بَالُ

12:32.

Commentary:

When the King saw that the wise men of his court had failed to interpret his dream and that Joseph had not only interpreted it rightly but had also suggested a remedy for the impending affliction, and when he learnt from his butler that Joseph’s previous interpretation of two dreams had also turned out to be true, he realized that Joseph was no ordinary man and desired to release him from the prison forthwith. But Joseph refused to be released until a full inquiry was made into his case and he was proved to be innocent of the charge laid against him. His object in demanding an inquiry seems to be twofold: firstly, that the King might know that he was innocent so that on no future occasion might his mind be poisoned against him by evilly-disposed persons on the basis of the alleged cause of his imprisonment; secondly, that Potiphar, his benefactor, might not remain under the impression that he had proved faithless to him.

The Holy Prophet is reported to have once said that if he had remained in prison for so long a time as Joseph did and, like Joseph, had received the orders of his release, he would at once have left the prison (Bukhari & Muslim). This readiness of the Holy Prophet to leave the prison in contrast to the hesitancy of Joseph to do so shows the former to be spiritually superior to the latter. It is true that the vindication of one’s honour is an act of virtue, but to welcome the opportunity for discharging one’s duties as a Prophet of God, as the Holy Prophet’s reported readiness implied, leaving one’s honour to take care of itself, is certainly an act of much higher spiritual eminence.

The words, how fare the women who cut their hands, spoken by Joseph show that the incident of the cutting by the women of their hands did actually take place; otherwise Joseph could not have referred to it in these words. Either the women, while absorbed in conversation, had inadvertently cut their hands, or they might have declared that, by bringing a false accusation against Joseph, they had cut their own hands i.e. had landed themselves in a false position. If these words had only expressed the women’s state of mind and nothing actual had happened, Joseph could not have referred to "the cutting of the hands."

3:155; 30:5.

22:56.

Important Words:

الجبال (mountains) is the plural of الجبل (the mountain). Figuratively, the wordجبل means: (1) chief of a tribe or community; (2) a learned man towering above those around him; (3) great hardship or calamity (Aqrab).

قطعت (be cut asunder) is formed from قطع (qatta‘a) which is derived from قطع (qata‘a), the former being the intensified form of the latter. They say قطع الشیء i.e. he cut the thing; or he cut it asunder. قطع النھر means, he crossed or went across the river. قطع الطیر means, the birds migrated or journeyed from colder regions to warmer ones. قطعه بالحجة means, he silenced him in argument (Aqrab).

یایئس (come to know) is derived from یئس which means (1) he despaired of the thing; (2) he knew. An Arab would say قد یئست انك رجل صدق i.e. I have known that thou art a good man. The clause افلم یایئس الذین آمنوا means, have not the believers yet come to know? The expression یئست المرأة means, the woman became barren i.e. despaired of bearing children (Lane & Aqrab).

قارعة (disaster) is derived from قرع. They say قرع الباب i.e. he knocked at the door. قرع الرجل means, he beat the man. قرعه امرmeans, the affair came on him all of a sudden. القارعة means, great calamity; sudden calamity; the Day of Resurrection or of Judgement; an army marching forth quickly and striking the enemy quickly (Aqrab & Taj).

Commentary:

The words, And if there were a Quran by which mountains could be moved or by which the earth could be cut asunder or by which the dead could be spoken to, they would not believe in it, do not mean that the Quran does not possess these qualities but that even when these wonderful attributes of the Quran were demonstrated, disbelievers would not believe. A construction similar to the one used in this verse occurs in a saying of the Holy Prophet who is reported to have said, لو کان الایمان معلقا بالثر یا لنا له رجل من ابناء فارس i.e. if faith were to ascend to the Pleiades, a man from among the sons of Persia would bring it back (Bukhari, Kitabut-Tafsir). This hadith does not mean that faith would not ascend to the Pleiades, or that a man from among the sons of Persia would not bring it back. On the contrary, it is a prophecy which foretold the disappearance of faith from the earth and its restoration in the latter days by a man from among the children of Persia. Incidentally, it may be noted here that this great prophecy was fulfilled by the appearance of Ahmad,the Promised Messiah, whose family was of Persian origin. But to revert to the subject. A description of the great powers and qualities of the Quran as given in the present verse also implies the hard-heartedness and uncompromising hostility of disbelievers to the divine truth.

Taken literally, the expression, by which mountains could be moved, would mean that the Quran contains prophecies of earthquakes of such severity as will virtually remove parts of mountains from their places. The Quran does indeed predict great upheavals (Surah 99).

