قَضَ

20:41; 26:20.

Important Words:

وکزہ (struck him with his fist) means, he struck or beat him; he beat or struck him with his fist; he pushed or impelled or repelled him; he goaded him (Lane).

Commentary:

Being of a very noble nature and having been inspired by high ideals, Moses was always ready to help weak and oppressed people and so when a poor and weak Israelite sought his help against an arrogant and cruel Egyptian, he at once went to his rescue.

The expression, "this is of Satan’s doing," according to Arabic idiom means that some evil thing has happened, i.e. "Satan had caused an Egyptian and an Israelite to fight and I had to come to the assistance of the oppressed Israelite which resulted in an evil thing i.e. the death of a person." Or the words might have been addressed to the dead Egyptian meaning, "this is the outcome of your satanic deed," i.e. "your death is the result of your own wickedness and transgression." The fact that Moses used no lethal weapon and only repelled the Egyptian or at best struck him with his fist shows that the latter’s death was accidental. Clearly there was no intention on Moses’ part to cause it.

The Quran has not mentioned the wicked deed of the Egyptian to which Moses refers in this verse but from Jewish Encyclopedia we know that the said Egyptian had forced an Israelite woman to commit adultery with him and that was indeed a devilish deed. It apparently led to the quarrel referred to in the verse and ultimately to Moses’ interference and the death of the Egyptian (Jew. Enc. under "Moses").

Commentary:

The verse purports to say that the prophecy of Moses about the advent of the Holy Prophet (Deut. 18:18) has been fulfilled so clearly and in such detail as if he was present in person with Moses and the latter was actually seeing him when he was making the prophecy. The verse possesses a double significance. It proves the truth of Moses himself, inasmuch as he made a prophecy about the advent of the Holy Prophet which was literally fulfilled, and it proves also the truth of the Holy Prophet, as the prophecy made by Moses about the advent of "a Prophet like unto him from among the brethren of the Israelites" was fulfilled in his person in letter and in spirit.

6:102.

3:48; 6:74; 16:41; 36:83; 40:69.

Important Words:

بدیع (Originator) is derived from بدع which means, he originated a thing or brought it into existence newly (i.e. for the first time, the thing not having existed before) and not after the similitude of anything pre-existing (Lane). The word ابداع(which is the infinitive form of بدیع), when used about God, means, originating a thing without any tool or instrument or pattern and without matter (Mufradat). Thus the word combines the idea of originating and creating.

Commentary:

This verse not only contains a contradiction of the Christian dogma of the Godhead of Jesus but also effectively repudiates the Hindu theory that the soul and matter are primeval and eternal. God has been declared here to be: (1) the Creator of the heavens and the earth which means that He did not require the help of a son, and for that matter of anybody, in creating the universe; (2) the Originator of the Universe, i.e., He created all things out of nothing, without a pre-existing model and without pre-existing matter; (3) All-Powerful, i.e. whenever He decrees that a certain thing should come into being, it does come into being in conformity with His decree and design. It may be noted here that the verse does not necessarily mean, as is sometimes erroneously understood, that when God decrees that a certain thing should be, it comes into being at once. The verse only means that God’s will is all-powerful, so when He decrees a thing, nothing can thwart His decree. The verse does not thus refer to the factor of time, which may be short or long as God wills it.

2:129.

See 2:153.

4:135; 42:21.

Important Words:

فاذکروا (celebrate praises of) is derived from ذکر which means, (1) he talked of him by way of praising him; (2) he remembered him in his heart (Aqrab & Mufradat). See also 2:41, 153.

او (or) is a preposition, used to convey a number of meanings, the more important being: (1) or; (2) and; (3) nay; (4) unless; (5) until (Aqrab & Lane).

خلاق (share) means, an abundant share in what is good (Aqrab).

Commentary:

The clause, celebrate the praises of Allah as you celebrated the praises of your fathers, points to a practice of pagan Arabs who used to gather together at a certain place in Mina after the performance of the rites of Pilgrimage and glorify their forefathers by reciting poems in their praise. Muslims are here bidden to glorify God instead, and praise Him as they used to praise their forefathers, and, the words "even more than that" have been added to emphasize that God’s praises should transcend all, for the word او (or) also means, "nay". It is also possible that the word ك (as) in the expression کذکرکم (as you celebrated praises) has been used only to denote general similarity without reference to degree, and the word او (or) has been used in the sense of "and". In this case the verse would mean that though in the general manner of praise your celebration of God’s praises may resemble the praises with which you glorified your fathers, in degree it should excel it, being اشد (stronger, loftier and firmer).

Here is a good example of how the Quran, while retaining some old customs, improved upon and, spiritualised them to serve the ends of Islam.

