سُبُلَ

2:258; 14:2; 33:44; 57:10; 65:12.

Commentary:

The pronoun in یھدی به (thereby does Allah guide) may refer either to the "Book" or the "Light" spoken of in the previous verse. The use of the word سبل (paths) in the plural number indicates that just as there are diverse kinds of difficulties and obstacles that beset the path of a spiritual wayfarer, so God has also provided for him many means of deliverance and safe arrival at his destination. السلام (peace) being also one of the names of God (see 50:24), the words سبل السلام may mean, "the paths leading to God".

The clause, and guides them to the right path, is added to show that the God of Islam not only leads men out of darkness into light but also does so by the shortest and the straightest path, the word مستقیم (right) also meaning "straight". See 2:6.

11:57, 89; 12:68.

Commentary:

The expression, when He has showed us our ways, signifies that the superiority of a Prophet lies in the fact that he proves that man stands in need of God’s assistance by demonstrating his weaknesses. The expression also hints at the great truth that Divine law embodies only such injunctions as are for the good of man himself, the words "our ways" meaning the ways by following which man can make all kinds of progress.

By the words, And we will surely bear with patience all the harm you do us, the Messengers of God make a confession of their weakness. Far from claiming any superiority over their opponents, they admit that their opponents excel them in material means and that if Divinehelp does not come to their succour, they would have to suffer untold pain and persecution at their hands. As, however, they had undertaken their task by the command of God, they would bear all hardships with patience and would thus prove that it was not their own exaltation and aggrandizement that they had in view. And, as their trust was in God, they also knew that final success was assured for them.

Commentary:

The subject of the bee has been further elaborated in this verse. It says that God inspires the bee to collect its food from different fruits and flowers and then, by means of the mechanism provided in its body and by the methods revealed to it by God, it converts the collected food into honey. That honey possesses different colours and flavours but all its different varieties are highly useful for men. This fact suggests that revelation has continued to descend on Prophets at different times and that the teachings of one Prophet differed in detail from the teachings of another, nevertheless all these revelations had this essential common quality that they proved a means of moral and spiritual regeneration for the peoples for whom they were designed.

At various places in the Quran the same words have been used with reference to the Quranic revelation as have been used here with reference to honey. Honey provides a cure for the physical diseases of man and the most essential quality of the Quranic revelation also is that it is a cure for the spiritual maladies of man. See 10:58, 17:83 & 41:45.

The words, and follow the ways of thy Lord, suggest that it is possible for every man to become a recipient of Divinerevelation. The only condition he has to fulfil for this purpose is that he should obediently follow the path designed by God and not let his natural instincts become corrupt and vitiated. If he keeps his nature pure and unsullied and is guided by his natural instincts, in the course of time he becomes the recipient of revelation which may be compared to honey in its purity and usefulness.

The verse also implies that when all creatures have been granted وحی according to their respective natural capacities, though those capacities are very limited, it is inconceivable that man, who has been endowed with far greater natural powers and for whom unlimited avenues of spiritual progress have been kept open, should have remained deprived of this great blessing.

Commentary:

The verse gives the essence of jihad as ordained by Islam. Islamic jihad does not consist in killing and being killed but in striving hard to win the pleasure of God. This can best be done by following a Divine Reformer when one has appeared and the safest and surest way to test the truth of his claim is to seek God’s guidance by praying to Him. Thus to serve the cause of truth with all one’s might under the command and guidance of a Divinely-appointed Reformer is jihad in the truest sense of the word. There can be no greater jihad than this. It may take the form of preaching and dissemination of the teaching of Islam by peaceful means or of defending it by the sword from being destroyed by its enemies.