عَرَضَ

7:181; 17:111; 20:9; 59:24, 25.

Important Words:

اسماء (names) is the plural of اسم for which see note on 1:1. اسم means, (1) the name of a thing, i.e. a word fixed for a thing or attribute for the purpose of distinction; (2) a mark or sign of a thing (Aqrab); (3) fame or reputation of a person or thing (Lane); (4) a word, its meanings and combinations (Mufradat).

صادقین (right) is the plural of صادق which is derived from صدق. They say صدق فی ظنه i.e. he was or is correct in his opinion (Lane). صدق فی الحدیث means, he spoke the truth. صدقه means, he was sincere to him or he was his well-wisher (Aqrab). صدقتmeans: (1) you are speaking the truth, not a lie (2) what you say is right, not wrong. It is in the latter sense that the word has been used in the present verse.

Commentary:

Commentators differ as to what is here meant by the word اسماء (names). Some think that God taught Adam the names of different things and objects, i.e. He taught him language. Others hold that God taught him the names of his offspring.

There is no doubt that man needed language in order to become civilized and God must have taught Adam a language, but the Quran indicates that there are اسماء (names or attributes) which man must learn for the perfection of his religion and morals. They are referred to in the verse: And to Allah alone belong all perfect attributes; so call on Him by these and leave alone those who deviate from the right way with respect to His attributes. They shall be requited with what they do (7:181). This verse shows that man cannot attain to divine knowledge without a correct conception of God’s اسماء or attributes and that this can be taught only by God. So it was necessary that God should have, in the very beginning, given Adam knowledge of His attributes so that man should know and recognize Him and attain His nearness, and should not drift away from Him.

The verse quoted above (7:181) shows that the word اسماء (names) is used to signify the attributes of God and that a Muslim must be familiar with those attributes, so that he may pray to Him, invoking attributes most suited to the nature of the prayer. For example, if one prays for forgiveness and mercy, one should invoke the attributes of forgiveness and mercy; and if the prayer be for the attainment of righteousness, God should be invoked by names which pertain to that quality. The above verse also indicates that man must not of himself devise the attributes of God, because it is only God who can describe His attributes; man, being himself the creation of God, cannot do so. In fact, those who try to devise God’s attributes have been threatened with divine punishment.

In short, we learn from this verse that a Muslim must know God’s اسماء (names) which can be taught by Him alone, and which man has no right to devise out of his own fancy. There is strong evidence that God gave Adam a knowledge of His attributes. The view gains further strength when we take into consideration the difference between man and angel. According to the Quran, man differs from angels in that, whereas the former can be an image or reflex of الاسماءالحسنی i.e. all the divine attributes, the latter represent only a few of them. The Quran says: They (the angels) do what they are bidden to do (66:7) which implies that the angels cannot act of their own free will. They have no will of their own, but passively perform the functions allotted to them by Providence. On the other hand, man, endowed with volition and free choice, differs from angels in that he has capabilities which make him a perfect manifestation of all divine attributes. A saying of the Holy Prophet—"the best morals in man are those which are in conformity with the great attributes of God" (‘Ummal, ii. 2)—also points to this. As God is Merciful, we should also show mercy to men; as He is Forgiving, so we must also be ready to forgive our fellow beings; as He connives at faults, so we must try to imitate Him in this particular; and as He protects the weak, so we must be ready to protect the weak, and so on. This injunction of the Holy Prophet justifies the inference that man has the capability to manifest in himself all the attributes of God. Thus, both the Quran and the Holy Prophet’s sayings are agreed that man and angel differ in the manifestation of divine attributes, and the "names" in the clause, He taught Adam all the names, refer to the attributes of God.

The verse means that God first implanted in Adam free will and the needful capacity for the comprehension of the various divine attributes, and then gave him the knowledge of those attributes, which was impossible without the power of assimilation. The verse that follows corroborates this meaning; for therein it is stated that the اسماء (attributes) were such as were not wholly known to the angels and it is evident that such اسماء are only the divine attributes. The word اسماء may also mean the qualities of different things in nature. As man was to make use of the forces of nature, God gave Adam the capacity of knowing their qualities and properties. The word كل (all) used here does not imply absolute totality. It simply means all that was necessary. The Quran uses this word in this sense elsewhere also (see 6:45; 27:7, 24; 28:58). The pronoun in the words عرضھم (He put the objects of these names) shows that the objects referred to here are not inanimate things; for in Arabic this form of pronoun is used only for rational beings. The meaning of the expression, therefore, would be that God showed Adam in a kashf (vision) certain human beings from among his progeny who were to be the mani­festations of divine attributes in the future. Such beings were the Prophets or other holy persons who were to enjoy such nearness to God as to become His image and through whom God was to reform mankind. The angels were then asked whether they could manifest the divine attributes like them. This is what is meant by the words, Tell Me the names of these, occurring in the present verse.

