وَهُم

24:49.

Commentary:

The expression, portion of the Book, may refer to (1) the prophecies contained in the Bible concerning the Holy Prophet which formed a portion of the Book; or (2) the genuine portion of the Bible, because only a part of it had remained safe from interpolation and this alone could be called a part of the true Book; or (3) the expression may also mean that as compared with the Quran, which is the Book par excellence, being the eternal and perfect Divine Book, the Bible is but a portion and a part. In view of these different explanations, the verse would give different meanings: (a) that when the attention of Jews and Christians is drawn to the prophecies embodied in their Scriptures, they refuse to be guided by them. Or (b) that if the People of the Book had adhered to the genuine portion of their own Scriptures, the criteria laid down therein for testing the truth of a claimant to prophethood would have surely led them to accept the Holy Prophet. Or (c) that if they had faithfully acted on the teachings of their own Scriptures, which was in fact a part of the perfect and eternal teachings contained in the Quran, they would have certainly recognised the truth of the new Faith.

31:14.

5:49; 45:19.

6:2; 27:61.

Important Words:

ھلم (bring forward) is both intransitive and transitive, meaning (1) come; or (2) cause to come, i.e. bring forth or produce (Lane). ھلم (halumma) is, according to the people of the Hijaz, one of the words known as اسماء الفعل and is thus used by them in the fixed form whether the number is singular or plural and whether the gender is masculine or feminine; but others differ from this view (Aqrab).

Commentary:

The Quran now returns to the subject of man-made laws about prohibitions. The verse signifies that disbelievers should declare that they do not agree with the Quran and find its teachings inferior to their own and then God Himself will decide between the two parties. Indirectly the words also hint that everybody should express his opinion freely when he disagrees with others and should refrain from dissimulation.

Commentary:

In this verse and those that follow, the Quran describes how God arranged and planned to bring about an encounter at Badr between believers and disbelievers, so that He might thereby crush the power of the enemy and show a sign in support of Islam.

The verse begins with a graphic picture of the situation of the different parties at Badr and then proceeds to say that, if it had been left to the Muslims to appoint the time of the encounter, they would certainly have differed with regard to it and would have preferred to postpone the date of the first clash, for at that time they did not feel strong enough to meet their much more powerful and far better-equipped enemy in a field of battle. As, however, God’s object was to show a powerful sign, so He brought about the encounter at a time when the Muslims were still very weak and the enemy very strong. This was done so that the party, which had been proved to be in error and to be spiritually dead by means of clear reasons and arguments, might perish and the party, which had been proved to be spiritually alive and established on the firm basis of truth, might survive and live.

The Quran has mentioned, more than once, the Divine attribute of "All-Hearing" in connection with the Battle of Badr in order to allude to the fact that prayers had played a great part in bringing about the victory and that they can play a similar part again.

7:87; 11:20; 14:4; 16:89.

Commentary:

This verse defines and qualifies the "wrongdoers" mentioned in the preceding verse. The expression, and seek to make it crooked, means that the wrongdoers desire to corrupt true religion. They are not only themselves wicked, but also try to make others so, and even seek to corrupt the religion sent for their good. They also disbelieve in the Hereafter.

Commentary:

The words, who plotted to turn out the Messenger, do not refer to the Meccans, but to those who, when the Holy Prophet went on an expedition to the Syrian border, plotted to bring about his downfall by making the different tribes of Arabia stand up as one man against him on his return (see notes on 9:3,4, above). The Meccans did not merely plot to turn out the Holy Prophet, but actually turned him out (see 47:14). Moreover, by the time these verses were revealed, the Meccans had embraced Islam and all hostilities between Muslims and Meccans had ceased.

