then excuses himself without having any real excuse; whereas معتذر is one who excuses himself whether he has a real excuse or not (Lane).

Commentary:

The verse speaks of the hypocrites as well as of those weak of faith who did not join the expedition to Tabuk. Some of them were disbelievers at heart, while others were only weak of faith.