أُولَىٰ

38:62.

Important Words:

ادارکوا (successively arrived) is derived from درك. They say درك المطر i.e. the rain dropped with close consecutiveness. ادرکهmeans, he attained, reached or overtook him. ادارکوا which is the same as تدارکوا means, they attained, reached, overtook or came up with one another; or the last of them attained, reached, overtook or came up with the first of them. The expression حتی اذا ادارکوافیھا جمیعا means, until when they have overtaken one another; or until they have successively arrived therein all together (Lane).

Commentary:

The words, For each preceding party there shall be double punishment, are explained in a saying of the Holy Prophet which is to the effect that he who starts a good practice, i.e. he who does a good deed in such a manner that others copy and follow him, shall have a double reward, and he who starts a bad practice shall have a double punishment. In fact, a person who does a good or a bad deed not only benefits or suffers by it himself, but leaves it as an example to follow for those who come after him. He, therefore, deserves a double reward or punishment as the case may be. The above-quoted words of the verse are also intended to point to the fact that each party that follows another also precedes the one that follows it. So there is no question of awarding double punishment to one and letting the other go with only single punishment.

Important Words:

فجاسوا (and they penetrated). جاس means, he sought for or after a thing or news or tidings eagerly and with the utmost of his endeavour. They say جاسھم الاسد i.e. the lion trod upon them, or came into the midst of them and did mischief among them. The Arabs say جسنا خلال دور القوم i.e. We went to and fro or went about amidst the houses of the people. The Quranic expression فجاسوا خلال الدیار means, they went through the midst of the houses and sought for what was in them or they went to and fro among the houses in a sudden attack or they slew you amid your houses (Lane & Aqrab).

Commentary:

The first disaster befell the Israelites after David, and the second after Jesus. It appears from the Bible that the Jews had become a very powerful nation after Moses and in the time of David they laid the foundation of a mighty kingdom which continued to flourish for some time after his death in its old might and glory. Then it fell prey to gradual decay and about 733 B.C. Samaria was conquered by the Assyrians, who annexed the whole of Israel north of Jezreel. In 608 B.C. Palestine was ravaged by an Egyptian force under Pharaoh Necho and the Israelites came under Egyptian sway (Jew. Enc., vol. 6, p. 665). The loss of their temporal power and their destruction and desolation, however, did not make them mend their ways. They continued in their old wicked practices. The Prophet Jeremiah warned them to give up their iniquities as the wrath of God was about to overtake them. These are Jeremiah’s warnings:

O Jerusalem, wash thine heart from wickedness, that thou mayest be saved. How long shall thy vain thoughts lodge within thee…? For I have heard a voice as of a woman in travail, and the anguish as of her that bringeth forth her first child, the voice of the daughter of Zion, that bewaileth herself, that spreadeth her hands, saying, Woe is me now! for my soul is wearied because of murderers (Jeremiah 4:14 & 31).

The Israelites paid no heed to Jeremiah’s warnings. So "the Lord was very angry with them and removed them out of His sight; there was none left but the tribe of Judah only" (2 Kings 17:18). In the reign of Jehoiakim, Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon made his first invasion of Palestine and carried off some of the Temple vessels, but the city was spared the rigours of a siege. In 597 B.C. also, the city was invested and fell victim to a severe famine. The rebellion of Zedekiah, however, caused a second invasion in 587 B. C., and after a siege of a year and a half, the city was taken by storm. King Zedekiah fled from the city but was taken prisoner. His sons were slain and his eyes were put out and he was bound in fetters and carried off to Babylon. The Temple, the King’s palace and all the great buildings in the city were burnt down, the chief priests and other leaders were put to death and many people were carried off in captivity (Jew. Enc., vol. 6, p. 665 & vol. 7, p. 122 under Jerusalem).

Thus was fulfilled the promise about the first of the two warnings held out to the Israelites by Moses to which the present verse refers. The following passages of the Bible contain Moses’ warnings to the Jews:

"But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe to do all His commandments and His statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee…The Lord shall bring a nation against thee from far, from the end of the earth, as swift as the eagle flieth; a nation whose tongue thou shalt not understand; a nation of fierce countenance, which shall not regard the person of the old, nor show favour to the young: and he shall eat the fruit of thy cattle, and the fruit of thy land, until thou be destroyed: which also shall not leave thee either corn, wine, or oil, or the increase of thy kine, or flocks of thy sheep, until he hath destroyed thee. And he shall besiege thee in all thy gates, until thy high and fenced walls come down, wherein thou trustest, throughout all thy lands: and he shall besiege thee in all thy gates throughout all thy land, which the Lord thy God hath given thee. And thou shalt eat the fruit of thy own body, the flesh of thy sons and of thy daughters, which the Lord thy God hath given thee, in the siege, and in the straitness, wherewith thine enemies shall distress thee…And it shall come to pass, that as the Lord rejoiced over you to do you good, and to multiply you; so the Lord will rejoice over you to destroy you, and to bring you to naught; and yet ye shall be plucked from off the land whither thou goest to possess it. And the Lord shall scatter thee among all people, from the one end of the earth even unto the other; and there thou shalt serve other gods, which neither thou nor thy fathers have known, even wood and stone. (Deut. 28:15; 49-53; 63-64).

