سَلْ

5:20; 6:49; 17:106; 33:46.

Commentary:

As to the disbelievers’ demand for a Sign of punishment, the Quran says that punishment is bound to visit those who refuse to believe in the Holy Prophet, because, like all other Prophets, he was the bearer of glad tidings for believers, and a warner for his opponents. Every student of history knows how clearly this prophecy was fulfilled. The world witnessed the ruin of the Holy Prophet’s adversaries in a manner which has no parallel in history, although worldly conditions and circumstances were all in favour of the disbelievers and against the Holy Prophet.

The last-mentioned words of the verse, i.e. thou wilt not be questioned about the inmates of Hell, are a sort of consolation for the Holy Prophet who, owing to his great solicitude for the people who disbelieved in him, was ever anxious about their fate. Elsewhere the Quran says, It may be thou wilt grieve thyself to death, because they believe not (26:4).

2:204; 8:46; 62:11.

Commentary:

The word کما meaning "even as" has been used to connect this verse with the preceding one by pointing out that God will bestow upon the believers the favours mentioned in the preceding verse even as, or just as, He has favoured them with a Prophet.

With a slight change in the arrangement of the words this verse refers to the work of the Holy Prophet in exactly the same words in which Abraham prayed to God about the appearance of a Prophet among the Meccans (2:130), which clearly shows that Abraham’s prayer had found fulfilment in the person of the Holy Prophet. The change in arrangement is that, while recounting the favours of God, this verse, unlike verse 2:130, mentions the work of purification before that of the teaching of the Book and Wisdom, because though in theory the teaching of the Book may come first, in actual practice purification is more important than the teaching of the Book and Wisdom; for whereas the former is the end, the latter is simply the means to that end.

Another difference between this verse and 2:130 is that whereas the latter ends with the words, Thou art the Mighty, the Wise, the former concludes with the words, And (he) teaches you that which you did not know. The reason for this change is not far to seek. Abraham had used the words, Surely, Thou art the Mighty, the Wise, in his prayer, meaning that God being Mighty, it was not difficult for Him to accept his prayer; and as He was also Wise, He knew best what the requirements of his posterity would be. But when God spoke of the actual fulfilment of this prayer, it was quite unnecessary to repeat these words. So in place of the above-quoted words, the words, (he) teaches you that which you did not know, have been added to signify: firstly, that, while accepting the prayer God had granted even more than Abraham had prayed for; and secondly, that the teachings of the Holy Prophet were far in advance of the teachings of the former Prophets and were such as the world really needed but had not so far known.

17:102; 28:37.

Commentary:

The preceding verses referred to those weak in faith who had not yet "come into submission wholly" (2:209). The position of these people was that they had received a favour of God but practically they sought to "change" it. They wished to be known as Muslims and yet to be free to live as they liked. This was exactly what the Israelites had done before. So the Quran fittingly turns here to the story of the children of Israel who afforded an object-lesson for Muslims. The Holy Prophet and, for that matter, every reader of the Quran is asked to enquire of the descendants of Israel how many and how varied were the Signs which God had bestowed upon them as a favour and how persistent and impudent was their rejection of His Messengers and their disregard of His teachings.

The expression, whoso changes the gift of God, appears to be rather peculiar; but really the word یبدل (changes) gives a very interesting meaning. For believers it means, accepting the teaching of a Prophet in theory but rejecting it in practice, as unfortunately is very often the case with the weak in faith. They receive a thing as a gift or blessing, but by abstaining from acting upon it, they incur the displeasure of God, thus practically "changing" a favour into a disfavour.

For disbelievers the expression means converting a مبشر Prophet into a منذر Prophet. The Quran speaks of the Prophets of God as a نعمة i.e. a favour or gift (5:21) and it further holds that the mission of every Prophet is twofold—he is a مبشر or bearer of glad tidings for those who accept him, and he is a منذر or warner of coming punishment for those who reject him (18:57). Now when God sends a Prophet, He wishes the people to accept him as a bearer of glad tidings only, and it is the people themselves who reverse the position by rejecting him. In this way the people, as it were, "change" the مبشر Prophet into the منذر Prophet.

