بَادِىَ

23:25.

26:112.

Important Words:

بادی الرأی (to all outward appearance) is made up of two Arabic words بادی and الرأی. The word بادی has two possible derivations. It may be derived from بدأ (bad’a) which means, he or it began or he or it came into existence. بدأ به means, he began with it; he made it to be the first. Or the word بادی may be derived from بدأ (of which the aorist is یبدو) which means, it appeared or it showed itself. According to these two different roots the word بادی would mean: (1) that which or he who is first or that which or he who begins; (2) that which or he who appears. And the word الرأی means sight or perception or opinion. So the compound expression بادی الرأی would mean: (1) at first thought or on the first opinion; (2) at the appearance of opinion or according to the appearance of opinion, which may mean either inconsiderately or insincerely (Lane, under بدا & بدأ).

Commentary:

The Arabic expression بادی الرأی (to all outward appearance) is capable of three interpretations according to the rules of Arabic grammar. First, it may be taken as referring to the words ونراك (and we see). In this case, the verse would mean that the followers of Noah appear to us to be the meanest of us at first thought or on the first opinion, i.e. so far as our opinion is concerned we consider them to be mean. If, however, there is any hidden good in them, it may be known to Noah only.

Secondly, the expression بادی الرأی may be taken to refer to the words اراذلنا (the meanest of us). In this case the verse would mean that the followers of Noah were apparently low and mean.

Thirdly, the expression بادی الرأی may be taken as qualifying the words اتبعك (have followed thee). In this case the verse would mean that those who have accepted Noah have done so only outwardly or without proper thinking i.e. their faith was either insincere or inconsiderate, being based on mere cursory thinking.

To sum up, the words اراذلنا بادی الرأی mean: (1) the followers of Noah are mean to all outward appearance; or (2) their faith in Noah is insincere; or (3) their faith is the result of only superficial thinking.

The words, We see in thee nothing but a man like ourselves, mean, "There is nothing extraordinary in your outward appearance to distinguish you from us. You are just a human being like any other mortal. When therefore, there is nothing extraordinary in your outward appearance, how should we know that inwardly you have been endowed with exceptional powers which have helped you to gain access to Divine presence, while we cannot ?"

This is the common objection raised by the opponents of the Prophets. The enemies of Noah purported to say that if he possessed some special inward power from God, that ought to have caused some difference in his outward appearance and as a result of it he should have acquired knowledge of some worldly sciences also, but they saw no evidence of this. How could they then believe that his internal powers were different from, and superior to, theirs. In support of this argument the opponents of Noah might possibly have shown to him pictures of their holy men having extraordinary exteriors, such as the Hindu saints are believed to possess, for instance, a number of heads and several hands. In olden days, men could not conceive that a Prophet was like ordinary mortals in appearance. So the enemies of Noah, arguing that the outward must correspond with the inward and that there must be harmony between the two, raised against him the objection that if he was really a true Prophet, his outward appearance must have been different from theirs. Silly though the argument is, it must have won endorsement from the contemporaries of Noah.

The enemies of Noah further reinforce their argument by saying that while he himself possessed no special powers, and was a mortal like themselves, his followers were even worse than him. What success could he achieve, they asked, with adher-ents who, to all outward appearance, were the meanest of the society? The enemies of Noah thus argued that neither his own personal qualities nor those of his followers gave him the appearance of "superiority" over them.

The words, we believe you to be liars, embody the result of the arguments brought forward by Noah’s opponents, which is that he was a liar, for he had asserted his truth and superiority without any basis or proof.

It is a pity that men test the claims of a heavenly Messenger by their self-devised standards and, when he does not satisfy those standards, they deceive themselves with the idea that they had weighed up his claims dispassionately and with an open mind and had found them to be false. Even in the present age when man has made great progress in knowledge, science and culture and has known many Prophets, he presumes to test the claims of God’s Messengers’ not by criteria laid down by Him but by his own false standards.