The words, they were the first to commence hostilities against you, also refer not to the Meccans but to those infidels, whether open or secret, who lived in and about Medina. The words provide conclusive proof of the fact that, far from being the transgressor, Islam was transgressed against. It was the infidels who first began hostilities against it. They acted most treacherously and resorted to all sorts of foul means to annihilate it. It was only such men that Muslims had been commanded to fight. Christian critics of Islam will do well to compare the wars of Islam with the wars of their great Lawgiver, Moses, against a people who had never taken up arms against him and had done nothing to offend him. Yet these people were ruthlessly butchered and even their women and children were not spared (Deut. 20:16, 17). As compared with this, the Holy

Prophet took up arms only against those who first started hostilities, and even then he directed that their women and children and their religious devotees, as well as their churches, should be spared (Muslim, Tahawi & Dawud). Those, who regard the wars of Moses as holy, have certainly no reason to criticize the wars of the Holy Prophet of Islam.

3:100; 7:46; 14:4; 16:89.

Commentary:

The purport of this verse is that the enemies of truth not only hinder men from the path of God but also adopt ways and means by which the beauty of God’s word may be spoiled or may remain hidden; and, instead of appearing attractive, it may look hideous and repulsive. This is the greatest weapon in the armoury of the enemies of truth.

Commentary:

This verse provides a very useful lesson for preachers, for it shows that a preacher should preach his message in a manner as not to tire or bore his hearers. Joseph assured the young men that he would not detain them long and would finish his discourse before their meal-time. The verse also shows how solicitous Joseph was in preaching the truth. Like Joseph, the Holy Prophet was also ever on the lookout for an opportunity to preach to the people and sometimes he had had recourse to extraordinary devices such as inviting them to a feast.

Commentary:

This verse gives some causes of the unthinking and blind attitude of the disbelievers referred to in the preceding verse. This attitude is born of their anxiety and endeavour to explain away all divine signs in a polytheistic manner. They always try to ascribe the signs in favour of truth, the rapid progress and prosperity of believers and their own degradation and downfall to this or that cause, always declining to attribute these signs to the real cause i.e. to Divine help and succour which attends Prophets and their followers on all occasions.

2:164; 5:74; 22:35; 37:5.

Commentary:

The claim embodied in the words, Your God is One God, is no empty assertion nor have these words been placed here at random. The declaration is the natural conclusion of the arguments given in the preceding verses. In fact it is a characteristic of the Quran that it does not make a statement without supporting it by arguments which immediately precede or follow it. In the present case the arguments are contained in the preceding verses, which comprised two main themes. One was that all the objects in the universe form different links of one chain and are inter-related to and inter-dependent upon one another and that the end and object of the whole creation is man. His main food is the animals. These live upon plants and the latter depend for their life upon water which men use as drink. Water also feeds plants which in their turn feed men. The plants grow under the influence of the sun, the, moon and the stars and the influence of the light of the day and the darkness of the night.

Again the seas serve as great reservoirs of water. They supply man with food, and serve as great highways of communication. The water of the sea is purified by the process of evaporation and becomes fit for use. The rivers replenish the seas and keep the land fit for human habitation. This inter-relation and inter-dependence of things upon each other points inevitably to the fact that there must be only one Creator of them all. Plurality of creators necessarily implies imperfection of each, and only a Perfect Being can be our God.

The other theme of the preceding verses was that all objects of human worship were dead. So the Living God alone deserved to be the object of our worship and was the only true God.

The words, those who believe not in the Hereafter, their hearts are strangers to truth and they are full of pride, embody the answer to the implied question: viz. if the Unity of the Godhead is so obvious and indisputable, then why do men still deny it? The answer given is that this denial is founded on no reason but has its basis in the denial of life after death. Such denial naturally creates a sense of irresponsibility and lack of seriousness and sobriety on the part of disbelievers, leading them gradually to folly and ignorance and the inability even to recognize things which are quite obvious. Another result of the denial of life after death on the part of disbelievers is the growth of conceit and arrogance born of a sense of irresponsibility and of reckless refusal to admit the existence of things which, their reason tells them, are true.

