أَجَلٌ

15:27; 23:13; 32:8; 37:12; 38:72.

71:5.

Commentary:

The creation of man referred to in the words, Who created you, is meant as an illustration of the light mentioned in the previous verse, while the decreeing of a term, i.e. the ordaining of death, is meant as an illustration of "darkness". The verse ascribes both these acts to God as acts of mercy, thus refuting those who believe in two separate Gods, one of evil and the other of good.

The words, there is another term fixed with Him, refer to the Day of Judgement or of Resurrection when men, after passing through the gate of death, will receive their rewards from their Lord.

39:43.

Important Words:

یتوفاکم (who takes your souls). The learned author of the Al-Bahrul-Muhit says: "The word توفی (tawaffi), as is well-known, means, 'to cause to die,' but in this verse it has been metaphorically used in the sense of 'causing to sleep' on account of the close resemblance between sleep and death." See also 2:235 & 3:56.

جرحتم (you do) is derived from جرح They say جرحه i.e. he wounded him. جرح also means, he acquired, earned, worked or did (Lane).

Commentary:

The subject that none but God is entitled to punish is continued in this verse, which says that God alone knows the condition of man by night and his actions by day, and all times are subject to His control, and, therefore, it is He alone Who knows the true character of the pious and the wicked, and consequently none but He is in a position to punish. Again, it is He alone Who knows the time most suited for the death of a person and, therefore, He has not entrusted the work of punishment to others.

The words, that the appointed term may be completed, do not refer to any term arbitrarily fixed by God. The "term" spoken of here is determined by the faculties and powers with which man is endowed from the time of his birth, and is liable to be increased or decreased according as a right or wrong use is made of the faculties granted to him. There is no reference here to the eternal knowledge of God.

10:50; 15:6; 16:62; 35:46.

Important Words:

یستقدمون (get ahead) is derived from قدم i.e. he preceded; or he came before; or he headed (someone else). استقدم القوم means, he preceded the people, or he went ahead of the people, or he went before them (Lane & Aqrab). As one who gets ahead of a thing virtually leaves it behind, therefore, the idea in یستقدمون (get ahead) is that of escaping.

یستأخرون (remain behind) is derived from اخر. They say استأخرالقوم i.e. he remained behind the people. استأخر also means, he or it was put behind or put off or delayed (Lane & Aqrab). As one who remains behind a thing virtually puts the thing off, therefore, the idea in یستأخرون (remain behind) is that of putting off.

Commentary:

The verse means that when the time fixed for the punishment of a people comes, it cannot be averted. Disbelievers, who have incurred it, can neither escape it nor put it off by a single moment.

7:189.

7:35; 16:62; 35:46.

Commentary:

This verse embodies a reply to the disbelievers’ demand for punishment (mentioned in the preceding verse). The Holy Prophet is bidden to ask them how he could fulfil their demand for punishment when personally he possessed no power either to do good to, or avert evil from, himself. How clearly this and similar other verses show that the real object of the Quran is to uphold the Unity of God! The Quran cannot bear any human being, even the greatest of all the Prophets, to be regarded as equal to God.

The word امة (people) in this verse means those who disbelieve and not people generally as referred to in v. 48. The verse means to say that there comes a time when disbelievers meet their inevitable end and their place is taken by another people who follow the Divine Messenger. In other words, the Holy Prophet is made to say to disbelievers that, though it is not in his power to bring punishment on them, yet, as it is the immutable law of God that when a people take to evil ways they decline and fall, they will not be allowed to go unpunished and on their ashes a new people shall arise and a new era of truth shall dawn.

8:69; 10:20.

Important Words:

لزاماً (inevitable) is derived from لزم. They say لزمه i.e. it necessarily or inseparably belonged to it, clove or adhered to him or it. لزام الامر means, the affair became incumbent upon him. ألزمه شیئا means, he obliged him to do or endure a thing or He (God) decreed or ordained to him a thing; he made a thing cleave to him or he made him to cleave to a thing. لزاماً means, death; reckoning; such as cleaves fast; a thing inseparable; decision in a case (Lane & Aqrab).

Commentary:

The reference in the words, a word already gone forth, is to the Divine declaration contained in the verse "My mercy encompasses all things" (7:157) i.e. God in His infallible wisdom has decreed that His attribute of mercy will continue to transcend all His other attributes. Or the reference may be to the verse "And Allah would not punish them while thou wast amongst them" (8:34). In this case the words "a term already fixed" refer to the battle of Badr.

22:48; 26:205; 27:72-73; 37:177-178.

Commentary:

The verse gives a direct answer to the disbelievers’ demand for the sign of punishment and says that instead of benefiting by the sign of mercy which has been given to them in the form of the Quran, these ill-fated people persist in their demand for punishment. They will have this Sign and the punishment will come upon them also all of a sudden and from quarters least expected. But they will have to wait for أجل مسمی i.e. a fixed and appointed term.

The implied reference in the words أجل مسمی is to the migration of the Holy Prophet to Medina and the punishment demanded by the disbelievers is elsewhere expressed in the words, "O Allah! if this indeed be the truth from Thee, then rain down upon us stones from heaven or bring down upon us a grievous punishment" (8:33). The punishment came upon the disbelievers in the form of the Battle of Badr which took place about a year after the Holy Prophet left Mecca. It broke the power of the Quraish and all their prominent leaders were killed. Their defeat was crushing and most unexpected. They could never conceive that their well-armed and fully equipped army would be defeated by a handful of 313 ill-armed Muslims who had come to the field of battle quite unprepared, because they had no idea when they left Medina that they would be meeting a regular and fully armed host. The words, "it will come upon them unexpectedly" may also have a general application, meaning that when Divine punishment is delayed, the disbelievers begin to think that all the warning was but an illusion and a fantasy and consequently they become lulled into a false sense of security and even increase in transgression. It is when they are in this state of complacency that the punishment comes upon them quite unexpectedly and destroys them.