فُؤَادَ

25:33.

Commentary:

This verse clearly proves that the accounts of the previous Prophets have not been narrated in the Quran merely as simple facts of history, but contain prophetic allusions to similar incidents that were to occur in the life of the Holy Prophet. If it had not been so, how could these accounts be said to bring satisfaction to his mind and "make his heart firm." It was only when these accounts were to be taken as future incidents of his own life, that they could bring satisfaction to the Holy Prophet. In these accounts he saw how his enemies were to behave towards him, how they were to be discomfited and how his cause was to triumph in the end. As he was the representative of all previous Prophets, therefore, more or less, he was to pass through all the experiences through which his predecessors in the prophetic office had passed.

11:47.

24:25; 36:66; 41:21-23.

Commentary:

This verse cuts at the root of all sources of suspicion. These sources in their natural order are "the ear", "the eye" and "the heart". "The ear" is the first avenue through which most suspicions enter man’s mind. As a rule suspicions are caused by ill-founded reports which one hears about another person. Next to hearing comes the source of sight. A person sees another doing a certain act and interprets it wrongly and is led to suspect the latter’s motives and intentions. The last and most degraded kind of suspicion is that which a person entertains about another not as the result of a bad report which he might have heard about him nor in consequence of a bad act or deed which he might have seen him doing but which is purely the figment of his own diseased mind. Muslims are enjoined to steer clear of all these forms of suspicion. They are the enemy of all cordial social relations.

The verse draws attention to the fact that it is not only human life and property (to which a reference has already been made in the preceding verse) which are sacred and inviolable; human honour also is sacrosanct and an attack upon it also will have to be accounted for.

A person will be called to account for having listened to anything about another person which he had no right to do. Similarly, he will be brought to book for having seen something which he should not have seen. And so will he be punished for harbouring in his mind evil thoughts about other people. We are told that our impressions and opinions should not be based on mere hearsay and surmise but on sure knowledge. Mere evidence of the ear, the eye or the heart is not sufficient to condemn a person or form an adverse opinion about him but sure knowledge based on thorough enquiry. Mark the high moral tone of these teachings!

17:107; 73:5.

11:121.

Important Words:

رتلناہ ترتیلا (We arranged it in the best form) is derived from رتل (ratala). They say رتل الشیء i.e. the thing was or became well arranged. رتل الکلام (rattala) means, he put together and arranged well the component parts of the speech or saying and made it distinct. ترتیل (inf. noun) in its original sense relates to the teeth, their being separate one from another. The addition of the infinitive to the verb رتلنا is done in order to intensify the sense (Lane).

Commentary:

The Quran was revealed piecemeal and at intervals. This was intended to serve two very useful purposes: (i) The interval between the revelation of different passages afforded the believers an opportunity to witness fulfilment of some of the prophecies made in the passages already revealed and thus their faith became strengthened and fortified. Further it was intended to answer the objections raised by disbelievers during the interval. (ii) When Muslims needed guidance on a particular occasion to meet a particular need, necessary and relevant verses were revealed. Besides, the revelation of the Quran was spread over a period of 23 years in order to enable the Companions of the Holy Prophet to remember, learn and assimilate it. Moreover, the Quran had anticipated one possible objection of disbelievers and its gradual revelation was intended to answer that objection. If it had been revealed at once and in the form of one complete book, the disbelievers could have said that the Holy Prophet had got it all prepared from somebody. Thus its gradual revelation at different times, on different occasions and under vastly different conditions and circumstances, effectively smashed this possible objection. Last of all there was a prophecy of Prophet Isaiah that the last Divine Book would be revealed piecemeal and at intervals. The prophecy is as follows:

"Whom shall he teach knowledge and whom shall he make to understand the message? them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breast? For it is precept upon precept; precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line; here a little and there a little: for with strange lips and another tongue will he speak to this people" (Isaiah 28: 9-10).

The words, "We have arranged it in the best form," signify that whereas the Quran was revealed gradually and piecemeal to meet the needs of changing circumstances, it did not remain a collection of disorderly fragments but was given a perfect order and arrangement by Divine revelation. It may be noted here that the present order of the Quran is different from that in which it was originally revealed. It was revealed in an order which suited the needs and requirements of its immediate addressees and was arranged, under Divine direction, in an order which suited the permanent needs of humanity at large. Since both these kinds of needs were different, the two orders should necessarily have been different. It is indeed an outstanding miracle of the Quran that it was revealed in an order which was best suited for the needs of the period during which it was revealed and was arranged for permanent use in the order which was also best suited for humanity’s lasting needs.