نَسِي

59:20.

Important Words:

المنافقون (the hypocrites) is derived from نافق which is derived from نفق. They say نفق الشیء i.e. the thing became diminished; or it became spent up and perished. نفقت السلعة means, the merchandise was in much demand. نفقت السوق means, the market became brisk, its goods selling quickly. نفق الرجل means, the man expired. نفق الیربوع means, the rat came out of its hole in the earth. انفق ماله mean, he spent freely and constantly so as to reduce or exhaust his wealth. نافق فی المحبة means, he acted hypocritically in respect of love. نافق الرجل فی الدین means, the man concealed disbelief in the heart and expressed belief with his tongue. نافق الیربوع means, the rat known as yarbu‘ betook itself to its hole. النافقاء means, a hole in the earth having two open ends which the rat enters concealing one end and leaving the other exposed, so that in time of danger it may avail itself of the concealed end and escape through it. النفق means, a hole or passage through earth leading up to some place through an opening at the other end. النفاق means, entering faith through one door and leaving it through another; acting hypocritically. المنافق means, one who conceals disbelief in his heart and expresses belief with his tongue; a hypocrite (Aqrab, Taj & Mufradat). Though hypocrites have been mentioned in the Quran as early as in 2:9, the word منافق(hypocrite) has been first used in 4:62.

نسیھم (He has neglected them). نسیان generally meaning "forgetfulness", does not always signify the act of forgetting. Truly speaking, نسیان means, one’s ceasing to think of a person or a thing either owing to loss of memory or owing to negligence. The Quran says لا تنسوا الفضل بینکم i.e. do not cease (lit. do not forget) to do good to one another. In fact, when the word نسیان is used about God, it never means "forgetting" but simply cutting off connection by way of punishment or ceasing to think of a person with feelings of love and affection (Mufradat).

Commentary:

This verse mentions some of the signs by which hypocrites can be distinguished from true believers. These signs are: (1) that the hypocrites form a sort of inner society among themselves, shunning true believers and being inter-connected with one another; (2) that they enjoin evil; (3) that they forbid good; (4) that they do not spend in the cause of God, keeping their hands closed; (5) that they neglect Allah and His commandments; (6) that, as a consequence, God too neglects them and they do not enjoy Divine help in their works; and (7) that they are disobedient to God, always seeking to evade His behests.

18:40; 74:57; 76:31; 81:30.

Commentary:

The verse purports to say to Muslims that in their hour of despondency and helplessness before the irresistible might of Christian nations, they should not for a moment entertain the idea that they can ever successfully fight them with material means. On the contrary, they should have firm faith in God’s promises that He would never let Islam down and would Himself create circumstances that would bring about the complete downfall and destruction of these nations.

Important Words:

سربا (going away swiftly) is derived from سرب. They say سرب الماء i.e. the water flowed. سرب الرجل means, the man went at random. سرب فی الارض means, he went away in the land. سرب (sarabun) means, going away swiftly, a subterranean excavation; a habitation beneath the earth having a passage through it; the burrow or hole of a wild animal; the den of a lion. The Quranic expression فاتخذ سبیله فی البحر سربا means, it (the fish) took its way into the sea swiftly, etc. (Lane & Aqrab).

Commentary:

حوت (fish) when seen in a vision denotes the houses of worship of righteous people (Ta‘tirul-Anam). In this sense of the word the expression, when they reached the place where the two seas met, they forgot their fish, means that at the time when the Mosaic and the Islamic Dispensations met, i.e. when Mosaic Dispensation ceased to function and the Islamic Dispensation came into force, true righteousness would depart from among the followers of Moses and Jesus and would henceforward become the special mark of the followers of the new Dispensation (48:30). The verse under comment also shows that the Islamic Dispensation was, in fact, a continuation of the Mosaic Dispensation. Being two consecutive parts of God’s eternal guidance, no such thing as the "junction of two seas" existed in the time of Moses.

Commentary:

The pronouns in the expressions, "their fish" (v. 62), "they had gone further" (v. 63) and "we betook ourselves" obviously do not refer to Moses and Jesus because they did not live in the time of the Holy Prophet but to their respective peoples.

صخرة (rock) in the language of dreams and visions denotes "a life of vice and sin." So the expression, when we betook ourselves to the rock, means that when the two seas met i.e. when the Mosaic Dispensation came to an end and a new Prophet and a new Dispensation appeared, then Jews and Christians would be sunk in a life of sin and iniquity.

The words, it took its way into the sea in a marvellous manner, signify that true piety and worship of God would take leave of these people and would become the special mark of another people (the followers of Islam) who would become heirs to Divine favours.

The incident of the fish unmistakably points to the whole affair being a vision because when Moses and his young companion were pursuing their journey with the fish as their guide it was not possible for them to forget it.

Commentary:

Moses repents of his mistake, begs to be excused and promises to ask no more questions. This may be interpreted as signifying that at first Jews and Christians would offer to make common cause with the Holy Prophet but later on they would back out of their solemn agreements. It so happened that when the Prophet went to Medina, the Jews of the town entered into an alliance with him. But later on, finding that such an alliance would entail great sacrifices, they broke it and ended by openly siding with his enemies. So was the case with Christians also. In the beginning they were on friendly terms with Muslims but their friendship soon became changed into open enmity. The Christian Emperor Heraclius treated the Prophet’s epistle with great respect and it appeared that he would become Muslim. But afterwards when Christians found that the political interests of Islam clashed with their own they declared war on Muslims which continued to have repercussions for a very long time.

Commentary:

This verse explains vv. 13:24-25 wherein it is said: And angels shall enter unto them from every gate, saying 'Peace be unto you, because you were steadfast' and signifies that the angels would say to the Faithful that they did not bring them greetings of peace of their own accord but with the express command of God, their heavenly Father, and on His behalf.

The words "And thy Lord is not forgetful" mean that God has not forgotten His promise that "He will raise from among the brethren of the Israelites (i.e. the Ishmaelites) a Prophet like unto Moses and will put His words into his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that He shall command him" (Deut. 18:18).

Commentary:

In answer to the disbeliever’s protestation as to why he was raised up blind while he was possessed of sight in the former life, God would say that he had become spiritually blind in that world on account of his having led a life of disbelief and sin, and as his soul was to serve as a body for another much more spiritually developed soul in the afterlife, therefore he was born blind in the Hereafter.

The verse possesses another interpretation: As a disbeliever does not develop within himself divine attributes and remains a stranger to them, on the Day of Resurrection when those attributes will be manifested in their full splendour and glory, he—being stranger to them—will not be able to recognize them and will thus stand like a blind man, having had no recollection or remembrance of them.

7:52.

Commentary:

The expression یومکم ھذا (this your day) means, "this day of your promised discomfiture and defeat".