سَعَ

9:17, 18; 22:26; 72:19, 20.

Important Words:

خرابھا (their ruin) is derived from خرب. They say خرب البیت i.e. the house became desolate and deserted. The word خرابwhich is infinitive from it is the opposite of عمارة i.e. to build or to occupy and live in, and is used about a place when it becomes deserted and desolate and ruined (Aqrab).

Commentary:

This verse constitutes a strong indictment of those who carry their religious differences to such extremes that they do not even refrain from perpetrating outrages against the places of worship belonging to other creeds. They hinder people from worshipping God in their sacred places and even go so far as to destroy their temples. Such acts of violence are denounced here in strong terms and a lesson of tolerance and broad-mindedness is inculcated.

The Quran recognizes for all the free and unrestricted right to use their temples and declares that if people wish to worship God in a place of worship, they should not be prevented from doing so; for a temple or a mosque is a place dedicated to the worship of God and anyone who prevents them from worshipping Him in it, in fact, contributes to its ruin and desolation.

This is what Islam teaches about respect for the places of worship, and yet it has come to be condemned as an intolerant religion. Islam is indeed the first and the only religion to inculcate broad-mindedness and teach respect for the religious susceptibilities of all peoples and the Holy Prophet was the first person who carried this great and noble principle into actual practice. He allowed the Christians of Najran to hold their service in his own mosque, the celebrated مسجدالنبی, when they came to have a religious discussion with him at Medina (Zurqani).

It will be noted that the verse prescribes two punishments for those who prohibit the name of Allah being glorified in places of worship. One is disgrace in this world and the other is heavy punishment in the next. The punishment of disgrace is typical of the offence; for a person who first builds a temple or a mosque with the object that the name of God may be remembered in it and then proceeds to prevent people from worshipping Him therein cannot but bring upon himself humiliation and disgrace in the eyes of the world. The words also contain a prophecy about the disbelievers of Mecca who prevented the Muslims from entering the Ka‘bah. The prophecy was fulfilled when Mecca was taken and the infidels met with humiliation and disgrace. Finally, it may be noted that the verse should not be understood to mean that the Quran advocates the unqualified access for all sorts of persons to all places of worship without regard to circumstances. In fact, only those who wish to use them for the specific purpose of God’s worship and have no ulterior motive are allowed.

Important Words:

تولی (he is in authority) is derived, from ولی. تولی means: (1) he turned his back, he went away from one’s presence; (2) he held command, or he was in authority; he became a والی or ruler (Aqrab & Taj).

سعی (runs about) means: (1) he walked briskly or he ran; (2) he made an effort; or he strove to obtain an object (Aqrab).

الحرث (the crops) is the noun-infinitive from حرث i.e. he ploughed or tilled the soil; he sowed seeds or planted plants in it; he acquired or earned or laboured for wealth or sustenance; he worked or laboured for the goods of the world. حرث means: (1) a tilth or a piece of land ploughed for sowing, or land actually sown with some crop; (2) land under crop; (3) crop or produce of land whether field crop or garden crop; (4) gain, acquisition or earning; (5) reward or recompense; (6) worldly goods; (7) wife or wives, because a wife is like a tilth in which seed is sown to bear crop in the form of children; (8) a much used road or a beaten track (Lane).

النسل (progeny). نسل الولد means, he begot a child. نسل الرجل means, the man had many children; the progeny of the man increased. نسل means: (1) creatures; (2) children; (3) progeny, whether of man or beast (Aqrab & Lane).

Commentary:

This verse further develops the idea contained in the preceding one. The type of man described in the previous verse (i.e. one whose talk about the affairs of this world is very pleasing but who is selfish at heart) becomes unmasked when he happens to be in authority, or when he goes away from the presence of the people and meets his associates in private. Thus both the meanings of the word تولی as mentioned under Important Words are appropriate here: (1) While he is in the presence of those who are sincere lovers of mankind, he says pleasing things; but when he goes away from them and meets his comrades in private, he strives to create disorder on the earth. (2) Similarly, when he happens to come to power, he becomes exposed and all his talk about improving the affairs of the world vanishes like smoke, and instead of acting like a reformer, he actually becomes a source of disorder.

The clause, destroy the crops and the progeny, means that all his efforts are directed towards harming people and their property. The words حرث and نسل have a number of meanings and all are applicable here. They refer to all kinds of damage relating to person and property.

The words, Allah loves not disorder, come as a fitting reply to the clause in the preceding verse, i.e. he calls Allah to witness as to that which is in his heart. Allah’s evidence goes against him, for the man is after disorder, and Allah loves not disorder.

3:27.