2:275; 13:23; 16:76.

2:255; 43:68.

Commentary:

The verse purports to say that if believers desire the "good tree" (v. 25) to yield its fruit soon, they should faithfully observe the Divine commandment regarding the saying of Prayers and the spending of a part of their property in the cause of God, both secretly and openly.

Commentary:

By الارض (the land) is meant Palestine. It is worthy of note that Christian commentators themselves have interpreted the phrase 'inherit the land' or 'inherit the earth' in the Psalms as meaning, 'inherit Canaan, the pledge of God’s covenant.' ("Commentary on the Old Testament," published by The Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, London, notes on Ps. 37:3, 9). The reference in the words, "in the Book of David" is to Psalms 37: 9,11,18,22 & 29, where it is stated:

For evildoers shall be cut off; but those that wait upon the Lord, they shall inherit the earth. But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace. The Lord knoweth the days of the upright: and their inheritance shall be forever... For such as be blessed of him shall inherit the earth; and they that be cursed of him shall be cut; The righteous shall inherit the land, and dwell therein forever.

The word الذکر may also refer to Torah, the Book of Moses. There is a prophecy in Deuteronomy (28: 11 & 34: 4) that Palestine was to be given to the Israelites:

For when I shall have brought them into the land which I swore unto their fathers, that floweth with milk and honey; and they shall have eaten and filled themselves, and waxen fat; then will they turn unto other gods, and serve them, and provoke me, and break my covenant .... And the Lord said unto him, this is the land which I swore unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, saying, I will give it unto thy seed.

The Israelites rose to great power after Moses and in the time of David and Solomon their rule extended far and wide till it embraced in its orbit far-off lands. Then they fell on evil days. They sinned and transgressed and killed God’s Prophets with the result that Divine nemesis overtook them. First Samaria was conquered and ravaged by the Assyrians about 733 B.C. and the whole country north of Israel was annexed by them. Then under Pharaoh Necho, the Egyptians ravaged Judah in 608 B.C. and last of all the greatest blow fell on Israel when Nebuchadnezzar, the Babylonian king, laid waste Judah, killed in cold blood the inhabitants of Jerusalem and burned and razed the holy Temple of Solomon to the ground and carried away in captivity the members of the royal family and their Prophets. After wandering in wilderness for about a century the Israelites were restored to Jerusalem and to some of their lost glory through the instrumentality of Cyrus, the Persian king and his successors. To this restoration the following passage of the Bible makes a prophetic reference from the mouth of Moses:

And it shall come to pass, when all these things are come upon thee—thou shalt return unto the Lord thy God, and shalt obey his voice according to all that I command thee this day, thou and thy children, with all thine heart, and with all thy soul; that then the Lord thy God will turn thy captivity, and have compassion upon thee, and will return and gather thee from all the nations, whither the Lord thy God hath scattered thee.... And the Lord thy God will bring thee into the land which thy fathers possessed, and thou shalt possess it; and He will do thee good, and multiply thee above thy fathers (Deut. 30:1-5).

Again the Israelites relapsed into sin and iniquity. They opposed and persecuted God’s Messengers and the cup of their wickedness became full to the brim when they hung on the cross Jesus, their last great Prophet. Then God’s wrath fell upon them. The Roman hordes under Titus attacked them in 70 A.D. and amid circumstances of unparalleled horror Jerusalem was destroyed and the Temple of Solomon was burnt down for the second time (Enc. Bib. & Jew. Enc. under "Jerusalem"). To this double disaster of the Israelites vv. 17:5-8 of the Quran make a pointed reference.