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.

19:60.

6:33; 12:110.

Important Words:

خلف (an evil generation) is a substantive from خلف (khalafa) meaning, he came after, succeeded or remained after another. خلف means, the location or quarter that is behind; the time past; the side corresponding to the front; one who remains after another, or persons remaining after others; a remnant of people; a generation after a generation; a bad son; an evil generation; one or more persons in whom there is no good; a thing in which there is no good (Lane & Aqrab). See also 2:31; 7:70.

عرض (paltry goods) is derived from عرض. They say عرض له الشیء i.e. he presented, showed or offered the thing to him. عرضmeans, a thing that befalls or happens to a man, such as disease, misfortune and the like; a thing that is not permanent; the paltry goods of the present world; worldly goods or commodities; booty or spoil; an object of desire; an eager desire or covetousness (Lane & Aqrab).

درسوا (they have studied) is from درس i.e. (1) he read or studied a book; (2) it became effaced, erased or obliterated; (3) he effaced, erased or obliterated something (Lane). See also 6:106.

Commentary:

The Book spoken of in this verse is the Bible and the expression, who inherited the Book, means who received the Book as a sacred trust from God through the Prophets, or through those gone before them.

The words درسوا ما فیه (they have studied what is therein) may also be rendered as "they have obliterated or effaced what is therein", meaning that they were taught the Divine Book, but they forgot it and rendered it as something effaced and obliterated.

47:5.

4:95.

Important Words:

اسری (captives) is the plural of اسیر (a captive) which is derived from اسر. They say اسره i.e. he bound or tied him, or he made him a captive or took him a prisoner. اسیر means, one shackled or imprisoned; a captive (Lane).

یثخن (he engages in a regular fighting) is derived from ثخن (thakhuna) or ثخن (thakhana) which means, it was thick or coarse or hard. اثخنه means, he rendered it thick; or he rendered him heavy or languid or enervated; or he overcame him and inflicted many wounds on him. اثخن فی العدو means, he made a great slaughter or a great wounding among the enemy. اثخن فی الارض means, he made much slaughter in the earth or the land; or he fought vehemently in the earth (Lane). The expression حتی یثخن فی الارض would thus mean, till he (the Prophet) has had a regular fighting in the land, inflicting wounds on the enemy.

Commentary:

It was a practice among pre-Islamic Arabs (and it is regrettable that the practice still continues in some parts of the world) to take men captives even if there was no war and no fighting, and then to make them slaves. The verse abolishes this evil custom and lays down in clear words that it is only in war and after regular fighting that enemy combatants can be taken prisoner and that it is not lawful to take any person captive when there is no war and there has been no fighting.

The verse has been very wrongly interpreted. It is said that when the Muslims took some men of the Meccan army captives at Badr, the Holy Prophet took counsel with his Companions as to what should be done with them. ‘Umar suggested that they should be put to death, while Abu Bakr proposed that they should be released after accepting ransom from them. The Holy

Prophet accepted the suggestion of Abu Bakr and the prisoners were released for ransom. But it is alleged that by revealing this verse, God expressed His disapproval of the Holy Prophet’s action, declaring that the captives ought to have been put to death and no ransom should have been taken for them. This interpretation, however, is obviously wrong; firstly, because God had so far sent down no commandment forbidding the release of prisoners for ransom, and, therefore, He could not reprove the Holy Prophet for accepting ransom; secondly, because the Holy Prophet had already accepted ransom for two persons taken captive at Nakhlah prior to the Battle of Badr, and God had not disapproved of this action of his; thirdly, because only two verses later God permits Muslims to eat of that which you have won in war as lawful and good (8:70). It is simply inconceivable that God should have reproved the Holy Prophet for having accepted ransom and then at the same time declared the money so taken to be lawful and good. This interpretation is, therefore, obviously wrong and the verse is only intended to lay down a general rule that captives should not be taken until there has been regular fighting and the enemy has been overpowered by the infliction of wounds.

Important Words:

کاتبوھم (write it for them). کاتب (kataba) is derived from کتب (kataba) which means, he wrote; he made a thing obligatory; or he prescribed a law. کتب اللّٰه لاغلبن انا ورسلی i.e. Allah has decreed or has made it obligatory upon Himself that He and His Messengers will prevail (58:22). کاتب العبد means, he made a written contract with the slave that the latter shall pay a certain sum as the price of his emancipation and then he shall earn his freedom (Lane & Aqrab). This civil written contract by means of which a slave can earn his manumission is called مکاتبة (mukatabat).