Important Words:

طالوت (Talut) is the attributive name of an Israelite king who lived about two hundred years before David and about the same number of years after Moses. Most commentators regard Talut to be a name of Hebrew origin and consider him to be synonymous with Saul (1. Sam. ch. 9). As Hebrew is only an offshoot of Arabic, the word Talut appears to be derived from the Arabic root طال i.e. he became tall or high___a description coinciding with the one given in the verse under comment viz. one increased abundantly in knowledge and body. It is, however, not right to identify Talut with Saul. The description of the Quran fits more with Gideon (Judg. chs. 6-8) than with Saul. Gideon lived in about 1250 B.C. and the Bible calls him a "mighty man of valour" (Judg. 6:12) which is the same as Talut.

Commentary:

There has been a difference of opinion as to the identity of the person to whom the name Talut has been applied. According to a number of Muslim commentators, Talut stands for Saul, and the passage refers to the reign of Saul. Christian writers have, however, taken exception to this view. According to them the incidents related in this passage refer to two different periods which are separated from each other by the long interval of 200 years; and these critics refer to this passage as an instance of historical anachronism, found in the Quran. The passage does indeed refer to two different periods, but if Christian critics had carefully thought over their own history, they would have seen that there is no confusion of dates in the passage in question and that the Quran has here referred to both these periods. Its object in doing so is to show how the unification of the different tribes of Israel began in the time of Gideon (i.e. Talut) two hundred years before David, and was finally consummated in the time of David.

In order to determine the identity of Talut, let us glance over the main incidents related in verse 247 to 252. These are as follows: 1. The people of the period to which Talut belongs had been driven forth from their homes and their children (2:247). 2. One who was not originally a king was appointed as such (2:248). 3. God helped the followers of this king, giving them the Talut as a token of His sovereignty (2:249). 4. The people were tried by means of water (2:250). 5. There existed a great disparity in numbers between these people and the enemy, and the trial reduced their number still further (ibid). 6. In spite of the small number of his followers, this king overcame the enemy (2:252).

Now some of these details do indeed apply to Saul, but there are others which do not. The key words which afford a clue to the identity of Talut are, Hast thou not heard of the chiefs of the children of Israel after Moses. The words "after Moses" indicate that the incident belongs to an early period when the Jews as a nation had just begun to take a definite shape in history. For two hundred years after Moses, the Israelites were divided into different tribes and had no king and no fighting force. In 1256 B.C., owing to their iniquity, God delivered them into the hands of the Midianites who plundered and ravaged them for seven long years, and they were compelled to take refuge in caves (Judg. 6:1, 2). This is why they are represented in the Quran as saying, we have been driven forth from our homes. The Midianites attacked them and carried away their sheep and oxen and asses, and destroyed their crops and pillaged them as far as Gaza (Judg. 6:4-6). The Israelites then cried to their Lord, and God raised among them a Prophet; and an angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon, appointed him king and promised him divine help. Then Gideon said to God, "Oh my Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? Behold, my family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house" (Judg. 6:15). This tallies with the description given in the Quran which represents the chiefs among the Israelites as saying with regard to the new king, How can he have sovereignty over us while we are better entitled to sovereignty than he and he is not given abundance of wealth (2:248). What makes the identification of Talut with Gideon still more certain is the fact that it was in the time of Gideon and not Saul that the Israelites were tried by means of water and the description of the trial as given in the Bible (Judg. 7:4-7) is the same as that of the Quran.

From Judg. 7:6, 7 we learn that after the aforesaid trial, there remained with Gideon only 300 men. It is interesting to note that a Companion of the Holy Prophet is reported to have said, "We were 313 men in the Battle of Badr, and this number corresponds to the number of men who followed Talut" (Tirmidhi, ch. on Siyar). Thus this tradition also lends support to the conclusion that Talut was no other than Gideon.

What further confirms the identity of Talut with Gideon is that the Hebrew word Gideon is identical in meaning with the Arabic word Talut. The former is derived from a root which in Hebrew means "to fell" (Enc. Bib.) or "to hew" (Jew. Enc.). Thus, Gideon means "one who cuts down his adversary and fells him to the ground" and the Bible itself speaks of Gideon as a "mighty man of valour" (Judg. 6:12), and we have already noted that in Arabic Tala means one who is tall and towers above others (see Important Words above).

The clause, how can he have sovereignty over us while we are better entitled to sovereignty than he, and he is not given abundance of wealth, indicates that the people raised two objections against Talut or Gideon: (1) that he did not belong to a highly placed family and was therefore not entitled to kingship, and (2) that he did not possess the requisite wealth for exercising influence. Both of these are plausible objections that are usually made by ordinary people of the world; but a chosen people guided by the will of the Just and Wise God must think otherwise. With them the real title to sovereignty is neither family status nor wealth but the personal qualities of a man; hence the clause, surely Allah has chosen him above you and has increased him abundantly in knowledge and body. The superiority of a man in physical and mental faculties coupled with knowledge and prowess must remain the basis for all title to rulership. And in the case of Talut the title had the additional strength of coinciding with the choice of God Who is the best and, in fact, the only true Judge of all titles.

