إِنَّمَآ

Important Words:

غافلین (unaware) is the plural of غافل which also means wanting in requisite knowledge (Lane).

Commentary:

This and the succeeding verses are addressed to the pagan tribes of Arabia and give the reason why the Quran has been revealed to a Prophet of that country. If the Quran had not been sent down to the pagan Arabs, they might have justly offered the excuse that Books had been sent down to two other peoples (explained below) in tongues which the Arabs could not understand, and that if a Book had been sent down to them, they would have acted upon its teachings more faithfully. To meet this excuse the Quran has been revealed to a Prophet from among the Arabs in their own tongue; so now they cannot offer that excuse.

The "two peoples" mentioned in the verse are (1) the Jews to whom was given the Book of Moses and whose religion originated in the north of Arabia; and (2) the Zoroastrians to whom was given the Zend-Avesta and who lived on the east side of Arabia. The Christians were given no separate Law, for both Jesus and his disciples followed the Law of Moses; hence, so far as religious Laws are concerned, they do not form a separate people but must be classed with the Jews.

30:33.

Important Words:

شیعا (sects) is the plural of شیعة which means, a separate or distinct party or sect of men; any people that have combined in or for an affair. The word is derived from شاع, which means, it became spread, published, divulged or made known; it became scattered or dispersed. شاع also means, he or it followed (him). شیع ابله means, he called out to his (straying or lingering) camels, whereupon they went along and followed one another. شیعة also means, he encouraged and strengthened him. تشایعت الابل means, the camels became separate parties; or they went together (Lane).

Commentary:

The words, split up their religion, signify that when all and sundry begin to follow their own judgement, there are sure to be differences among them and there remains no unity of opinion.

7:39.

Commentary:

The appearance of a Prophet also debars the people of his time from urging the plea mentioned in the present verse, for then the truth is made manifest from falsehood and idolatry stands publicly condemned.

6:5.

6:105; 17:103.

Important Words:

اجتبیتھا (dost thou forge it). The word اجتبیت derived from جبی . They say, جبی المال i.e. he collected wealth or property. اجتباهmeans, he chose it or selected it. اجتباه also means, he forged it; he extemporised it. The expression لولااجتبیتھا would, therefore, mean, wherefore hast thou not forged it, or produced it, or invented it; or wherefore hast thou not demanded it of God (Lane & Aqrab).

بصائر (evidences) is the plural of بصیرة which is derived from بصر which means, he saw; he was or became endowed with mental perception or belief or knowledge or understanding or intelligence or skill. ابصر الطریق means, the way became manifest. You say انا علی بصیرة i.e. I am certain; or I possess certain knowledge. بصیرة means, mental perception; the perceptive faculty of the mind; understanding; intelligence or skill; firm belief of the heart; constancy or firmness in religion; an evidence, testimony, proof or argument; a witness; an example by which one is admonished; a shield (Lane & Aqrab).

Commentary:

The word آیة means "a sign". The verses of the Quran are also called آیات (signs) because every one of them by itself constitutes a divine sign, an evidence of the Divine origin of the Quran, and of the truth of the Holy Prophet. The purport of the verse is that although the Word of God is being revealed as occasion demands, and successive signs of God are being shown to men, yet whenever there is some delay in the coming of Divine revelation or the occurrence of signs, disbelievers ignore the Word of God already revealed and the signs already shown and shamelessly begin to ask of the Prophet, "Why do you not bring any revelation or show any sign in your support?" as if no sign had so far been shown and no revelation had come. To this impudent demand of disbelievers, the Holy Prophet is instructed to reply that the sending down of revelation or the showing of signs lies entirely in the hands of God and that he himself possesses no power to produce them at will. But why do they demand a fresh revelation or a new sign, asks the Quran. Are not the revelations that have already come and the signs that have already appeared enough to establish the truth of Islam? Why do they not ponder over them and profit by them?

It should be remembered that God seldom shows signs at the demand of disbelievers. Moreover, the demand for a fresh sign on their part implies that the signs already shown were no signs and furnished no evidence of the Prophet’s truth. Thus to accede to their demand means a reflection on the signs already shown and detracts from their value. It is, therefore, very rare that God shows fresh signs or miracles as demanded by disbelievers. He requires them rather to consider past signs and profit by them.

17:74.