Palestine, the Holy Land, remained in the hands of Christians till Muslims conquered it in the Caliphate of ‘Umar, the Second Successor of the Holy Prophet, and unlike Nebuchadnezzar and Titus he accorded such benign and kind treatment to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and showed such respect and reverence to the Temple of Solomon as are unparalleled in the whole annals of foreign conquest. It is to this conquest of Palestine by Muslim arms that the prophecy embodied in the verse under comment particularly refers. Palestine remained under Muslim possession for about 1350 years with the exception of a brief space of 92 years when during the Crusades it changed hands, till in our own time through the evil designs of some so-called democratic Christian powers, the country of the name of Palestine has altogether ceased to exist and on its ruins the State of Israel has been built. The Jews have come to their own after wandering in wilderness for about 2000 years. But this great historical event, too, has taken place in fulfilment of a Quranic prophecy. The Muslims were told that in the time of the Promised Messiah, the Jews will be made to come back to their Holy Land from the ends of the earth (17:105). But this is only a temporary phase. The Muslims are destined to win it back. Let the whole world know that sooner or later—sooner rather than later—Palestine will revert to Muslim possession. This is a Divine decree and nobody can alter God’s decree.

Commentary:

As in the foregoing verses an implied reference was made to the migration, the believers in this verse are comforted that if life in their own native place has been made unbearable for them, the earth of God is vast and spacious and if they have to leave their hearths and homes for the sake of God, they will find "abundant place of refuge and plentifulness (4:101)."

21:81.

Important Words:

محاریب (palaces) is the plural of محراب which among other things means, a palace; a mosque (Lane & Aqrab). See also 3:38.

جفان (basins) is the plural of جفنة which is an infinitive noun from جفن. They say جفن الناقة i.e. he slaughtered the she-camel and gave the flesh for food to the people in bowls. جفنة means, a large bowl or receptacle, particularly used for food; a small well; a generous man. جفنة غراء means, a generous man who entertains many guests and feeds many. He is so called because people are fed by him in the جفنة (Lane & Aqrab).

جواب (reservoirs) is the plural of جابیة which is derived from جبا. They say جبا الخراج i.e. he collected the tribute. جبا الماء فی الحوضmeans, he collected the water in the pond. جواب is the plural of جابیة which means, a large watering-trough in which water is collected for camels, a water reservoir; a company of men (Lane & Aqrab).

راسیات (fixed) is the plural of راسیة which is derived from رسا which means, it was or became fixed, firm, stable. قدر راسیةmeans, a cooking pot that will not be removed from its place on account of its large size and heaviness. جبال راسیة means, firm mountains (Lane & Aqrab). See also 16:16.

Commentary:

The verse shows that besides being a highly prosperous, powerful and civilized monarch, Solomon was the prince of builders among Israelite rulers. He had a special taste for architecture which had greatly developed under him. The Temple of Jerusalem bears an eloquent testimony to his fine architectural taste.

12:88; 15:57.

Commentary:

The present is one of the most beautiful verses of the Quran. It holds out a message of hope and good cheer to those who have wronged their souls. It encourages optimism and kills despair and despondency. It denounces and condemns pessimism because pessimism lies at the root of most sins and failures in life. Again and again the Quran gives a promise of Divine mercy and forgiveness. "Despair not of the mercy of Allah," it says, "for none despair of Allah’s mercy save the disbelieving people" (12:88). Again it says: "And who can despair of the mercy of his Lord save those who go astray" (15:57). There could be no greater message of solace and comfort for the grieved and the heavy-laden than this. The God of Islam is "Most Forgiving, full of mercy" (18:59). "He has taken it upon Himself to show mercy" (6:55). "His mercy encompasses all things" (7:157). Such is the God of Islam. He can and does forgive the sins of His servants and does not need the vicarious sacrifice of anyone for this purpose. He only requires a change of heart on the part of the sinner. According to Islam, the sinner is never beyond redemption. The Holy Prophet has beautifully explained this verse in one of his sayings, viz. من قال ھلک الناس فھو أھلکھم i.e. "He who says that the people have gone to ruin, it is he who, in fact, leads them to ruin" (Muslim).