سَبِّحْ

19:11.

19:12.

Commentary:

It appears from the Bible that tokens or signs for the fulfilment of certain prophecies used to be fixed in former times. Sometimes certain phenomena of nature were fixed as such tokens. For instance, Gen. 9:17 fixes the rainbow as a token for the fulfilment of God’s promise that there shall be no more flood to destroy the earth. God also appointed the observance of circumcision as a token for the bestowal of the blessings which He promised to Abraham and his seed (Gen. 17:11). Again, the observance of the Sabbath was fixed as a sign for the divine covenant made with the Israelites (Exod. 31:13-17). Similarly, at Zachariah’s request God appointed a token for the fulfilment of His promise. Zachariah was to abstain from speaking for three days, and then was the promise to be fulfilled. He was not deprived of his power of speech, as the Gospels seem to allege as a punishment for his not believing the words of God (Luke 1:20-22).

As to the question why the token of keeping silent and refraining from the use of the tongue was fixed for Zachariah, it may be briefly noted that, firstly, it was intended to afford Zachariah a suitable opportunity for passing his time in meditation and prayer—a condition particularly helpful in drawing Divine mercy and grace. Secondly, refraining from speech has also been found helpful, in some cases, in making one regain lost vitality and health. The practice seems to have been in vogue among the Jews of those times (19:27) and is even now resorted to by certain people among Hindus and others. Islam does not recognize such practices as tend to suspend the useful activities of man, but it certainly discourages talkativeness (Tirmidhi, ch. on Birri Was-Silah)

20:131; 50:40; 110:4.

Commentary:

The verse means to say that inasmuch as the main purpose of the Holy Prophet’s advent, viz. the establishment of the Unity of God, was now going to be fulfilled, he should in joyous thanksgiving extol the praise of God and bow down to Him in devoted prostration. The verse also hints that the Holy Prophet should now busy himself all the more in the moral and spiritual training of the Faithful and thus provide practical means of establishing the glory of God. How in these few brief words God has so beautifully taken the burden from the mind of His Prophet!

17:79-80; 30:18-19; 50:40-41.

Important Words:

آناء (hours) is the plural of إنی (inyun) and إنی (inan) and أنی (anyun). All these are derived from أنی (ana) which means, its time came; it was or became or drew near; it attained to its full state. إنی (inyun) means, an hour or a short portion of time, or an indefinite time; a time of the night; any hour of the night. مضی إنو من اللیل means, a time of the night passed (Lane & Aqrab).

اطراف is the plural of طرف and means, sides of the day; parts of the day (Aqrab).

Commentary:

Some commentators of the Quran are of the view that by the glorification of God at the hours mentioned in the verse are meant the hours of the five daily Prayers; the words "before the rising of the sun" signifying the morning Prayer; and the words "before its setting" the late afternoon (‘Asr) Prayer; and the expression "and glorify Him in the hours of the night" signifying the evening (Maghrib) and night Prayer (‘Isha), while the words "at the sides of the day" signifying afternoon (Zuhr) Prayer. But whatever the words of the verse may mean it is quite clear that in order to obtain success in life and satisfaction of the mind it is very essential to remember God and glorify Him. God’s constant remembrance is specifically suited to illumine the soul and to bring about peace of mind.

34:11; 38:19-20.

Important Words:

الجبال (the mountains) is the plural of جبل which is derived from جبل (jabala). جبله علی کذا means, God created him and adapted him to it. جبل (Jabalun) means, a mountain; a rocky tract; any rocky elevation; the lord or chief of a people; their learned man; a man who does not move from his place. جبال means, mountains, big or learned men; people living in mountains etc. (Lane & Aqrab). See also 13:32.

الطیر (the birds) means, a bird or birds. طائر which is the singular of الطیر means, a bird; an omen; the cause of actions good or bad; actions good or bad and their consequences; natural powers of man; a highly righteous and spiritual man (Lane & Aqrab). As a bird flies high in the air and builds its nest on lofty trees or mountains, therefore a man who soars high in the spiritual firmament is called a طائر in spiritual terminology. See also 3:50; 7:132 & 17:14.

