نَقُصُّ

3:185; 5:33.

Commentary:

The word القری (the towns) again refers here to ancient towns fallen into ruin. The Quran reverts to their mention in order to emphasize the seriousness of a Prophet’s rejection and to introduce the narration of yet another by-gone people, the rejecters of Moses.

By using the words, some of whose news, the verse makes it clear that the Quran has not given the entire history of by-gone peoples but only the relevant parts of it. Nevertheless, no book of history contains more reliable information about the peoples of ‘Ad and Thamud than does the Quran, and students of history have admitted that what the Quran tells us is the only authentic and reliable knowledge that we possess about these ancient peoples, and all other stories current about them may be only so many myths. As regards Lot, later Jewish writers have admitted that he was a Prophet of God, as the Quran represents him to be, though the Bible does not seem to accord him this rank.

The verse hints that as the Holy Prophet represents in his person all the Prophets that have gone before him, therefore his rejecters will be visited with all the various forms of punishment that befell the rejecters of former Prophets.

The opponents of God’s Prophets are in the habit of rejecting their claims on the basis of mere hearsay and make-believe. The result of such a hasty rejection is that the hearts of the rejecters become sealed and they become deprived of the power to understand the arguments and signs which God shows to establish the truth of His Messengers. The verse thus throws light on how the hearts or minds of disbelievers are sealed. They are sealed only when disbelievers refuse to make use of their God-given power of reasoning and understanding.

Important Words:

نقص (We narrate). They say قص اثرہ i.e. he followed his tracks or footsteps in pursuit. قص علیه الحدیث means, he related to him the story in its proper manner i.e. rightly, as though he followed its traces in pursuit and related it accordingly (Lane). See also 7:177.

Commentary:

As the expression نقص (which literally means, we narrate rightly or properly) indicates, the verse shows that some differences existed about the life story of Joseph. The Quran here claims to act as judge between the upholders of different views and to lift the veil of obscurity from the face of the true story. This is why it says, We relate to thee the narration rightly or properly as though following its very traces (see Important Words). It is strange that some European critics of the Quran have not taken into consideration the existence of differences about the life of Joseph, but have only thought fit to take exception to the narrative of the Quran, merely because it differs from that of the Bible in certain details. In fact, the very objection has established the truth of the Quran, inasmuch as the claim that it relates the incidents rightly shows that the Revealer of the Quran knew that at some future time people would object to the Quranic version. Brinckman is one of these critics. In his "Notes on Islam" he says, "In the Koran a beautiful and touching tale is mangled and spoiled." The following pages will show whether it is in the Quran or the Bible, that a "beautiful and touching tale" has been "mangled and spoiled."

One of the reasons why the story of Joseph was revealed to the Holy Prophet in such detail is that it contains many prophetic allusions to his own life. The whole story was to be, as it were, re-enacted in the person of the Holy Prophethimself and his brethren, the Quraish, and was thus to serve as evidence of his truth. Another reason is that, as the Holy Prophet was the like of Joseph it was necessary that he himself should know the latter’s life history.

The Holy Prophet has been referred to here as of those not possessed of requisite knowledge. His lack of requisite knowledge about Joseph was intended to hint that, firstly, the whole truth about Joseph was to be found neither in the Bible nor in the Talmud; and, secondly, that the Holy Prophet was not aware that events similar to those which happened to Joseph were to occur in his own life. The account of the Quran differs from that of the Bible in many respects but, as will appear from the following pages, wherever the two accounts differ, it is the Bible that has erred.

20:100.

Important Words:

قری (cities) is the plural of قریة and means, (1) the people of the towns; or (2) the towns themselves (Aqrab).

حصید (mown down like the harvest) is derived from حصد. They say حصد الزرع i.e. he reaped or cut the harvest with a scythe. حصد القوم بالسیف means, he mowed down the people with the sword. The proverb من زرع الشر حصد الندامة means, he who sows evil reaps remorse. حصید means, reaped seed-produce; mown down with the sword like reaped seed-produce; an harvest that is cut or mown down; also the lower part of the harvest which remains after the latter is cut down (Lane & Aqrab). See also 6:142.

Commentary:

In the first mentioned sense of the word قری the word قائم (standing) would mean that the progeny of these peoples lived after them and thus, as it were, continued to stand; and in the latter sense it would mean that the remains of some of these towns are still to be found while others have become totally extinct. Similarly, in this sense the word حصید (mown down like the harvest) would mean "a people who have become totally or nearly extinct." If, however, the word قری is taken in the sense of "towns," the word حصید would signify, "towns whose traces have become wholly or nearly extinct."

The verse means that the remains of some of the towns mentioned are still extant, while others have become wholly or nearly obliterated. Consequently, if the ruins of some of the towns mentioned in this Surah cannot be found, the truth of the Quranic narratives cannot be called into question, because the Quran itself uses the word حصید (mown down) with regard to them. If, however, in some future time, archaeologists succeed in discovering the ruins of some towns now extinct, the Quranic account would still be beyond doubt, for the word حصید (mown down) is also used with regard to a harvest that has been cut down with a scythe, the lower part of which still remains visible. See also 10:25.

8:3; 47:18.

Commentary:

The verse shows that many fantastic stories were current about the Dwellers of the Cave in the Holy Prophet’s time. The truth about them, however, is that they were young men of noble conduct who had staked their all for the sake of their Lord and that their faith had steadily grown under persecution.

Commentary:

The verse embodies a prophecy that the Holy Prophet will have to face conditions and circumstances similar to those which Moses had confronted. No other Israelite Prophet shared as many points of resemblance with the Holy Prophet as Moses did. Moses had Aaron, his brother, as his assistant in the discharge of his duties. The Holy Prophet had his cousin ‘Ali whom he likened to Aaron when he left him behind on the occasion of the expedition to Tabuk. Aaron was accused of having made for the Israelites a calf for worship and ‘Ali was accused of being an accomplice in the murder of ‘Uthman. The Holy Prophet also had a Samiri in the person of the Jew, ‘Abdullah bin Saba, who outwardly became a Muslim and stirred up revolt against the third Caliph, ‘Uthman, which culminated in the latter’s assassination and in an internecine split in Islam which unfortunately has since then shown no sign of abating or healing.