حَيَوٰةِ

See under 2:87.

63:5.

Important Words:

یعجبك (would please thee) is derived from عجب meaning, he wondered; he became pleased. عجبه means, it pleased him and caused him to wonder (Aqrab).

الد (most contentious) is derived from لد (ladda). They say لده meaning, he contended or quarrelled with him vehemently. So الد, which is the noun of pre-eminence from it, means, one who is a great quarreller. The plural of الد is لد––ludd (Aqrab).

الخصام (quarrellers) is the plural of خصم (quarreller). They say خاصمه i.e. he quarrelled or disputed with him. خصم and خصیمand مخاصم all give the same meaning, i.e. quarreller. The word الخصام is also used, in the infinitive sense, meaning the act of quarrelling (Aqrab & Lane).

Commentary:

Two kinds of men have already been mentioned: (1) those who seek only the things of this world (2:201); and (2) those who seek both the good things of this world and those of the next (2:202). The present verse and those that follow mention two extreme types of these two classes. Of the former class, states the verse under comment, there are those who wax eloquent in their talk about this world, pleading for the necessity of improving the conditions of life for mankind and calling God to witness their sincerity. Their eloquence and apparent love for fellow beings would deceive the listener, but at heart they love only their own selfish interests and, would vehemently dispute with others for their smallest rights, supposed or real, displaying none of that spirit of sacrifice which is essential for real human progress. They would look to their own interests or the interests of their family or those of their community or their nation only and would not make any sacrifice for, or even do justice to, others.

The clause, he would call Allah to witness, shows that such people outwardly profess faith in God but at heart are lacking in the quality of universal brotherhood which must result from a true belief in a Universal God—"Lord of all the worlds", as the Quran puts it.

18:47; 57:21.

3:186; 9:38; 10:71.

Important Words:

الشھوات (desired things) is the plural of شھوة being derived from شھا. They say شھاہ i.e. he desired it; he desired it eagerly and intensely; he longed for it. شھوة means: (1) desire, or intense desire or longing for a thing; (2) the thing desired, or the object of desire. Sometimes the word is used in a bad sense indicating a low desire or gratification of venereal lust (Aqrab & Lane).

القناطیر (heaps) & مقنطرة (stored-up) are both derived from قنطر. They say قنطر الرجل i.e. the man possessed, or came into possession of, great wealth. قنطر الشیء means, he tied up the thing, or he vaulted it. قناطیر is the plural of قنطار meaning, heaped-up wealth. It also signifies a measure varying in weight and value at different times and in different countries. مقنطرة when added to قناطیر intensifies the meaning, pointing to the greatness of heaped-up wealth. It also means, collected together or stored-up, giving also the sense of completeness and perfection (Aqrab & Lane).

Commentary:

The verse enumerates some of the things of this world which engross man’s attention and often turn him away from God. These are particularly the things to the acquisition of which men, more specially in Christian countries, have applied their time and energy. As already pointed out, it is the Christians that are chiefly addressed in this Surah. Islam does not prohibit the use, or even the seeking, of the good things of this world; but it certainly condemns the action of those who become engrossed in them and make them the very object of their life. Elsewhere the Quran refers to the Christian people as "those whose efforts are all lost in the life of this world" (18:105).

As to the question, who is the "beautifier" referred to in the clause, beautified for men, it may be noted that though the natural beauty in all things comes from God, yet here the "beautifier" is Satan, for in the present verse the question is not of "simple beauty" but of "engrossing beauty", not simply of the desired things of the world but of the abnormal love for them; and it is certainly Satan who endows the things of this world with engrossing beauty and creates in the hearts of men special love for them. God is only the Beautifier of good deeds and good things, and the Creator, in the heart of man, of dislike for evil ones (49:8, also 16:64).

10:25; 68:18-21.

Important Words:

صر (intense cold). They say صر الباب i.e. the door made a sound or a creaking sound. صر الطائر means, the bird (hawk or falcon) uttered its cry. صر means, it (plant) became smitten with intense cold; or he (a person) had an iron collar put round his neck. So صر means: (1) intense cold; (2) cold that smites the herbage and destroys it; (3) sound or noise; (4) a wind with an excessively loud sound; (5) fire (Lane & Lisan).

Commentary:

The idea underlying this verse is that the efforts of the disbelievers against Islam will react only against themselves. Whatever they do and whatever they spend with a view to injuring or destroying Islam will only injure the disbelievers themselves. God sent Islam for the good of the people, but by rejecting it they are bringing about their own ruin.

Commentary:

The use in the present verse of the word انتم (you) which is in the plural number clearly shows that in the previous verses it was not the Holy Prophet, but Muslims in general who were addressed. The Holy Prophet could not be expected to dispute on behalf of dishonest people. The Quran addresses him merely because he is the recipient of the Word of God and it is through him that people receive Divine commands.