Commentary:

This verse has been very much misunderstood and misinterpreted. The misunderstanding arises from the far-fetched construction placed upon it by some commentators. There is, however, nothing in the wording of the verse itself to justify the element of mystery introduced into it. A few simple words used metaphorically in order to add elegance and beauty to the diction of the verse have been distorted to render it a veritable riddle. The words "We subjected the mountains and the birds to celebrate God’s praise with David" have been taken literally to mean that the mountains and birds were under David’s control and when he sang the praises of God they actually joined with him in singing those praises. They simply mean that big men (الجبال) and highly spiritual men (الطیر) glorified God and sang Divine praises along with David. And if according to the verse, the mountains and birds were subjected to David there was nothing extraordinary in the mountains and the birds being subject to his control as at several other places in the Quran not only mountains and birds but all other things in the heavens and the earth—the sun, the moon, the stars, the day and the night, the animals, the birds, the rivers, the seas, the winds, the clouds etc., are stated to have been subjected to man (2:165; 7:55; 22:38 & 45:13-14). The word الجبال; in the present verse, as stated under Important Words above, signifies also mountainous territory or "people living in the mountains" as the name of a place sometimes stands for its people (12:83). Thus the subjection of "the mountains" to David may signify that he conquered and subjugated wild and savage mountain tribes. The Bible also refers to this fact. It says, "And Hiram, King of Tyre, sent messengers to David, and cedar trees, and carpenters, and masons and they built David a house. So all the elders of Israel came to the King to Hebron; and King David made a league with them in Hebron before the Lord and they appointed David King over Israel" ( II Sam. chap. 5). Thus the words, "We subjected the mountains and the birds to celebrate God’s praises with David" have been particularly used about David in the verse because he was a great conqueror and subduer of wild mountain tribes.

Similarly, celebration by birds and mountains of God’s praises should also occasion no surprise. Elsewhere in the Quran we read that all things, animate or inanimate, the angels, animals, birds, the heavens and the earth, even the forces of nature, sing the praises of God, only man cannot understand their glorification (13:14; 17:45; 21:20-21; 24:42; 59:2; 61:2; 62:2; & 64:2). The glorification of God by these things which is the carrying out by them of the duties assigned to them by God demonstrate: that God is perfect and completely free from all flaws, failings and frailties and so is His handiwork.

The word "birds" used in the verse may also signify actual birds. In this sense the reference would be that David made free use of birds for carrying messages in time of war which had been especially trained for this purpose. Or it may signify flocks of birds which followed David’s victorious armies and feasted on the dead bodies of his fallen foes. Lastly, the word "birds," may signify men of high determination and great resolve who are ever ready to scale great heights and are not afraid of difficulties and dangers in the cause of religion. In brief, the verse means to say that men of ordinary spiritual caliber had become highly spiritual and soared very high in the spiritual firmament through the purifying company of David.

The verse may also be rendered as, "We subjected the mountains and the birds to David; they all celebrated God’s praises." This rendering removes much misunderstanding and difficulty.

For a fuller explanation of this and the next three verses see 34:11-14 & 38:19, 20, 37, 38, 39.

The expression, "We gave Solomon the right understanding of the matter," has been used to show that Solomon’s policy of moderation and conciliation was right in the then obtaining circumstances. In this verse the Quran defends Solomon against the charge levelled at him by some Jewish writers of having pursued a weak policy which brought about the downfall of his dynasty after him. The words, however, should not be taken to mean that the strong policy adopted by David in his own time was wrong. Any misunderstanding leading to this inference has been dispelled by the following clause: "And to each of them We gave wisdom and knowledge," which makes it quite clear that the policies of both David and Solomon were best in the circumstances and quite suited to the particular occasion.

26:218; 27:80; 33:49.

21:80; 34:11.

Commentary:

For a detailed explanation of this and the next verse see 21:80 & 34:11.

30:61.