17:94; 25:9.

13:8.

Important Words:

فلعلك (thou art now perhaps). The word لعل is used to denote either a state of hope or of fear, whether that state pertains to the speaker or to the addressee or to someone else. In the Quranic expression فلعلك تارك بعض مایوحی الیك (thou art now perhaps going to abandon part of that which has been revealed to thee) the word لعل has been used to signify that "the people imagine that thou art now perhaps going to abandon, etc." (Mufradat). See also 2:22.

کنز (treasure) is the noun-infinitive from کنز (kanaza). They say کنز المال i.e. he buried the property or treasure in the earth; he collected the property and treasured it, or he hoarded it or stored it in secret. کنز الرمح means, he stuck or fixed the spear in the ground. کنز التمر means, he stored or packed up the dates (in the receptacle). کنز (kanz) means, treasure; property buried in the earth; any property whereof the portion that should be given in alms is not given; property that is preserved in a receptacle; anything abundant and collected together; gold and silver; a treasure of knowledge or science; that in which property is preserved or that in which property is buried or hoarded in secret (Lane & Aqrab).

Commentary:

It is a peculiarity of Quranic diction that sometimes it omits to give the question and only gives the answer, the question being implied in the answer itself. The present verse constitutes an example of this style. In the previous verse believers were promised forgiveness and a great reward. Thereupon disbelievers asked the Holy Prophet in a jeering and ironical manner, "You say your followers will get a great reward and their sins will be forgiven. We know nothing about the forgiveness of their sins. But where is the promised reward of which we do not see the slightest sign? You do not have even the money which you need so badly, nor do the angels descend from heaven to help you." The Quran turns the tables upon the disbelievers and answers their irony, with an irony, saying, "How weighty indeed is the objection of these people and perhaps, o Prophet, from fear of being unable to answer it, you would hide a part of Our revelation which contains prophecies regarding the prosperity and triumph of Islam!" meaning that such a thing can never be.

The verse is capable of another interpretation also. In this case the word لعل would be taken to refer to the hope of disbelievers that the Holy Prophet may, out of fear of their objections, suppress part of the Divine revelation. The verse declares such hopes to be vain and futile, for the Holy Prophet was "only a warner," and the function and duty of a warner is only to issue the warning and deliver his message faithfully; he has no right to suppress any portion of the message. Again, by using the words "only a Warner" the verse also hints that the Holy Prophet did not claim to be God so that the treasures of the earth might be under his control; he was only a human being. If it be said here that believers who were promised "a great reward" (see the preceding verse) were also human beings like the Holy Prophet, it should be remembered that they were promised the reward not immediately but after they had established their title to it by displaying patience and steadfastness under trials and hardships for a considerable time. So disbelievers could demand from the Holy Prophet clear and palpable signs of the prosperity promised to him only when the promised time had come and not earlier. To come attended with power and glory in the very beginning is a sign of personal authority which belongs to God alone and not to any human being."

The words, Allah is Guardian over all things, are intended to point to the fact that all these promises will certainly come to pass. The Holy Prophet will assuredly get both مغفرة (lit. covering up) and a great reward, and the angels of God will undoubtedly descend to bring his work to completion and make null and void the machinations of his enemies. Not only will he himself be favoured with a great reward, but his followers and disciples also would become rulers and kings. Any fair-minded and impartial person can see that both these promises were literally fulfilled.

Some hostile critics of Islam have pretended to infer from this verse that the Holy Prophet was actually prepared to abandon a portion of the Quran out of fear of the objections of his opponents. But the context spurns this baseless interpretation. Can any reasonable person imagine that the demand for the descent of helping angels or for the possession of a treasure was such that, on account of it, the Holy Prophet should, in any way, have become prepared to suppress part of Divine revelation, or that he was unaware of the fact that he was only a warner whose duty was to deliver the Message, whatever it might be? Again, did he not know that God had clearly spoken to him saying He Himself was "Guardian over all things"? So the words, thou art now perhaps going to abandon part of that which has been revealed to thee, contain only a vain hope on the part of the disbelievers that the Prophet might give up part of his revelation; they do not at all find any intention or readiness on his part to do so. Do not these critics know that when at Mecca a deputation of the Quraish waited on the Holy Prophet and asked him to give up preaching against their idols and threatened to crush him and his tribe in case he refused to do so, the prompt answer he gave was that even if they put the sun on his right and the moon on his left he would not swerve a hair’s breadth from the teachings which God had given him? Could he, whom the threats or cajolery of the Quraish at a time when he was extremely weak could not induce to give up his preaching, have become so unnerved by these silly objections as to become ready to conceal a part of the DivineWord?