تحصنا (keeping chaste) is derived from حصن, meaning, he or it was or became inaccessible, fortified or protected against attack. حصنت المرأة means, the woman was chaste i.e. protected herself against moral or sexual sinfulness. أحصنت المرأة means, the woman got married or she was chaste. تحصن (tahassana) means, he fortified himself or he entered the حصن i.e. fortress; or he protected himself by it; he guarded or protected himself in any way. تحصنت المرأة means, she was chaste (Lane & Aqrab). See also 4:25.

The expression ان علمتم فیھم خیراً (if you know any good in them) may mean (1) if you know that they are fit to work and earn their living; (2) if you know that after their manumission they will become useful members of the society.

Commentary:

We maintain that of all Divine Messengers and Prophets of God, of all Founders of different creeds, Faiths and religious systems, of all social reformers and philanthropists and of all those teachers and leaders of men, who, at any time, in any land and in any form, contributed to the social uplift and moral and spiritual regeneration of humanity, the share of Muhammad, the Holy Prophet of Islam, was by far the largest. And one of the greatest services to mankind of this greatest and noblest of men was his unequivocal and emphatic condemnation of, and the effective measures he took to abolish those social injustices that were practised by one section of humanity against another. His mind rebelled and revolted against the then prevalent idea that man could be bought, sold and treated by man like chattels. His ideal of human brotherhood and the inborn and inherent equality of all men could scarcely be reconciled with the practice of slavery which was so widespread as to have become inextricably interwoven and deeply rooted in the social conditions and ideas of his time. His heart burnt to see the iniquities and enormities practised by man upon man. He grieved and pined for this unfortunate section of humanity. He would, if he could, abolish altogether by a stroke of the pen a system so repugnant and revolting, so destructive of all noble human instincts, of all that distinguishes man from beast and brute. But this institution had become an integral part of the whole fabric of human society in his time. To abolish it all of a sudden was neither wise, nor practicable or even possible. It should have meant a death-blow to the entire existing social order. The sudden emancipation in hundreds of thousands of those persons who having been held in bondage for generations had lost all initiative to lead an independent life, would have seriously told upon the whole moral tone of society. Jobless and workless they would have stooped to all sorts of immoral acts. This was exactly what the Holy Prophet sought to avoid and he did succeed in avoiding it. On the other hand, he laid down precepts and injunctions which were calculated to do away with slavery gradually but surely and effectively.

These injunctions were of two categories:

(i) Temporary provisions bearing upon the general improvement and betterment of the moral and social conditions of the existing slaves and their speedy enfranchisement. Slaves were to be treated as members of the family as long as they were in bondage, and at the same time it was declared as a most heinous crime tantamount to murder to deprive a free man of his freedom and reduce him to slavery (Muslim Kitabul-Iman). But those persons were excepted from this commandment who should themselves incur the loss of their freedom by participating in a war undertaken to destroy Islam and to impose their own beliefs and doctrines upon the Muslims at the point of the sword. Even this denial of freedom to war prisoners was to last only till those prisoners had discharged their share of the guilt, either by paying off their part of the cost of war by getting themselves ransomed or by the Muslims themselves setting them free as an act of favour which the Quran has so repeatedly and emphatically enjoined on them (47:5). See also 23:7.

(ii) Provisions of a permanent nature aiming at the complete and total extinction of slavery in every shape or form. One of such provisions by means of which a slave could earn his emancipation, independently and irrespective of the fact whether his master liked it or not, was that he could enter into a civil written contract with the latter. It is this written contract which is known as mukatabat (deed of manumission) and to which the verse under comment refers. According to this contract a definite amount of money or labour is fixed as the price of the freedom of a slave. After the contract is duly written and attested the slave is considered as manumitted and is free to earn the required amount of money by any legitimate means he likes. After he has paid the whole stipulated sum he is quite free. As to whether the slave is fit to enter into a contract of the above nature with his master is to be decided by the State and not by the master of the slave and also the amount of the money he has to pay and the manner and the time-limit of the payment. No choice is left to the owner if the slave applies for such a contract and the State considers him eligible to it with the conditions and stipulations proposed by it but to accept it. By this excellent arrangement Islam sought to secure to all slaves, who could not otherwise obtain freedom, their full emancipation and liberty, at the same time steering clear of the terrible social and moral evils to which the whole Muslim society would have fallen a helpless victim if slavery had been abolished with a stroke of the pen.

The verse has further urged the wealthy and the rich Muslims to help, with their money, those slaves who enter into mukatabat with their masters, to earn their emancipation.

The words ومن یکرھھن (but if anyone forces them to remain unmarried) signify that the responsibility of keeping them from marriage will be that of their masters. They will not be accountable for this default.