Thus the clause speaks of two kinds of idolaters (1) the foolish and the ignorant; and (2) the proud and the conceited.

Commentary:

The pronoun 'they' in this verse as the context shows refers to prophets. The verse means to say that the prophets of God do not say anything which they are not bidden by God to say. Hence it is inconceivable that anyone of them should have laid claim to the Godhead or Sonship. Not only do they not say anything unless they are bidden by God to say it, but they also do not do anything unless God commands them to do so. The verse establishes the fact that Divine Messengers are incapable of disobeying God or committing a moral offence or sin. Incidentally it establishes the sinlessness of the Prophets.

2:256; 20:111.

Important Words:

مشفقون (they act cautiously) is the plural of مشفق which is active participle from شفق. They say شفق علیه i.e. he was solicitously affectionate towards him. أشفق منه means, he feared or was cautious of him. اشفاق which is inf. noun means, kindness or affection mixed with fear. Generally it signifies affection; kindness; and fear of the betiding of some evil event, together with sincere or honest advice (Lane & Mufradat).

Commentary:

The words, "what is before them and what is behind them," may mean; what they did and what they did not or could not do; or the influences to which they were subjected or the changes which they brought about.

The verse makes it plain that no one can intercede with God except with His permission. The Bible agrees with the Quran in this respect. It says:

If one man sin against another, the judge shall judge him: but if a man sin against the Lord, who shall entreat for him? (1 Sam 2: 25).

Therefore pray not thou for this people, neither lift up cry nor prayer for them, neither make intercession to me: for I will not hear thee (Jer. 7:16).

See also 2:49 & 2:256.

25:42.

13:31.

Commentary:

The words, "Is this the one who makes an evil mention of your gods," are expressive of contempt and contumely for the Holy Prophet on the part of disbelievers. They think it presumptuous on the Prophet’s part to speak slightingly of their gods. To this contemptuous expression of disbelievers the Quran replies by saying that if they think that it is presumptuous on the part of the Holy Prophetto speak disparagingly of their false gods, what do they think of their own contemptuous rejection of the very mention of the Gracious God?

67:13.

Commentary:

The expression بالغیب (in secret) may signify that the righteous servants of God fear Him while He is hidden from their eyes or when they are themselves hidden from the eyes of the people.

18:95.

Important Words:

حتی (even) is a particle used in several senses. It denotes the end of an extent meaning till, until or to the time of. It is also a conjunction like واو signifying, "and" or rather "even". It is also used as an inceptive article. They say أکلت السمک حتی رأسھا; the word رأس having three readings. According to the first reading it has a kasra (ra’siha), according to the second fatha (ra’saha) and according to the third zamma (ra’soha). The sentence according to these readings respectively means:(1) I ate the fish even to its head; (2) I ate the fish even (and) its head; (3) I ate the fish so that its head was eaten. The particle also denotes a cause or motive signifying, to the end that, or in order that, or so that, as in the saying أسلم حتی تدخل الجنة i.e. be a Muslim so that thou mayest enter Paradise. It is also used in the sense of الا i.e. except (Lane, Aqrab & Mufradat).

یأجوج و مأجوج (Gog and Magog) are both derived from أج (ajja). They sayأجت النار i.e. the fire burned or burned fiercely. أج(ajja) means, he hastened or was quick in his pace; he or it became the flaming fire (Lane & Aqrab). The words: یأجوجand مأجوج are both derived from this root. They refer to the Scythians of the furthest East...or as some say, all nations inhabiting the north of Asia and of Europe (see Enc. Brit. and Jewish Encyclopaedia under "Gog" and "Magog", and " Historians’ History of the World" vol. 2, p. 582 and Ezekiel 38: 2-6 & 39: 6). The words may also apply to the Christian nations of the West as they have made much use of the burning fire and boiling water and because all their material progress and great discoveries and inventions are due to the proper use of these things. Or the words may imply the restlessness of these nations as they are always on the lookout restlessly and impatiently to make new conquests. See also 16:18.