The clause, when you have performed the acts of worship prescribed for you, celebrate the praises of Allah as you celebrated the praises of your fathers or even more than that, has yet another meaning. As the word ذکر also means 'remembering' and the word اب (father) includes mother as well (12:101), the clause may also signify that the rites of Pilgrimage, if performed in the right spirit, should fill the heart of man with such love for God as to make him always remember Him just as a child remembers his parents. This is why the Quran begins the word اذکروا with the conjunction ف meaning "so" or "then", hinting that the result of the performance of the rites of Pilgrimage should be that a pilgrim should ever after remember his Creator with the fondness displayed by a child for his parents. But this is only the first stage. With holier men God’s love should be even greater, as the verse hints in the words, or even more than that. Says the Holy Prophet, "The sign of true faith is that a believer’s love for God and His Apostle should be greater than his love for any other being or thing" (Bukhari).

The concluding clause, i.e. of men there are some who say, 'Our Lord, grant us (good things) in this world, and such a one shall have no share in the Hereafter, points to the fact that if the pilgrim confines himself to the celebration of the praises of his fathers and forgets his Creator, he would be like a person who spends all his efforts in the pursuit of this world, even his prayers being confined to search after worldly things. Such a person shall evidently have no claim to the good things of the Hereafter. It is also significant that in this clause the Quran does not use the word حسنة (good things) with the words فی الدنیا (in this world) thereby hinting that such men generally make no distinction between the good things of this world and the bad things thereof, their sole object being the things of this world, irrespective of whether they are good or bad.

As explained under Important Words, the word خلاق (share) occurring in the clause, such a one shall have no share in the Hereafter, really means, "an abundant share in what is good". So the verse would really mean not that such a person will get only a small share in the Hereafter but that, by remaining engrossed in the things of this world, he will deprive himself of a big share and will get no share at all. As the Quran has to condense vast subjects in a small space, it purposely uses words and constructions that take the smallest space but convey the vastest meaning.

19:21.

See 2:118.

Commentary:

The news of a son, however happy in ordinary circumstances, greatly perplexed Mary who was not only as yet unmarried but was also meant to remain so for life. The verse reflects her justified perplexity. It also shows that Jesus had no father, as hinted in Mary’s words, no man has touched me. Having been dedicated to the service of the Temple, Mary could not, consistently with her vow of celibacy, marry. If she was to marry and have children in due course there was no occasion for her to be surprised when the birth of a child was announced to her by the angel in a vision. No normal girl would be surprised if she were told in a vision that a son would be born to her; for she would naturally infer that the promised child would be born to her after marriage. In the Gospel of Mary, the vow of celibacy is clearly referred to. In chapter 5 of the said Gospel we read that when the high priest made a public order that all the virgins living in the temple who had reached their fourteenth year should return home, all the other virgins yielded obed-ience to this command, but "Mary the virgin of the Lord" alone answered that she could not comply with it; and for this refusal of hers she assigned the reason that both she and her parents had devoted her to the service of the Lord, and that she had vowed virginity to the Lord, which vow she was resolved never to break (Gospel of Mary, 5: 4, 5, 6).

Mary’s subsequent marriage with Joseph was thus contrary to the vow and against her own wish. She was, however, compelled by circumstances to marry when found with child. The priests had to arrange her marriage with Joseph in order to avoid scandal. It does not, however, appear from the Gospels how Joseph was prevailed upon to consent, for he was obviously in the dark about her being pregnant at the time of marriage (Matt. 1:18, 19). Presumably some plausible excuse was found to justify the breaking of the vow.

Christians and Jews are both agreed that the birth of Jesus was something out of the ordinary–the Christians holding it as supernatural and the Jews as illegitimate (Jew. Enc.). Even in the family birth register, Jesus’ birth was recorded as such (Talmud). This fact alone should constitute a sufficient proof of Jesus’ birth being out of the ordinary. But it was neither supernatural nor illegitimate. To quote only one medical authority: "Medical men have not ruled out altogether the possibility of natural parthenogenesis of the production of a child by a female, without any relation to a male. Such a statement off-hand appears ridiculous, yet its possibility, from a purely biological standpoint, under certain conditions cannot be disregarded. Dr. Timme calls attention to this possibility as the result of a certain type of tumours, known as arrhenoblastoma (from the Greek words for "male" and "germ") which are occasionally found in the female pelvis or lower body. These tumours are capable of generating male sperm cells. Naturally, if these male sperm cells were alive and active and came in contact with the female’s own egg cell or ovum, conception might occur. There is nothing illogical in this process of reasoning…Dr. Timme states that there are twenty authentic cases reported in Europe in which an arrhenoblastoma had been found to develop male sperm cells…The arrhenoblastoma is a tumour that contains blastodermic cells...These cells are creative structures and are capable of development at any time and the fact, therefore, that arrhenoblas-tomacontaining these "embryonic cells" might create testicular tissue, capable of producing male sperm cells seems scientifically not impossible. If living male sperm cells are produced in a female body by arrhenoblastoma, the possibility of self-fertilization of a woman, even though a virgin, cannot be denied. That is to say, her own body would produce the same result as though sperm cells from a man’s body had been transferred to hers in the more usual way, or by a physician’s aid" (American Medical Journal).

