تَذَرُ

4:4.

2:232.

Important Words:

معلقة (a thing suspended) is derived from علق. They say علقه i.e. he hung it up or suspended it. علق الامر means, he left the affair suspended, i.e. undecided. معلقه is, therefore, a woman whose husband neither keeps her properly as a wife nor divorces her so that she might marry another man (Lane & Aqrab).

Commentary:

The words, And you cannot keep perfect balance between wives, however much you may desire it, mean that it is not humanly possible for a man to keep perfect balance between his different wives in every respect. For instance, love being an affair of the heart over which man has no control, a husband cannot be expected to have equal love for all his wives. But he can certainly treat them with equity in matters of money, time, etc., and this he must do. So acting equitably between the different wives, which has been laid down by Islam as an essential condition for polygamy, pertains only to such overt acts over which man has control. This is the interpretation which the Holy Prophet himself has put on this verse, both through his word and example. ‘A’ishah reports that the Holy Prophet used to treat his wives with equity in all matters over which man can have control and having done this, he used to pray to God, saying: "My Lord, these are my dealings in matters over which I have control; so blame me not for that which is in Thy power and not mine," meaning the feelings of the heart (Dawud, ch. on Nikah). The Holy Prophet is also reported to have said: "If a man has two wives and he is inclined to one of them (neglecting the other), he will rise on the Day of Resurrection with one of his sides having been torn off (Dawud, ch. on Nikah). Thus, both the example and the sayings of the Holy Prophet show that though a husband cannot love his wives equally, he should in his outward treatment, i.e. allotment of time, money, etc. be equally just and fair to all of them. In this connection see also 4:4.

2:50; 7:142; 14:7; 28:5.

Important Words:

قاھرون (dominant). For the full meaning of this word see 6:19.

Commentary:

It was the chiefs themselves who had counselled Pharaoh to give respite to Moses and his brother (7:112); but now the same chiefs blamed him for the delay he had allowed Moses and Aaron in accordance with their own advice. This is how a deterioration takes place in the morals of those who meet with disgrace and humiliation.

Pharaoh himself was worshipped as a god by his people (28:39) and he in turn worshipped other deities. Hence, the chief men accused Moses and Aaron of having denounced the worship of Pharaoh and his gods.

The verb نقتل (we will ruthlessly slay) is in the intensified form and expresses the sense of ruthlessness and a slow and gradual process.

This expression is thus intended to signify the hardship and privations which Pharaoh inflicted on the Israelites and by means of which he sought to bring about their gradual but sure and ruthless destruction. The Quran, therefore, cannot be accused of anachronism on the ground that Pharaoh did not slay the children of the Israelites after Moses went to him as a Messenger of God, for it is an authentic fact of history that both before and after Moses went to Pharaoh with his message, the latter had put into execution schemes against the Israelites with a view to bringing about their gradual but inevitable ruin. This is the reason why the Israelites said to Moses and Aaron, "Ye have made our savour to be abhorred in the eyes of Pharaoh and in the eyes of his servants, to put a sword in their hand to slay us" (Exod. 5:21). Reference to this is to be found in 7:130. Moreover, the verse does not say that Pharaoh actually caused the Israelite children to be slain on this occasion. It only mentions a threat and not an accomplished fact.

Commentary:

The expression بل انتم قوم عادون besides the meaning given in the text signifies, "You contravene the laws of nature".

Important Words:

بعلاً is derived from بعل (ba‘ala) which means, he married or he took a wife; or he became a husband. بعل means, husband; wife (بعل like زوج means both a husband and a wife, more generally a husband); lord, master or owner of a thing; a chief; afamily whose maintenance is incumbent upon a person (Lane & Aqrab).

Commentary:

Ba‘l was the name of an idol belonging to the people of the Prophet Elijah. These people worshipped the sun. Ba‘l may also stand for the sun-god which belonged to the people of a town in Syria now called Baalbek (Lane).

46:26.

38:7.

Important Words:

ود (Wadd) is derived from ود (Wadda). They say ودہ i.e. he loved him or it. ود (Wadd) was an idol worshipped by the tribe of Banu Kalb in Daumatul-Jandal. It was in a man’s figure, representing manly power.

سواع (Suwa‘) is derived from ساع. They say ساع الشیء i.e. the thing was wasted (Lane). سواع was an idol which the BanuHudhail worshipped. It was in a woman’s shape, representing female beauty.

یغوث (Yaghuth) is derived from غاث. They say أغاثه i.e. he aided or helped him. یغوث was an idol belonging to the tribe of Murad. Its votaries believed that it helped them when they called for help.

یعوق (Ya‘uq) is derived from عاق. They say عاقه عن کذا i.e. he hindered or prevented or withheld him from such a thing (Lane). یعوق was an idol belonging to the tribe of Hamdan. It was in the shape of a horse, representing swiftness. Its votaries believed that it prevented the enemy from doing harm to its worshippers, and warded off calamities from them.

نسر (Nasr) is derived from نسر. They say نسر الطیر i.e. the bird tore it with its beak. نسر means, eagle or vulture (Aqrab). It was an idol of the Dhul-Kila‘ tribe. It was in the shape of an eagle or vulture, representing long life or insight.

Commentary:

From time immemorial, man, in his ignorance, has worshipped forces of nature, idols made of wood or stone, and human beings. Noah’s people were steeped in idol worship. They had many idols, the five mentioned in the verse under comment being the most popular. The Arabs, several centuries afterwards, are supposed to have brought them from Iraq; Hubal, their most famous idol, was brought from Syria by ‘Amir bin Lohay; their own principal idols being Lat, Manat and ‘Uzza. Or the Arabs might have named their own idols after the idols of the tribe of Noah as the two peoples were not very distant from each other and there was general intercourse between them. There is nothing impossible or improbable in the two neighbouring idolatrous peoples having identical names for their idols.