حدب (height) is inf. noun from حدب (hadiba) which means, it rose high or grew up high. حدب (hadabun) means, high or elevated ground. حدب من الارض means, rugged or high ground. The word also means a wave; a slope in a declivity. حدب الماءmeans, the elevated waves of water or the rolling water in waves. The Quranic expression من کل حدب ینسلون means, they will occupy every vantage point and will dominate the whole world and excel all nations (Lane & Aqrab).

ینسلون (shall hasten forth) is formed from نسل. They say نسل الولد i.e. he begot a son. نسل الرجل means, his progeny multiplied. نسل فی مشیه means, he hastened in his walk (Aqrab & Mufradat).

فتحت (let loose) signifies that the Christian nations of the West will spread all over the world and dominate it.

Commentary:

The description of Gog and Magog as given in the Bible leaves no doubt about the fact that it applies to some Christian powers of the west: Firstly, because they are represented as very numerous and powerful and mighty and their numbers as further swelling by their allies. Says the Bible:

Thou shalt ascend, and come like a storm, Thou shalt be like a cloud to cover the land, thou, and all thy bands and many people with thee (Ezek. 38:9). Gog and Magog... the number of whom is as the sand of the sea (Rev. 20:8). Every feathered fowl, and every beast of the field is thus addressed, ye shall eat the flesh of the mighty, and drink the blood of the princes of the earth (Ezek. 39:18,19).

Secondly, they are shown coming forth from the northern parts of the earth, and from the isles: "And thou (o Gog) shalt come from thy place out of the north, thou, and many people with thee" (Ezek. 38:15). Thirdly, they will spread all over the world: "They went up on the breadth of the earth" (Rev. 20:9). Fourthly, from their home in the north, they will migrate to other lands and settle in all the four corners of the earth and in time of war they will gather together from their distant colonies: "Satan.... shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle" (Rev. 20:8).Fifthly, the very root meaning of the words 'Gog' and 'Magog,' as shown under "Important Words," points to western Christian nations as the nations referred to in the above Biblical prophecies.

The name Gog first occurs in 1 Chr. 5:4, where he is mentioned as a descendant of Joel.

But Ezek. 38:3, and 39: 1, speak of Gog as 'prince of Rosh, Meshech and Tubal', evidently Rosh standing for Russia, Meshech for Moscow and Tubal for To bolsk. Gog is also spoken of as 'of the land of Magog' (Ezek. 38:2) and Magog, in this verse of the Bible, according to the commentators of the Bible represents the regions which of old went by the name of Scythia (including Russia and Tartary), from which in the past issued many hordes of barbarians. As Russia was included in the land of Magog, Rosh, Meshech and Tubal must be taken as standing for Russia, Moscow and Tobolsk.

Magog was the second of Japheth’s sons (Gen. 10:2) and his descendants seem to have given their name to the land referred to in Ezek. 38:2. But Magog has also been spoken of as the name of a people in Ezek. 39:6 and in Rev. 20:8. In the former, Magog has been mentioned along with those 'that dwell carelessly in the isles.' These passages also show that Gog and Magog represent some of the great Powers of Europe, including Russia.

Gog and Magog have also been mentioned elsewhere in the Quran (18:95). There they have been spoken of as making raids into territories on the northern border of Iran, which means that they were the tribes generally known as Scythians. It is a known historical fact that in olden times the Scythians continued to move in large bodies from Asia into Europe, their route lying north of the Caucasus. (Enc. Brit. vol. 12, p. 263. 14th edit.). As one horde settled down in Europe new hordes came forth from the east, pushing their predecessors further and further West. Thus the nations of Europe have been legitimately called Gog and Magog in the Biblical prophecy. It is curious that the memory of two heroes named Gog and Magog is preserved to this day in Guild Hall (London) in the form of two statues. The original effigies which were destroyed in the Great Fire in the sixteenth century are known to have existed in the time of Henry V. These heroes seem to have been connected with Britain from very ancient times.