Commentary:

Moses is here comforted that his people would not remain permanently wedded to idolatry and other evil practices but the instant they came under his fostering care, they would again become his good and God-fearing companions. See also 7:108.

Commentary:

Moses’s reply to Pharaoh’s query contained in the previous verse seemed to have entirely confounded him (Pharaoh), so he adroitly turned away from the subject which he himself started and presented Moses with a new question. He asked Moses whether his God knew anything about the former generations who were dead and gone, meaning how they would fare when they had not had the benefit of receiving guidance from him (Moses). Thus, in a subtle manner Pharaoh sought to incite his people against Moses by making an oblique hint that he (Moses) regarded their forefathers as bereft of heavenly guidance and therefore deserving of Divine punishment.

Important Words:

آیة here means a great sign or the Sign of punishment. See also 2:130 & 19:11.

Commentary:

The words, Has there not come to them clear evidence of what is contained in the former Books, may mean: (1) is not the argument sufficient to convince them that in the times of former Prophets also disbelievers continued to demand Signs in spite of many Signs having been shown to them and that this fact is recorded in the former Scriptures; (2) does not the fact constitute a sufficient guide to them that the prophecies made in the former Scriptures about the advent of a great Prophet are being fulfilled in the person of the Holy Prophet; and (3) is not the fact sufficient to convince them that similar signs have been shown to them as were shown in the times of the former Prophets?

7:155; 46:13.

Important Words:

بصائر (source of enlightenment) is the plural of بصیرة which means, perceptive faculty of the mind, understanding; intelligence; firm belief of the heart; an evidence, testimony, proof or argument; a witness; a shield; the blood by which one is directed to an animal that has been shot (Lane & Aqrab). See also 7:204.

Commentary:

In this verse, the Book of Moses has been described as بصائر which in view of the various meanings of this word seemed to possess the following characteristics: (1) It was a potent means of sharpening the perceptive faculties of those who believed in it and followed it, as the Word of God is indeed a great sharpener of human intellect. (2) It constituted a strong evidence in favour of the Holy Prophet and a pointer, directing people to the Quran. It also served as an argument and a proof to prove the truth of Moses’ own claim. (3) It served as a shield which protected followers of Moses from the vicissitudes of time and heavenly chastisement. (4) It formed a mark or sign which pointed and led to God as the blood of a wounded animal points and leads to the place where it has fallen. This means that the Torah served as a guidance and showed the believers the way to God and led them right up to the threshold of His pleasure and nearness. In fact, all Divine Books possess these attributes and characteristics in a greater or lesser degree in keeping with their divine status and the scope and tenure of their message.

Commentary:

The words, "To Him belongs all praise in the beginning and the Hereafter," signify that it is not possible to begin a work unless God provides the means for it and that no work can become complete unless He has provided the means for its completion, and that it can produce no result without His help. The expression الا ولٰی و آلاخرة may also signify respectively the Mosaic and Islamic Dispensations.

19:56; 20:133.

Important Words:

رجس (uncleanness) is derived from رجس (rajasa) which means, it was or became dirty or filthy or unclean or hated; he did a bad or evil action. رجس (rijsun) means, dirt or filth; a dirty or filthy thing; a thing or action disliked for its filthiness; a sin; an action that leads to punishment; doubt; infidelity; suggestion of the devil (Lane & Aqrab). See also 5:91.

Commentary:

The words "stay in your houses" show that the principal sphere of the activities of a woman is her house—not that she is not allowed to leave its four walls. She may go out as many times as she may require for the performance of a legitimate errand or the satisfaction of a legitimate need. But to move about in a mixed society and take part in all sorts of avocations and professions, shoulder to shoulder with man, and to do so to the neglect and detriment of her special domestic duties as the mistress of the house is not the Islamic conception of ideal womanhood. The Holy Prophet’s wives were particularly required to "stay in their houses" because the dignity of their exalted position as "Mothers of the Faithful" demanded this and also because Muslims often visited them to pay their respects and sought necessary information and guidance from them on all important religious matters.

The commandment seems to apply only to the wives of the Holy Prophet but it equally applies to all Muslim women. It is the Quranic way of address that while it appears to be particularly addressing the Holy Prophet, the address is meant equally for all Muslims. Similarly, a commandment addressed to the wives of the Holy Prophet applies also to all Muslim women.

The expression اھل البیت applies principally and primarily to the Holy Prophet’s wives. This is quite clear from the context and also from vv. 11:74 and 28:13. In its wider sense, however, it includes all members of a family who form one’s household, even one’s children and children’s children. The expression had also been used by the Holy Prophet for some of his select Companions. سلمان منا اھل البیت i.e. "Salman is member of our household" (Saghir), is a well-known saying of the Holy Prophet.

20:134.