مَاتُ

3:88.

Commentary:

The word الناس (men) may either mean "all men" or "holy and virtuous men", i.e. those who deserve to be called "men" in the real sense of the word. This distinction is not arbitrary; for there is a class of men whom the Quran describes as "cattle or even worse" (7:180).

The cursing of the angels and the holy men means that as angels and holy men obey their Lord and Master and never go against His wishes, they would naturally sever connections with the disbelievers—the Jews—when they see Him doing the same. The angels, one of whose works is to help good men and punish the wicked, will turn against them and all good men will also strive to bring their evil efforts to naught. They will find the entire forces of God ranged against them.

If the word الناس (men) be taken to refer to all men, then the clause would mean that all men being subordinate to God, He would so arrange that no people would be able to help them against His decree.

2:162; 4:19; 47:35.

Commentary:

This verse further explains the true significance of repentance. So long as death does not overtake one and the door of performing good works is open, the door of repentance is also open. But in no case will mere lip-repentance of disbelievers or their alms be accepted. If there is no faith in the heart, mere giving of alms or mere apparently good works cannot win the pleasure of God, even if one spends large quantities of gold.

Commentary:

The expression, when they travel in the land, means, when they travel in the land in the cause of God. This meaning is supported by the context.

The idea contained in the words, so that Allah may make it a cause of regret in their hearts, is that when Muslims refused to act upon the advice of disbelievers not to fight, and instead, came forth in large numbers to fight in the way of God, the disbelievers were naturally grieved at their failure to win them over to their way of thinking.

The interpretation of the clause, and Allah gives life and causes death, would vary according to the different meanings of the words موت (death) and حیاة (life) occurring in it. If the death referred to in the verse is taken in the sense of destruction, the clause would mean that with the death of a few Muslims, Islam would not go to ruin. God has decreed to vouchsafe victory to Muslims and the death in fighting of a number of the victorious army cannot possibly result in their destruction. If, however, death is here taken to mean "disgrace", then the clause would mean that God’s votaries and true servants never meet with disgrace because all honour is in His hands and He gives it to whomsoever He pleases. Truly speaking, he who fights and lays down his life in the cause of truth can in no sense be regarded as dead, because such a one gives his life for the sake of Him Who is the controller of all life and death. Such a person can never die; for though physically he may die, spiritually he lives forever. In this connection, see also 2:155.

Commentary:

This verse prohibits Muslims from saying the funeral Prayer for hypocrites who are disbelievers at heart. When 9:80 was revealed, the Holy Prophet thought that it was still open to him to perform the funeral service of a hypocrite if he should so choose; and when therefore ‘Abdullah bin Ubayy died, he performed the service for him. By the present verse, however, God definitely forbade the performance of funeral service for disbelieving hypocrites. As a matter of principle, he who dies in a state of disbelief (whether he be an open disbeliever or a proved hypocrite) forfeits all claims on the prayers of the Faithful. His case is in the hands of God. He may punish or forgive him, as He may think fit. See also 9:80 above.

2:11.

Commentary:

Divine revelation is like rainwater. If the seed is good and the soil favourable, rain is sure to help in producing a good crop; but if the seed and the soil are bad, the crop is bound to be bad in spite of good rain. As the soil of the hearts of the hypocrites was unclean and corrupt, the water of Divine revelation only served to add to their filth; for with the coming down of heavenly rain the filth that lay hidden in the hearts of the disbelievers also came out.

3:196; 8:75; 9:20-22; 16:42.

Commentary:

In v. 57 above God had referred to the reward of believers in general. In this and the next verse the Quran particularly mentions the reward of those believers who left their hearths and homes, their belongings and their dear and near ones for the sake of God. To these "living" martyrs, the verse holds out a promise that they will be specially rewarded for their sacrifices. In fact those who leave their homes and all that is dear to them for the sake of God and spend their lives in serving His cause and then die in harness deserve to be classed with "the martyrs", for their sacrifice is as great as that of the actual martyrs, only, God in His infallible wisdom, spares their lives. This is the significance of the words, "or die". In fact there are two categories of martyrs—"the dead martyrs" and "the living martyrs". The "dead" martyrs are actually slain in the cause of God while the "living" martyrs live a life of perpetual sacrifice for His sake and then die a natural death. The verse under comment places both these classes of "martyrs" in the same category. Those who are slain, or those who die a natural death, serving the cause of God, will have the same reward—a goodly provision and a place with which they will be well-pleased.

Incidentally, the verse shows that it was revealed after the Hijrah, because it was after the Hijrah that fighting in self-defence was permitted and some of the Muslims were killed in the fighting. In fact, some parts of the Surah were revealed at Mecca and others at Medina. The Surah may thus be said to have been revealed both at Mecca and Medina.

32:19; 38:29; 39:10.

Important Words:

اجترحوا (commit) is derived from جرح which means, he worked or wrought with his hand; he earned. جرحه means, he wounded him. They say بئس ما جرحت یداک i.e. evil is that which thy hands have wrought. اجترح الشیءmeans, he earned the thing. اجترح الاثم means, he committed a sin (Lane & Aqrab).

Commentary:

The verse embodies an infallible criterion to judge between truth and falsehood and between belief and disbelief. It purports to say that believers and disbelievers are never equal in life or in death. While in life disbelievers, being pitted against truth, meet with defeat and discomfiture, when they die they leave behind no one to remember them or perpetuate their memory because their own sons and grandsons eventually come to believe in and accept the truth. On the contrary, the cause that is dear to the believers progresses and prospers and they are remembered with honour and respect after their death. The verse, in fact, gives a miniature description of the conditions of the followers of Islam and of its opponents, in this and the next life.

3:92; 4:19.