بَدَّلُ

4:11, 128; 6:153; 17:35.

Important Words:

حوبا (sin) is derived from حاب meaning, he sinned; he did what was unlawful. حوب means: (1) a great sin or simply sin or crime; (2) wrong or injustice; (3) perdition, destruction or death; (4) disease; (5) a trial, trouble or affliction (Lane & Aqrab).

Commentary:

After mentioning two favours of God in the previous verse, viz. the multiplying of many men and women from a "single soul", and preserving them from destruction by instituting ties of relationship, the Quran proceeds to emphasize the need of protecting posterity by safeguarding the rights and interests of orphans.

The expression, and exchange not the bad for the good, means that if you do not give the orphans their property, the result will be that your own pure possessions will become impure and you yourselves will suffer in the long run.

The words, devour not their property with your own, contain a warning to guardians not to mix up the property of orphans with their own with the intention of misappropriating it. The clause also hints that if the guardian of an orphan possesses sufficient means of subsistence, he should not take anything out of the property of his ward as a compensation for his guardianship.

2:212.

Commentary:

By "Allah’s favour" is here meant Divine revelation, referred to in the previous verse as "a firmly established word." God bestowed this favour upon the people, but the return they made was to become ungrateful and also ruin themselves by denying it.

Commentary:

The verse speaks of the great Day of Judgement in the next world, when new heavens and a new earth will come into existence. The attributes of "One" and "Supreme" have been mentioned in this verse to point out that on that dreadful day all the false deities of the disbelievers will forsake them and disbelievers will realize that all government rests in God alone.

Incidentally, the verse also shows that the blessings of the next life will be quite different from those of the present life; for, as the verse says, the present earth and the present heavens will be changed into a new earth and new heavens in the next world. If the same or similar earth and heavens were to be created again, in the next world, with the same fruits and the same material boons, where was the need to change the old ones?

Important Words:

نحبه (his vow). نحب (nahbun) is derived from نحب (nahaba). They say نحب الرجل i.e. the man vowed; he put himself under an obligation to do a thing; he laid a bet or wager. نحب (nahbun) means, a vow, or a great vow; a great bet, a wager; an important matter; a great danger; death; the soul; sleep; violence; fatness; ambition; avarice; purpose; a game of chance. They say قضی نحبه i.e. he died; he fulfilled his obligation; he redeemed or fulfilled his pledge or vow; he was slain in the way of God (Lane & Aqrab).

Commentary:

The verse constitutes a great memorial to the fidelity, sincerity and steadfastness in faith of the Holy Prophet’s disciples. Never did the followers of a Prophet receive from God such certificate of good conduct and faithfulness. Just as the Master was unique among all Divine Messengers in discharging his prophetic duties, so were his Companions matchless in fulfilling the role assigned to them.

3:183; 8:52; 22:11; 41:47.

Commentary:

God admonishes both the parties to stop wrangling and quarrelling and shifting the responsibility to one another as His sentence has already been pronounced and His Word never changes.