قَٰنِتِينَ

23:10; 70:35.

Important Words:

حافظوا (watch) is derived from حفظ. They say حفظه i.e. he preserved it, or he guarded or protected it, or he prevented it from perishing or becoming lost. حفظ القرآن means, he memorized the Quran, i.e. he learned it by heart. حافظ علی الامر means, he watched over the thing; he attended to it carefully and constantly (Taj).

قانتین (submissively) is derived from قنت for which see 2:117. The word conveys, among others, three important meanings: (1) standing motionless, (2) refraining from speech and (3) standing submissively (Lane). All these meanings are applicable here.

Commentary:

This verse which stresses the importance of, and regularity in, Prayers appears to be rather oddly placed, being wedged in between verses relating to conjugal relations. But the very context of it explains the deep philosophy of its meaning. After marriage one is apt to become a little lax in Prayers, particularly the supererogatory Tahajjud Prayer (said in the latter part of the night). Besides, family life multiplies the cares of both man and woman. Hence, the necessity of urging married people to be regular and punctual in their Prayers.

الصلوة الوسطی (the Middle Prayer) has been differently explained. According to some commentators it is the Tahajjud Prayer, and according to others, it is the morning Prayer, while according to yet others, it is the late afternoon or ‘Asr Prayer. The latter view is supported by some of the sayings of the Holy Prophet. For it is on record that on his missing the right time of the ‘Asr Prayer, when engaged in repelling the repeated attacks of the enemy in the Battle of the Ditch, and having been obliged to combine it with the Maghrib or the sunset Prayer, the Holy Prophet is reported to have said: "May God curse the Jews (who were mostly responsible for this battle)! They have prevented us from saying our Middle Prayer in time" (Bukhari). Truly speaking, however, the "Middle Prayer" is the Prayer which happens to fall within busy hours. In the above-quoted tradition, the Holy Prophet called the ‘Asr the "Middle Prayer," because it fell within extraordinarily busy hours. The Quran has placed this verse here to point out firstly, that married life, and for that matter any life however busy, should not make man slack in the observance of Prayers, and secondly, that like this verse, the Middle Prayer is one which is surrounded by apparently incongruous elements. The style is peculiar to the Quran but is quite natural.

The clause, and stand before Allah submissively, teaches that besides aiming at complete concentration in Prayers the worshipper should observe three special injunctions: (1) he should refrain from speech, (2) he should stand motionless and refrain from making any unnecessary movement, and (3) his general attitude should be that of submissiveness, as lack of these is liable to adversely affect concentration and detract from the sanctity of worship.

33:36.

51:18, 19.

Important Words:

الاسحار (latter part of the night) is the plural of السحر i.e. the time before dawn. الاسحار is in the plural number but has been translated as singular for the sake of convenience. السحر also means, the side or end of a thing (Aqrab).

Commentary:

The qualities or attributes of a true believer mentioned in this verse represent four stages of spiritual progress: (1) When a man embraces true Faith, he is very often subjected to persecution; therefore, the first stage through which he has to pass is that of patience and steadfastness; (2) When persecution comes to an end and a believer is free to act as he pleases, he carries into practice the teachings which he was unable fully to act upon before. Thus the second stage relates to "living truthfully", i.e. living up to one’s conviction. (3) When, as a result of faithfully carrying out the commandments of their Faith, true believers attain to power, even then humility does not take leave of them. They remain as "humble" in spirit as ever. (4) Nay, their sense of service still increases. They "spend" whatever Allah has given them for the welfare of humanity. But, as the concluding words of the verse point out, all this time they continue praying to God in the stillness of the night to forgive any falling short, on their part, of the high ideal of the service of humanity.