Figuratively, the word "mountain" may mean, great hardships and difficulties. In this sense, the description in the verse fitly applies to the Quran, because it solves all political, social, economic, moral and spiritual problems in a way that no other religious Scripture does. The word also means "learned men" among a people, or their "chiefs." According to this meaning of the word also, the description is quite applicable to the Quran, for with its advent, the old leaders of the people and the learned among them disappeared. The system of government underwent a complete transformation and hereditary kingship was replaced by Khilafat i.e. a representative form of government. The old learning, which was founded on superstition and capricious fear, was superseded by one based on experiment, observation and a knowledge of the properties of things. The Quran abounds in verses exhorting men to make use of reason and reflection rather than indulge in superstitious notions, and enjoins them to make a close study of the objects of nature. The whole universe, says the Quran, has been created for the benefit of man, who is repeatedly urged to compel it into his service. The Quran, in short, abrogated the old order of things and inculcated a new approach to the various human problems.

The expression, by which the earth could be cut asunder, figuratively means that the Quran would speedily spread throughout the earth. Literally, the expression means that portions of land would be cut off from enemy territory and would pass into the possession of the believers. Both these things were fulfilled as predicted by the Quran, for it spread very quickly throughout the world, and whole countries fell into Muslim hands.

The words, by which the dead were spoken to, mean that dead and by-gone people should bear witness to the truth of the Quran, that is to say, the righteous forefathers of the living generation should testify to its Divine origin. This was also fulfilled. In the Old and the New Testaments, the "People of the Book" have evidence of the righteous men of old bearing witness to the truth of the Holy Prophet, yet they rejected that evidence. "The dead being spoken to" may also mean the appearance of the dead in dreams and visions and their bearing witness to the truth of the heavenly Messenger, but evil-minded people reject this evidence also. Both these things happened not only in the time of the Holy Prophet but also in the case of Ahmad, the Promised Messiah. The word "dead" also applies to the spiritually dead. The word has been used in this sense in the Quran (8:25). In this sense, the verse would mean that by means of the Quran those spiritually dead will not only be quickened into a new life, but will also be made to speak words of wisdom and will preach the Message of the Quran to the world.

The words, the matter rests entirely with Allah, mean that though these things may appear impossible, yet they will surely come to pass, because the Almighty God with Whom "the matter rests entirely" and to Whom nothing is impossible has Himself foretold their occurrence. To this Almightiness of God the attention of disbelievers is pointedly drawn in the words, Have not the believers yet come to know that if Allah had enforced His will, He could have surely guided all mankind? In the following sentence even the time is specified when these things will come to pass. The words, disaster shall not cease to befall them for what they have wrought or to alight near their home, until the promise of Allah comes to pass, mean, that calamity after calamity shall continue to befall the Meccans, and they shall suffer reverses one after another, till the prophecy relating to the utter destruction of their power is fulfilled. This prophecy met its fulfilment in a wonderful manner. In spite of the many signs the disbelievers had witnessed and the many reverses they had suffered at the hands of Muslims, they refused to see the truth till at the head of ten thousand devoted followers or, to use the words of the Bible, "ten thousand saints," the Holy Prophet marched towards Mecca and encamped "near their home," and with his triumphant entry into that city the power of pagan Arabia was completely broken and its glory departed forever and all vestige of unbelief and idolatry disappeared from the country.

3:55; 8:31; 13:43; 27:51.

Important Words:

ان (even though) gives a number of meanings such as, if; though; even though, etc. It is also sometimes used to express negation i.e. not (Aqrab).

Commentary:

The words, they have already designed all their designs, mean that disbelievers did all that lay in their power and left no stone unturned and no plan untried to bring the Holy Prophet to grief.

The expression, their designs are with Allah, means that God knows their designs full well and, as it is God Who produces the result of men’s actions, He will frustrate their designs. The words "their designs" may also be taken to mean the designs of God concerning disbelievers. In this case the expression would mean that the designs which God will employ against the disbelievers are all with Him and He will carry them into effect as and when He deems fit. The words عند الله مکرھم may also mean, "the punishment of their designs is with Allah," for sometimes a word is repeated to signify the punishment thereof. See 2:16.

The word جبال (mountains), as already explained, also means, "great difficulties or insurmountable obstacles" (13:32). Taken in this sense, the verse would mean that though the designs of disbelievers against Islam are such that they can remove mountain-like obstacles yet, as disbelievers seek to frustrate God’s purpose, they will not succeed in their nefarious designs.