Again, for Israelites or Jews the expression, whoso changes the gift of Allah, may mean that though they knew that their Scriptures embodied the word of God which was a favour and a blessing, yet they had the audacity to interfere with it in order to meet their own ends (5:14), thus "changing" the very substance of God’s favour.

The expression may have yet another meaning. The شریعة or Law being meant as a guidance, is a mercy or a blessing of God (5:4 & 6:155, 156). But Christians, who are an offshoot of the Jews have "changed" it into a curse (Gal. 3:13).

The expression "gift of God" may refer to the manifold and multifarious favours which God had bestowed upon the Israelites in the form of Prophets and their noble teachings. But they "changed" the gift of God by rejecting the Prophets and disobeying their teachings. The expression may also refer to the Holy Prophet and the religion brought by him; they are certainly the greatest gifts of God for mankind, and whoever rejects Islam either by disbelieving or disobeying its teachings, deserves God’s severest punishment. In either case, the verse also warns hypocrites and those weak of faith among Muslims that if they accepted the Holy Prophet outwardly but rejected him in their heart or if they accepted his teachings as being from God but did not act upon them, they would be "changing" the gift of God and would make themselves liable to severe punishment.

4:111.

Commentary:

It is sometimes sought to be inferred from the words, We have sent no Messenger but that he should be obeyed by the command of Allah, that though a Prophet is to be always obeyed by the people to whom he preaches his message, yet he himself gives allegiance to no other Prophet nor can he be subject to the Law of any other Prophet. This is evidently a very wrong inference. The simple and straightforward meaning of the words is only this that when God sends a Prophet, He means that those to whom he is sent should obey him. But the fact that a Prophet is the object of other people’s obedience cannot preclude the possibility of his being himself subordinate to, and a follower of another Prophet. A governor is sent to a province to be obeyed but that does not mean that he is not subordinate to the Governor General, if any, or to the king. According to the Quran, Aaron was a subordinate Prophet to Moses. This is why, when Moses went up to the Mount leaving Aaron behind him to look after the Israelites, and the Israelites took to worshipping the calf, Moses severely reprimanded him on his return, saying "Hast thou then disobeyed my command?" (20:94). In this connection see also 5:45.

Commentary:

The verse appears to run counter to what has been said in the preceding verse but it is not really so. God has endowed man with natural powers and faculties by making a right use of which he can achieve success; but when he makes a wrong use of them, he is involved in trouble. Hence, from this point of view, all good is ascribable to God, and all evil to man.

As the verse embodies a general law applicable to all men, therefore the address is made to the Holy Prophet, this being a particular Quranic way of addressing mankind in general. But that it is not the person of the Holy Prophet, but mankind collectively to whom the address is made in this verse, is clear from the fact that the Holy Prophet has been addressed distinctly and separately in the latter part of the verse, and also in the verse that follows.

Important Words:

حفیظ (keeper) is derived from حفظ. They say حفظ الشیء i.e. he kept the thing or preserved it or guarded it or protected it or took care of it; he prevented it from becoming lost. حافظ or حفیظ (the latter having more intensive meaning) means, keeper, preserver or guardian. When used about God, the attributive name besides giving the above meanings, also means, the Preserver of all things; One Who preserves the good and evil works of His creatures (Lane).

Commentary:

The words, Whoso obeys the Messenger obeys Allah indeed, further explain the meaning of the expression, Say, All is from Allah, occurring in 4:79 above. The verse purports to say that obedience to the Prophet is really obedience to God, and if Muslims get into trouble by obeying the Prophet, it is all subject to God’s own will and must not be attributed to the Prophet and such trouble can never result in evil; God’s dealings with the Prophet come under His special providence, and, therefore, he who finds fault with him really finds fault with God.