The verse that follows also gives the lie to such an inference, for it contains a challenge to the world to produce ten Surahs like any ten Surahs of the Quran. If there had been any doubt in the Prophet’s mind concerning any portion of the Quran, could that very portion possibly have been followed by a challenge like this? This challenge shows that he believed in the truth of every word of the Quran with a conviction firm as a rock.

Commentary:

In this beautiful verse Jacob pours out his heart to God, in Whom all holy men seek solace. He also hints at the fact that he knew from God that Joseph, Benjamin and Judah were alive.

6:38; 10:21.

11:13; 35:24.

Important Words:

انما (surely) is a compound of ان (inna) and ما (ma) and generally gives the sense of "only." Sometimes it is used in the sense of "verily, certainly or surely" (Taj). See also 6:110.

Commentary:

A study of the Quran makes it clear that whenever disbelievers demand a sign, they invariably mean the sign of punishment, unless the context points to some other meaning. This is why disbelievers are here depicted as saying, Wherefore has not a sign been sent down to him, as if the many signs already shown to them were no signs at all. In reply to this foolish demand they are told that it is clear from the very title of the Prophet—a Warner—that punishment will at last surely overtake disbelievers; but before it comes upon them, they will be given ample opportunities to benefit by the guidance the Prophet has brought because he is also a guide for them.

28:53.

2:86.

18:111; 39:12; 72:21.

Commentary:

This verse shows that some of the "People of the Book" had accepted Islam while the Holy Prophet was yet in Mecca. The words, rejoice in what has been revealed to thee, most probably refer to Negus, the Abyssinian King and some of his people who, in their hearts, had become Muslims. But as their faith had not yet become publicly known, the words used about them are not "they believe" but simply "they rejoice."

The words, to whom We have given the Book, may also refer to Muslims, who naturally rejoiced to hear the glad tidings of their final triumph.

By the word احزاب (parties) is meant all those people to whom a Prophet is sent and who do not accept him. In the verse under comment the people referred to are the Jews, Christians and all other disbelievers, as the Holy Prophet has been sent to all the nations of the earth.

The words, a part thereof, have been used because disbelievers denied or disapproved of only those parts of the Quran which disagreed with their own Scriptures or their own beliefs. With regard to the remaining parts, they had no disagreement with them.

2:107.

Commentary:

Before proceeding to explain this verse it is necessary to understand the real meaning of the word ایة which, primarily means "a sign". Unless there is something in the context to show that a word is taken in any of its secondary senses, we must take it in its primary sense. The verses of the Quran are called ایات (signs) because every one of them constitutes a sign of guidance. The preceding verses spoke of the punishments which were in store for disbelievers. This fact lends support to the view that the word ایة is here used in its original sense, viz. in the sense of a sign. Now the fulfilment of the prophecies of punishment depends on the attitude of those concerning whom they are made. If they are obstinate and persist in rejecting the signs of God, the threatened punishment overtakes them. But if they show repentance it is averted, deferred or delayed, for God is Merciful and His attribute of Mercy predominates over all His other attributes. The case of the people of Jonah is a well-known instance for understanding the nature and purpose of the prophecies of punishment. Jonah predicted destruction of the people of Nineveh, but they repented and renounced their evil ways. So God had mercy on them and averted the impending punishment (10:99), and in place of the sign of punishment, He showed a sign of mercy. On such occasions, i.e. when God averts or delays a predicted punishment in consonance with His attribute of Mercy, the sons of darkness accuse their Prophet of falsehood and declare that his prophecy has not been fulfilled. These critics conveniently ignore the fact that there is a vast difference between a promise and a threat. If a person does not keep his promise, he is rightly regarded as guilty of breach of a solemn undertaking but if he does not carry into actual effect his threat, he cannot be accused of any breach of promise. On the contrary, it will be regarded as an act of generosity and kindness on his part not to have done so. According to Arabic idiom also, whereas the non-fulfilment of a promise is called a breach of promise, the non-fulfilment of threat is regarded as an act of generosity. The Arabs say الخلف فی الوعد عند العرب کذب وفی الوعید کرم i.e. the breach of promise is a lie but the non-fulfilment of a threat is an act of generosity. God is Merciful, and if a person repents, His Mercy demands that punishment should be averted from him, and in such a case it will be foolish to accuse the Prophet of falsehood. The words, and Allah knows best what He reveals, mean that God knows best what kind of sign is required to be shown under particular circumstances. He shows His signs according to the requirements of the time. If He sees that disbelievers have given up their evil course and are penitent, He refrains from punishing them and changes the form of the sign. In that case the threat of punishment is not carried out, and under such circumstances it is foolish to accuse the Prophet of falsehood. So the expression واذا بدلنا ایة مکان ایة would mean, When We avert or delay punishment on account of a change for the better on the part of those who are threatened with such punishment…