Important Words:

استـغـفر (ask forgiveness) is derived from غـفر. They say غـفر الشیء i.e. he covered or concealed the thing. غـفر الله ذنبه means, God covered up his sins and forgave him. مـغـفرة and غـفران which are both infinitives, signify God’s forgiveness or His protection of a person against the punishment of his sins and protection against future lapses (Mufradat, Aqrab & Lane). استـغـفر would thus signify, "ask God for مـغـفرة " i.e. covering up of, and for-giveness for, past lapses, and pro-tection from future stumbling. استـغـفار (Istighfar), therefore, is not only needed by ordinary believers but also by holy men of God—even by God’s great Prophets. While the former offer Istighfar to seek protection against future sins as well as from the evil consequences of past lapses, the latter seek protection from human shortcomings and weaknesses that may hinder the progress of their cause. The Prophets also are human and though they are immune to sin, yet they, too, are heir to human failings and frailties and so they too need offering Istighfar to seek Divine help and assistance against these. See also 2:59 & 14:42

ذنب (frailty) is derived from ذنب (dhanaba). ذنبه (dhanaba-hu) means, he followed his tail, not quitting his track. ذنب, therefore, signifies such natural failings or frailties as adhere to human nature. ذنب also means, a fault, an imperfection, a shortcoming, natural weakness, frailty, a misdeed, an offence or error for which one is liable to be called to account or which produces harmful results (Mufradat). Four words i.e. جناح, جرم, إثم and ذنب (all signifying a lapse) have been used in the Quran, but whereas all the four have been used in relation to human beings generally, the first three have not been used with regard to Prophets of God. This shows the great difference between ذنب and other words. See also 3:17.

Commentary:

As against the Bible which has imputed all sorts of heinous crimes and sins to God’s Prophets (Gen. 9:21-22; 19: 30-36 & 2 Sam. 11:2-5), Islam regards them as completely free from all moral lapses. They are born sinless and they remain sinless throughout life. "They are God’s honoured servants and fully carry out His commandments" (21:21, 28). Christian writers have vainly sought to infer from 48:3 and from the verse under comment that as the Holy Prophet was enjoined to ask forgiveness for his ذنب, he must have been guilty of moral lapses. Apart from the fact that a casual study of the context at both the places belies this baseless inference, the argument only exposes ignorance of Arabic idiom on the part of Christian critics. استـغـفر لذنبک is quite a harmless expression, particularly when used about a Prophet of God; and in view of the meanings of the words ذنب and استـغـفار, as given under "Important Words" above, it does not at all bear this sinister construction. The expression only means that the Holy Prophet was enjoined to invoke God’s protection against his human weaknesses standing in the way of the realization of his noble object which was the advance and spread of Islam and the complete and final victory of truth over falsehood. The expression may also mean, "ask forgiveness for them (thine enemies) for the wrongs they have done thee," ذنبک meaning, the wrong done to thee. The Quran regards the Holy Prophet, as indeed all other Divine Messengers, as above any imputation of committing a sin. The Quran has shed some light on the very high stature of the Holy Prophet. It says:

(1) He it is who has raised among the unlettered people a Messenger from among themselves who recites unto them His Signs, and purifies them, and teaches them the Book and Wisdom (2:130; 3:165 & 62:3).

(2) Your Companion has neither erred, nor has he gone astray. Nor does he speak out of his own desire. It is nothing but pure revelation that has been revealed by God (53:3-5).

(3) Verily, those who swear allegiance to thee indeed swear allegiance to God (48:11).

(4) Say, 'If you love Allah, follow me: Then Allah will love you and forgive you your faults' (3:32).

(5) Whoso obeys the Messenger, obeys Allah indeed (4:81).

It is ignorance of Arabic language or misrepresentation of the text of the Quran to say that it regards the great and noble Prophet, who had raised to the highest pinnacles of spiritual glory a whole people, sunk deep in the depths of moral turpitude, and had purified them, liable to commit sins!

15:99; 17:79; 20:131; 40:56; 110:4.

17:80; 52:50; 73:3-5.

5:68.

Commentary:

'The judgement of thy Lord' may signify the punishment that was soon to overtake disbelievers, and the words ‘thou art before Our eyes’ mean that the Holy Prophet was under Divine protection and plotting of the enemies could do him no harm. The reference is to the promise of protection given to him in the words: "And Allah will protect thee from men"(5:68).