A true Muslim is expected to display all these qualities. He must show an unflinching patience and steadfastness under the severest trials and must live up to his conviction and carry into actual practice the noble ideals of his religion. Again, he must spend what God has given him of wealth, knowledge, influence, etc., in the service of humanity and must at the same time never be remiss in the discharge of the duties he owes to God. He should not only pray during the fixed hours of the day but should also pass parts of his nights in prayer and worship of the Lord. Special stress is laid in the Quran on the Prayer in the latter part of the night (17:80; 73:3-7). The word الاسحار (lit. latter parts of nights) has been used in the plural number to hint that a true believer should not be satisfied with praying in the latter part of the night only once or twice but should make it a habit to rise regularly for the Tahajjud Prayers.

9:112.

Commentary:

This verse embodies a most effective repudiation of the charge that Christian missionaries and publicists are in the habit of levelling at Islam, viz. that it accords a lower status to women. The Quran has repeatedly said that Muslim women stand on the same level with Muslim men, and that they can attain to all those spiritual heights to which men can attain. Besides, Islam confers on women all the political and social rights which men enjoy. Only their spheres of activities being different, their duties are different. It is this difference in duties of both the sexes that has been mistakenly, or perhaps deliberately, misunderstood by hostile critics of Islam as implying a lower status for women.

The ten outstanding attributes of Muslim men and women mentioned in this verse have been appropriately described in an ascending order.

The first stage of the spiritual development of a believer is that of اسلام which in this verse has been used in the sense of intellectual acceptance of truth. The next stage is that of ایمان which implies the giving of peace and safety to others and testifying to the Divinely-revealed Teaching. At the stage of اسلام a Muslim accepts truth because reason and common sense demand of him this acceptance, while at the stage of ایمان he combines emotions and feelings with reason, and becomes intellectually and emotionally a true believer. The third stage of spiritual development is that of قنوت which signifies total obedience to God’s commandments. At this stage the spiritual wayfarer finds himself irresistibly attracted towards his Creator, and his submission to Divine commandments proceeds from his love for the Supreme Being. The next stage in the spiritual journey is reached when a believer becomes صادق which means that he identifies himself completely with truth, and faces trials and temptations with complete equanimity. His faith becomes pure and free from all dross of hypocrisy and love of worldly things. The fifth stage is that of صبر; when identification with truth becomes a permanent feature of a believer’s character. The stage of خشوع is a still higher stage in spiritual progress. It indicates an attitude of humility which the believer develops after he has gained complete victory over trials and tribulations consequent upon the growing consciousness of his own weakness and that of the perfection and completeness of the Divine Being. The next stage is that of متصدق. At this stage the believer becomes conscious that he is not to live for himself alone but should share God-given blessings with other fellow beings. At the stage of صائم which is the next high spiritual stage the believer learns to sacrifice his own legitimate needs and comforts for the benefit of others and at the ninth stage of حافظین فروجھم he scrupulously guards all the avenues through which sin can find access to his mind. At the tenth stage i.e. الذا کرین الله, which is the last stage and which forms the climax of spiritual growth and development, the believer is so completely engrossed in God as to have become lost in His remembrance.

21:92.

Commentary:

In this and the preceding two verses, examples of the wives of the Prophets Noah and Lot, of the wife of Pharaoh, and the example of Mary, the mother of Jesus, are set forth. The disbelievers are compared to the wives of Noah and Lot in order to show that the companionship of a righteous man, even of a Prophet of God, does not benefit an evilly minded person who is bent upon rejecting truth. Prophet Noah’s wife was of a more wicked disposition than the wife of Lot since the latter only preferred the company of her relatives to that of Lot, while Noah’s son, probably under the corrupting influence of his mother, had rejected his father’s Message. The wife of Pharaoh stands for those believers who, though passionately desiring and praying to get rid of sin, yet cannot fully dissociate themselves from evil influences, represented by Pharaoh, and having arrived at the stage of the self-accusing soul (النفس اللوامة ) sometimes fail and falter. Mary, the mother of Jesus, represents those righteous servants of God, who having closed all avenues of sin and having made peace with God, are blessed with Divine inspiration; the pronoun (masculine gender) in فیه standing for such fortunate believers. Or, the pronoun may stand for فرج which, literally meaning a cleft or fissure, signifies an opening through which sin can find access.