If the particle ان be taken in the sense of "not" (see Important Words), then the words ان کان مکرھم لتزول منه الجبال would mean, "and their designs are (surely) not such as to move mountains."

Commentary:

The verse means to say that the dogma that Jesus is the son of God is so hideous that the heavens, the earth and the mountains might well break into pieces and fall asunder at the enormity of this idea. The belief is repugnant to heavenly beings because it is against Divine attributes and against all that they stand for. It is revolting for human beings living on the earth because it offends against the dictates of human nature and man’s intellect and reason recoil in sheer disgust from it. Men of high and noble ideals such as Divine Prophets and God’s Elect also deny and denounce it because the idea that man should stand in need of the vicarious sacrifice of anybody for the attainment of salvation and a high moral status runs counter to their own spiritual experience. The doctrine of Atonement is dependent on and is inseparably connected with belief in the sonship of Jesus and bars the door to all moral and spiritual advancement and attainment of high and noble ideals and condemns man to undeserved moral degradation. In short, the doctrine that Jesus is son of God is against all that is sane, sound and sensible.

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.

7:117; 26:44.

7:117.

Important Words:

عصیھم (their staves). عصی is the plural of عصا which means: (1) a piece of wood on which one reclines, a stick, a stave; a party; the tongue (Lane & Aqrab).

Commentary:

The words "Nay, cast ye", show that the Prophets of God never take the offensive. They wait till they are attacked and then they defend themselves.

The expression یخیل الیه (appeared to him) clearly indicates that the cords and staves of the magicians only appeared to Moses as though they ran about. Actually they did nothing of the kind. The forces of evil at first appear to carry the day for a short while but they soon come to grief and suffer defeat and destruction.

13:16; 16:49-50; 55:7.

Commentary:

God has fixed certain laws—natural laws, which all created things, animate or inanimate, have to obey. There is no escape from submission to these laws. There are, however, certain other laws—the laws of the Shari‘ah—which God has made for the guidance of man. These laws man may obey or disobey and defy and thus may suffer the consequences of his defiance.

The verse further brings home to idolaters the folly and futility of their taking the objects of nature for worship besides Allah. It says that all these things depend upon Him for their very existence. They all submit to the laws He has fixed for them and cannot live independently of God for a moment. It is sheer folly, therefore, to adore and worship things and beings which are themselves subject to God-made laws. The expression یسجد له کثیر من الناس و کثیر حق علیه العذاب besides the meaning given in the text, may also mean that many from among men submit to Allah and many others incur His displeasure and punishment because they do not submit to laws made by Him.

21:80; 38:19-20.

Important Words:

أوبی (repeat the praises) is derived from آب which means, he returned. آب الی الله means, he returned to God from his sins, he repented. أوب means, he repeated or echoed the praises of God (Lane & Aqrab).

Commentary:

As the principal theme of this Surah is the triumph of Islam and the great wealth, power and dominion that were to be given to Muslims, and as the might and splendour of the Israelites attained its zenith in the reigns of David and Solomon, so a somewhat detailed reference has been made in this Surah to these two great Prophets and Kings in order, on the one hand, to tell Muslims that such great glory and splendour will come to them also, and, on the other, to warn them that if they did not behave properly and if they defied and violated Divine commandments and indulged in evil practices, they too will come to grief, as did the Israelites after Solomon’s death, when all their power and glory departed, and they became pariahs among the nations.

For a detailed discussion of the subject as to how the mountains and the birds repeated the praises of God along with David see 21:80. Briefly, the word "mountains" signifies those mountain tribes which submitted to David, while the use of the word "birds" implies that David led large and powerful armies followed by flocks of birds which feasted upon the dead bodies of his vanquished foes. The words "birds" may also signify highly spiritual men or real birds which David used for carrying messages in time of war.

The expression "And We made the iron soft for him" shows that the art of making implements of war from iron had very much developed under David and he freely made use of it for making coats of mail as the next verse shows.

18:48; 78:21; 81:4.

Commentary:

The verse means that on the day of retribution the leaders of disbelievers will meet with a terrible end. They will be blown away like chaff before the wind. Or it may signify that the Iranian and Byzantine Empires will be broken and shattered. This and the preceding verse make a subtle allusion to the new order of things before which the old decrepit and decayed systems would be swept away. These verses may also apply to the Day of Judgement.