There are cases on record of children having been born without fathers: "A young girl of great moral purity became pregnant without the slightest knowledge of the source… There is a case of pregnancy in an unmarried woman, who successfully resisted an attempt at criminal connection and yet became impreg-nated and gave birth to a perfectly formed female child" (Anomalies and Curiosities of Medicine by George M. Gould, A.M., M.D., and Walter L. Payle, A.M., M.D., published by W. B. Saunders & Co., London).

4:60.

Important Words:

حرجا (demur) is the noun-infinitive from حرج meaning, it was or became narrow; or he became disquieted and contracted in his bosom; he doubted, because doubt disquiets the mind; he became straitened or in difficulty, particularly owing to the commission of a sin or crime for which he deserved punishment; حرجا therefore means, straitness; difficulty; a sin or crime or an act of disobedience for which one deserves punishment (Lane & Aqrab).

Commentary:

It should be noted that the injunction contained in this verse does not refer to the Holy Prophet alone. The verse speaks of the settlement of disputes, and so the injunction contained in it should be taken to pertain not to the person of the Holy Prophet but to him as Head of the Muslim State and is, therefore, applicable to his Successors as well. Muslims should not only have their disputes settled in accordance with the Law of Islam but should submit to the awards of those in authority with cheerfulness. The injunction is most essential for the maintenance of solidarity among the Muslim community. In fact, the chief cause of discord in a community is that people should regard their own judgement as right and should refuse to give to those in authority their due. The verse requires the Faithful not only to refer their differences to the Holy Prophet, and for that matter to his Successors, deputies and representatives, but to submit to their decisions cheerfully and without demur.

6:61.

Commentary:

It appears from this verse that the soul of man is taken away both at the time of death and in sleep. In the former case, it is kept back and not allowed to return, while in the latter case, it comes back. The verse thus shows that the dead never come back to life. It also has an implied reference to the immortality of the human soul and man’s accountability for his deeds. In v. 41 above it was stated that as a result of the rejection of Divine Message, the disbelievers will suffer disgrace and humiliation in this life and will be subjected to an abiding punishment in the life to come. In the present verse we are told that with his death, man’s soul does not die or disintegrate but is taken away from its mortal habitat and is kept in other regions to account for man’s actions in due course.

3:192.

2:240.

Commentary:

As in the midst of a battle, formal Prayers are either said in haste, or performed in the form of one Rak‘at only. Muslims are enjoined in this verse, with a view to making up the deficiency, to continue remembering God and praying to Him in an informal manner after the obligatory service is over. This was to compensate, on the one hand, for the shortening of Prayer and, on the other, to serve as a means of drawing the special aid and help of God in a time of great danger.

The expression, And when you are secure (from danger), then observe Prayer (in the prescribed form), very clearly brings out the difference between the words صلوا or اقضوا الصلوة (pray or offer Prayer) and the words اقیموا الصلوة (observe Prayer). The latter expression signifies observing Prayer attentively with all its necessary conditions. The verse thus clearly shows that Islam does not look upon the hasty performance of Prayer as coming under the injunction, اقیموا الصلوة (observe Prayer). See also 2:4.

15:27; 23:13; 32:8; 37:12; 38:72.

71:5.

Commentary:

The creation of man referred to in the words, Who created you, is meant as an illustration of the light mentioned in the previous verse, while the decreeing of a term, i.e. the ordaining of death, is meant as an illustration of "darkness". The verse ascribes both these acts to God as acts of mercy, thus refuting those who believe in two separate Gods, one of evil and the other of good.

The words, there is another term fixed with Him, refer to the Day of Judgement or of Resurrection when men, after passing through the gate of death, will receive their rewards from their Lord.

Important Words:

نحبه (his vow). نحب (nahbun) is derived from نحب (nahaba). They say نحب الرجل i.e. the man vowed; he put himself under an obligation to do a thing; he laid a bet or wager. نحب (nahbun) means, a vow, or a great vow; a great bet, a wager; an important matter; a great danger; death; the soul; sleep; violence; fatness; ambition; avarice; purpose; a game of chance. They say قضی نحبه i.e. he died; he fulfilled his obligation; he redeemed or fulfilled his pledge or vow; he was slain in the way of God (Lane & Aqrab).

Commentary:

The verse constitutes a great memorial to the fidelity, sincerity and steadfastness in faith of the Holy Prophet’s disciples. Never did the followers of a Prophet receive from God such certificate of good conduct and faithfulness. Just as the Master was unique among all Divine Messengers in discharging his prophetic duties, so were his Companions matchless in fulfilling the role assigned to them.