Taking the word ایة in the sense of Law, this expression would mean that when in certain matters the Law of Islam is found to differ from Laws previously revealed, disbelievers regard it as evidence of the Quran’s being a forgery. This meaning is in perfect harmony with the context. It is argued that when the Quran declares previous Laws to have been revealed by God, it should not have differed from them. But the admission that previous Laws have been revealed by God does not mean that none of their ordinances could be replaced by new ordinances. According to the Quran, the previous Laws were meant for particular peoples and for particular times. They were suited only to the requirements of the peoples for whom they were revealed. The Quran, on the other hand, constitutes a universal Law, meant for all peoples and all times, and therefore if it is found to contain certain teachings which differ from the teachings of previously revealed Scriptures, that is no evidence of the Quran’s being a forgery. On the other hand, it is but natural and necessary that the perfect and universal Law—the Quran—should differ in some of its ordinances from temporary and provisional Laws previously revealed.

It must be clearly understood that the verse contains no reference to the abrogation of any of the verses of the Quran. The Holy Prophet has not been reported to have ever declared any verse of the Quran to have been abrogated by another verse. Nor are there any verses in the Quran which clash with other parts of the Book and which may therefore have to be regarded as abrogated. All parts of the Quran support and corroborate one another. Moreover, there is nothing in the context to suggest any reference to the abrogation theory.

It is also worth remembering that the passage under comment was revealed in Mecca. In fact, the whole Surah belongs to the Meccan period. And the Surahs of the Meccan period deal with teachings pertaining to morals and matters of belief, and about these there can be no question of abrogation or revocation.

14:12; 41:7.

2:47,224; 11:30; 29:6; 84:7.

Commentary:

The Holy Prophet is here commanded to say to the disbelieving Christian people that, even after having disclosed so many secrets of the unknown and having made great prophecies about the ultimate triumph of his cause and the downfall of Christian nations, he cannot claim to be a son of God or to have been endowed with Divine powers. He is but a human being and his greatest merit lies in his being the bearer of the Divine Message. If disbelievers too desire to be blessed with revelation, they should also give up associating false gods with Allah. Then will God bestow His favours upon them and lay open to them the treasures of heavenly secrets.

The Holy Prophet is reported to have said that the recitation of the last ten verses of this chapter makes one secure against the spiritual onslaughts of the Dajjal. This shows that the Dajjal and Gog and Magog are one and the same people—Christian nations of the West; the Dajjal representing the evil aspect of their religious propaganda and Gog and Magog their material and political predominance.

3:46.

Commentary:

The word 'Messenger' shows that the angel was only the bearer of a Divine Message and the message or glad tidings which he brought was about the birth of a great son to Mary. So he had come not to give Mary a son but only the glad tidings about the birth of a son.

The expression لاھب لک only signifies that the angel had appeared to Mary to give her the certain and sure tidings about the birth of a son. The glad tidings was so certain of being fulfilled that it seemed as if the son had already been given to her. This is what the angel had conveyed to Mary because who does not know that it is God Who bestows a son and not an angel. An angel’s mission is confined only to conveying the wish and decree of God.

30:53.

Commentary:

The verse means to say that the prophecies which the Holy Prophet has made about the triumph of Islam and about the defeat and discomfiture of disbelief are not the figment of his own imagination. They proceed from the Almighty God and are based on His clear and express Word.