49:7.

Important Words:

السلام (peace) means the Islamic salutation of salam; peace; security; submission, etc. (Aqrab & Lane). See also 2:113, 209; 3:20.

مغانم (good things) is derived from غنم meaning, he got or took spoil, or got a thing as spoil; he acquired or gained a thing without difficulty or inconvenience. غنیمة or مغنم means, spoil, booty or plunder; the acquisition of a thing without difficulty or inconvenience; the thing so acquired; what is obtained from disbelievers in war (Lane & Aqrab).

Commentary:

This verse does not mean that if any person greets a Muslim with the Islamic formula of salutation, he should be regarded as a believer. Many non-Muslims nowadays, and many Jews in the days of the Holy Prophet, greeted Muslims with the prescribed salutation but they cannot be, and indeed never were, regarded as Muslims merely on that ground. What the verse means is that when a people offers peace or shows a peaceful attitude towards Muslims, the latter should respect that attitude and refrain from hostility. The word سلام (peace) may also mean submission or security. Similarly, the word مومن (believer) may also be rendered as giver of security or offerer or afforder of peace.

The word مغانم (good things) does not mean only the spoils of war. It also means the good things of the world. In Bukhari(ch. on Tafsir) we have لحق ناس من المسلمین رجلا معه غنیمة له i.e. "some of the Muslims met a man who had with him some good things belonging to him." As explained under Important Words, any thing acquired without difficulty is also غنیمه.

The words کذالك کنتم (such were you) embody a very strong appeal to both sentiment and reason. The expression signifies that, like disbelievers, Muslims too were disbelievers at first, but God gave them time and opportunity and they were at last able to see the truth. So they should be patient with, and lenient to, others and give them time, so that they too may ponder over the truth and accept it if they choose.

2:169,173; 23:52.

Commentary:

Islam being not a religion of monasticism, the verse implies a rebuke for those who forbid the use of pure and good things.

The good and pure things of God’s provision, which are really meant for, and deserved by, believers only are also shared by disbelievers in this life; but in the life to come they will be enjoyed by believers only, to the exclusion of disbelievers.

2:52, 93; 4:154; 7:149; 20:89.

Commentary:

As it was not Aaron who took the calf for worship, so he was excluded when the offenders were punished. This absolves Aaron of all complicity in calf-worship. The account of the Bible in this connection is certainly misleading, as admitted by Encyclopaedia Biblica (vol. 1. col. 2).

As a matter of fact, only those who took the leading part in making the image of the calf and taking it for worship were punished. The rest, who were misled by the ringleaders and who afterwards repented were granted pardon, as hinted in the following verse.

13:27.

3:15.

Commentary:

Just as true Muslims should always be prepared to desist from war, whenever they are required to do so, (see preceding verse), they should also be ever ready to march forth in the cause of Allah whenever called upon. It is to this great truth that the present verse draws our attention. Indeed, with this verse the Quran begins to throw light on such residents of Medina as were weak of faith, including the hypocrites, and exposes the attitude they adopted to evade the obligations that devolved on them as members of the Muslim community. The hypocrites are particularly addressed, the reference being to the expedition to Tabuk, a town situated about halfway between Medina and Damascus. News was brought to the Holy Prophet that the Greeks of the Eastern Roman Empire were assembling their forces on the Syrian frontier. As the Greeks, popularly known as Romans, possessed a regular and well-disciplined army, the Holy Prophet thought it necessary to make thorough preparations to meet them. Contrary to his usual practice, he even announced his objective making no secret of his destination, so that those, who took part in it, should do so in full consciousness of the length and hardships of the journey. It was a time of great trial. The long and arduous journey through the desert was undertaken in the midst of the hot weather. The season promised drought and scarcity for those who took part in the expedition and the ripeness of the harvest for those who stayed behind. Pious Muslims, however, in their devotion to the cause of Islam, promptly responded to the Prophet’s call. Of those who stayed behind without permission only three were true believers,

the rest being all hypocrites. Thus at the head of an army about 30,000 strong the Holy Prophet left Medina in the 9th year of Hijrah. On account of the great hardships the Muslim army had to suffer in the long journey, it came to be called جیش العسرة i.e. the distressed army.

9:85.

Commentary:

The verse warns the hypocrites that their possessions and their children, for whose sake they refrained from going to battle, would become a source of torture for them.

Their children would embrace the faith they hate and would become its devoted followers and, thus, their wealth would also be used in furthering and strengthening the very cause which they abhorred. Think of the shock which ‘Abdullah bin Ubayy, leader of the hypocrites at Medina, must have felt on learning that his own son had asked the Holy Prophet to allow him to kill his father when the latter, on one occasion, used highly insulting and threatening language regarding the Holy Prophet and tried to create discord among the Faithful.