Important Words:

مراغما (place of refuge) is derived from رغم. They say رغم أنفه meaning his nose clove to the dust, i.e. he became abased and humbled. رغمه means, he disliked it. ارغم اھله or راغم اھله means, he forsook or deserted his family against their wish. رغامmeans, earth or dust. مرغم or مراغم means, a road by travelling on which a man separates himself from his people against their wish or so as to displease them; a place to which one migrates; a place of refuge; a safe and fortified place (Lane & Aqrab).

Commentary:

The verse promises those sincere believers who are forced by circumstances to migrate from their homes in the cause of God abundant place of refuge and plentifulness. There is, therefore, no excuse for the people to stay at home surrounded by hostile disbelievers. But the motive must be good and the migration sincere.

The Holy Prophet is reported to have said: "Whoso migrates from his home for the sake of God and His Messenger, his migration will be regarded as having been performed for the sake of God and His Messenger and will be rewarded as such. But whoso leaves his home for the sake of a worldly gain which he wishes to get or for a woman whom he wishes to marry, will be considered to have migrated for the sake of the object for which he migrated, and his migration will not be considered as having been performed in the cause of God" (Bukhari, ch. on Bad’ul Wahy).

Commentary:

If, in spite of the husband and the wife having done their best to live amicably, they find that they cannot pull on together, and separation takes place, then God promises to provide for both parties out of His beneficence, i.e. they may find other and more suitable matches. How Islam looks upon divorce is vividly portrayed in a well-known hadith of the Holy Prophet, viz. "Of all permissible things divorce is most hateful in the eyes of God" (Dawud, ch. on Talaq).

2:48; 3:34-35; 45:17.

Important Words:

الیسع (Elisha) was the son of Shaphat, the disciple and successor of Elijah. He was a native of Abelmeholah, a village in Galilee. He was taken from the plough and anointed by Elijah to be his successor. Directed by God, Elijah found him in the field and threw his mantle over him. Many miracles are attributed to Elisha. But neither the sanctity of his life nor the miracles he wrought had the effect of reforming the nation at large. At length, worn out by his public and private labour, he breathed his last at the age of ninety in 838 B.C.

یونس (Jonah), son of Amittai, was born in Gath-hepher, in the tribe of Zebulun. He lived either before or during the reign of Jeroboam II or in the reign of Jehoahaz about 850 B.C. He was an Israelite Prophet with a mission to the people of Nineveh. Jonah prophesied the destruction of his people within 40 days. But they repented and turned to God with humble supplication, whereupon they were saved. This, however, upset Jonah who, being ashamed to face his people, ran away and, while crossing a sea, was thrown into the water and swallowed by a fish (Jonah, 1:17). Jonah remained in the belly of the fish for three days and was then disgorged by it and saved. It is to this incident that Jesus referred when he said that no miracle would be shown to his people except that of Jonah (Matt. 16:4), meaning that he would be put on the cross but would be taken down alive and would then be placed in the womb of the earth for three days after which he would escape therefrom, just as Jonah had escaped from the belly of the fish.

Commentary:

See 6:85 above. The verse speaks of Lot as being "exalted above the people." Now if the word العالمین (lit. the people) be taken to signify "all the peoples," it would be evidently wrong; for Lot lived in the time of Abraham and was admittedly not superior to the Patriarch. Thus the word العالمین cannot here signify even "the people of the age" as it has been rendered elsewhere but simply "the people," i.e. a section thereof. In fact, the exaltation spoken of here refers only to the people to whom the Prophets, mentioned in the verse, were sent.

3:146; 42:21.

Commentary:

The pronoun ھا (it) in the expression سعیھا (as it should be striven for) refers to the Hereafter, the meaning being that only such efforts as are calculated to secure the good of the Hereafter will be productive of really good results.

The words, and is a believer, have been added to point out that the securing of the good of the Hereafter depends upon right belief and purity of heart. Efforts made for material prosperity may bear fruit even in the absence of right belief but efforts made for the attainment of the good of the next life are effective only when they are accompanied by true faith. The verse should not be understood to mean that the good deeds of the Faithful only are acceptable to God. What it means is that good deeds accompanied by true belief in the next life will be fully rewarded in the Hereafter, while the reward of those good deeds which are done without any such belief in the Hereafter is confined to only the material benefits of this world.

34:6, 39.

Commentary:

It is writ large on the pages of the history of all religions that in spite of all the ups and downs through which truth has to pass, it triumphs in the long run. The enemies of truth have never been able to impede its onward march. They cannot frustrate the Divine plan that truth must prevail.

22:5; 34: 39.

6:87; 21:86-87.

Commentary:

الیسع (Elisha) was the disciple and successor of Elijah. He lived from 928 B.C. to 838 B.C. See also 6:87.

ذوالکفل (Dhul-Kifl). The Prophet known by this name appears to be the Prophet Ezekiel who is called Dhul-Kifl by the Arabs. For a detailed note on Ezekiel, see 21:86.

اسماعیل (Ishmael), Prophet Abraham’s son from Hagar. He was the elder brother of Prophet Isaac and a progenitor of the Holy Prophet of Islam. See also 2:126.