26:116; 29:51; 51:51; 67:27.

Commentary:

The verse refers to the universality of the Message of Islam. The Holy Prophet was sent for the whole of mankind and the Quran is humanity’s infallible guide till the end of time.

Commentary:

Whereas the peoples of Noah and Hud accused their Prophets of forgery and lies, Prophet Salih to whose uprightness and unimpeachable character his people had themselves borne testimony (11:63), has been declared here as مسحر i.e. one who is deceived, deluded, beguiled, bewitched, circumvented or outwitted (Lane). Consistently with their admission of Salih’s sincerity, honesty and uprightness, his people could not accuse him of forgery.

30:44; 106:4.

Commentary:

One of the major causes of the opposition of Meccans to the Holy Prophet was that they believed that if idol worship disappeared from Arabia, Mecca (or the Ka‘bah) being the repository of all their well-known idols will lose its importance and consequently they will also lose the prestige and influence they had enjoyed in Arabia as the custodians of the Ka‘bah. The present verse disabuses their minds of this false notion and purports to say that being the centre of a world movement and of the last message for all mankind, Mecca, far from losing its importance, will, on the contrary, immeasurably add to its prestige and will continue to be respected and revered till the end of time.

10:109; 39:42.

Commentary:

The theme of the preceding verse is further developed in the present verse and the Holy Prophet is commanded to say that from Mecca will emanate the light of the Quran which will illumine the whole world.

39:50.

Commentary:

The expression ولا یسأل عن ذنوبھم المجرمون may mean that the guilt of the disbelievers will be so patent that no further investigation will be considered necessary to establish it; or it may mean that the guilty will not be given an opportunity to defend themselves or to redress the wrong done by them, their sins and crimes being all too apparent.

Commentary:

In this and the next few verses, another kind of argument has been suggested to test the truth of the Holy Prophet. The present verse recommends an objective and detached examination of his claim. The disbelievers are urged to ponder, dispassionately, without prejudice, and being uninfluenced by crowd mentality, whether the Holy Prophet suffers from insanity or unsoundness of mind. The Quran is convinced that if a person were to deliberate seriously and in solitude over the claim of the Holy Prophet, he would inevitably come to the conclusion that he is neither an impostor, nor an insane person, because an impostor is never allowed to progress and prosper, and sooner or later—sooner rather than later—he meets with a terrible end, while an insane person can neither give such excellent teaching as does the Quran, nor can bring about such wonderful revolution in the life of a whole people, steeped in ignorance and immorality as had been brought about by the Holy Prophet.

2:118; 3:48; 40:69.

Commentary:

Wherever in the Quran the expression "when He intends a thing, He says to it, 'Be' and it comes into being" is used, the reference invariably is to the occurrence of an event of exceptional importance, particularly to the coming into being of a great moral and spiritual revolution through a Divine Reformer. In the verse under comment also the reference is to the great change which was wrought by the Holy Prophet. The Surah deals with the Holy Prophet’s Message and opened with an address to him.

Commentary:

After having briefly referred to some of the Prophets who had to suffer great hardships at the hands of their enemies and who endured those hardships with great patience and fortitude and also after having dealt with the subject that opposition to God’s Messengers never goes unpunished and their acceptance unrewarded, the Surah towards its close reverts (as is the invariable rule in the Quran) to the main subject with which it had opened, namely, the subject of Divine Unity. The Holy Prophet is enjoined to tell disbelievers that from the accounts of the life of Divine Messengers, mentioned in the preceding verses, they must have realized that God is One and that He is the Almighty and the Most Supreme and that it is to preach and establish His Unity in the world that the Holy Prophet has been sent.

See 39:9.

Commentary:

It is human nature that when man is involved in trouble he prays to God, but when he is in affluent circumstances he consigns Him to oblivion and attributes all his success in life to his own ability and knowledge. This attitude of conceit and arrogance has always proved a stumbling block in the way of disbelievers to appreciate and accept truth.

14:12; 18:111; 21:109.

Commentary:

This verse answers the sarcasm of disbelievers referred to in the previous verse. The Holy Prophet is told to say to them that he is but a man like them and no god or angel. Therefore, there is no reason why they should not be able to understand the message of which the bearer is a human being and which is meant for human beings.

8:29; 63:10.

13:37; 18:39.