2:88.

Commentary:

By comparing this verse with 5:13, it appears that "the leaders" mentioned in the latter verse are none but the "Messengers" mentioned in the present verse.

46:27.

11:53; 71:12.

Important Words:

قرن (generation). The verb form of the word, i.e. قرن (qarana) means, he connected or linked or coupled or joined. قرنmeans, one’s equal in age, i.e. connected with the same age; a generation of men succeeding or preceding another generation, as if both were conjoined; people of one time; people of a time among whom there appears a Prophet. قرینmeans an associate, comrade or companion (Lane & Aqrab).

Commentary:

The verse predicts that the enemies of the Holy Prophet shall be destroyed like the enemies of the former Prophets. Even within the confines of Arabia there had been people who were visited with Divine punishment in consequence of their opposition to their respective Prophets who appeared in bygone times. Among them were the tribes, Tubba‘, ‘Ad, Thamud and others whose stories were current among the Arabs.

The words, as We have established you not, do not mean that the world is retrogressing. The fact is that although the world is progressing as a whole, yet some of the older nations which rose to the heights of civilization in their time were so advanced in certain branches of art and science that in these specific branches they have so far not been equalled by the generations that followed. Take, for instance, the ancient Egyptians. The modern age, in spite of the marvels it has wrought in the domain of science, still gazes with wonder at some of the works of ancient Egyptian civilization. Similarly, there were people among the Arabs who carved wonderful fortresses out of rocks. Thus every people that ever attained to the heights of civilization enjoyed a certain distinction which is not shared by other nations. By using this expression, the Quran means to say, “When these powerful people were destroyed in spite of their mastery of certain branches of knowledge, how can your arts save you from destruction?”

7:95.

Commentary:

The previous verses referred to Divine punishment in general. In this verse its various forms have been mentioned. Many have an erroneous idea of Divine punishment, which not unoften comes veiled in the form of ordinary afflictions. In fact, all financial and bodily misfortunes, e.g. poverty, disease, etc. are in one sense or another, punishments from God. They are not generally meant to destroy men but to make them reform themselves and turn to God.

11:26-27; 23:24.

Important Words:

نوح (Noah) a very ancient Prophet who, as the Bible tells us, lived nine generations after Adam and eleven generations before Abraham. (Gen, 5:3-32; Luke 3:34-38). His native land was Mesopotamia. He is believed to be the progenitor of the greater part of mankind. The word نوح (Noah) may, in Arabic, be considered to have been derived from ناح which means, he bewailed or mourned. They say ناحت علی زوجھا i.e. the woman bewailed or mourned over her dead husband. ناحت الحمامة نوحا means, the pigeon cooed in a plaintive manner. The Prophet Noah is particularly known for the Flood that overtook his people as the result of his bewailings and lamentations before God for the persecution he had to suffer at the hands of his wicked people, most of whom perished in the Flood. His three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth, are generally believed to be the ancestors of the three principal races of mankind. See also 11:26.

Commentary:

After having briefly described the great moral and spiritual reformation that the appearance of a Prophet brings about among a people, and the evil consequences to which opposition to him leads, the present verse proceeds to give illustrations of some of the nations of antiquity, beginning with the people of Noah, to show that those, who oppose God’s Prophets, meet with nothing but destruction. Most of the different races now living on this earth are believed to be descended from Noah. His descendants seem to have spread in all directions, as may be seen from the story of the Deluge which is known to the people of Europe, Asia, Africa and even America.

The words, We sent Noah to his people, show that the Deluge overtook only the people to whom Noah was sent. It was not a universal phenomenon, but the descendants of Noah may have carried the tale to distant lands.

The words یوم عظیم literally meaning "a great day", have been used to signify a day of heavy punishment which was too dreadful to be forgotten.