Again, from "Ezekiel" and "Revelation" it appears that Gog and Magog will make their appearance in the Latter Days i.e. in the time just before the second coming of the Messiah: "After many years thou shalt be visited: in the latter years thou shalt come into the land that is brought back from the sword" (Ezek. 38:8). "It shall be in the latter days, and I will bring thee against my land" (Ezek. 38:16). See also Rev. 20:7-10. These verses show that the prophecy refers to a people who were to have appeared in the distant future. That distant future is the time through which we are now passing and the mighty people of whom the prophecy speaks are the great Christian powers of the west. The following prophecy in Ezekiel shows that the age in which Gog and Magog were to make their appearance was to be marked by wars, earthquakes, pestilences and terrible catastrophes:

And it shall come to pass at the same time when Gog shall come against the land of Israel, (by Israel is here meant the true Israel—the followers of Islam) saith the Lord God, that my fury shall come up in my face. For in my jealousy and in the fire of my wrath have I spoken, surely in that day there shall be a great shaking in the land of Israel. So that the fishes of the sea, and the fowls of the heaven, and the beasts of the field, and all creeping things that creep upon the earth, and all the men that are upon the face of the earth, shall shake at my presence, and the mountains shall be thrown down, and the steep places shall fall, and every wall shall fall to the ground. And I will call for a sword against him throughout all my mountains, saith the Lord God: every man’s sword shall be against his brother (And on that day We shall leave some of them to surge against others—Quran, 18:100). And I will plead against him with pestilence and with blood; and I will rain upon him, and upon his bands, and upon the many people that are with him, an overflowing rain, and great hailstones, fire, and brimstone. Thus will I magnify myself, and sanctify myself; and I will be known in the eyes of many nations, and they shall know that I am the Lord" (38:18-23). See also 18:84, 100 & 102.

The present verse when read in conjunction with its predecessor purports to say that the law of nature works in this way that once a people after the heyday of their grandeur and glory, fall a victim to death and destruction they never regain their lost glory. But it further says that a new phenomenon will take place in the time of Gog and Magog. After their power and might will have gone to pieces and their glory departed the followers of Islam will again come into their own and regain their former greatness, grandeur and glory after they had lost all hope of regeneration. Gog and Magog or the Christian nations of the west have now scaled all the heights of political power and have spread over the whole world which has become divided into two opposite armed camps, viz. Western democracies and their allies on one side and communism and its satellites on the other. One part of the prophecy has been fulfilled, the other part about the complete and utter destruction of Gog and Magog is awaiting fulfilment. The signs of its fulfilment are already apparent on the horizon.

The verse may also signify that the nations that had been subjugated by western Christian powers and had groaned under their cruel exploitation and heartless tyranny will rise to new life again when Christian Powers will begin to deteriorate and fall, after having attained to the highest pinnacles of material glory.

2:4; 8:4; 14:32; 31:5.

4:41; 6:161; 28:85.

Commentary:

Those who believed in the Holy Prophet and did righteous deeds had a good reward and became immune from all fear and apprehension about the future. And the burning of heart, as says the next verse, was the lot of the disbelievers and evildoers. These verses may also apply to the condition of believers and disbelievers in the life after death.

2:4; 5:56; 9:71; 27:4.

Commentary:

By the words "the land nearby" are meant the countries lying close to Arabia—Palestine, Jordan and Syria.

52:23; 55:53; 56:21.

Commentary:

The word "fruits" signifies that the blessings mentioned in the following verses will be the fruit of right beliefs and good actions of the believers.

Commentary:

The verse mentions two very prominent characteristics of disbelievers—they do not pay to the competent authorities, out of their hoarded wealth, the Zakah which is due from them and do not believe in the accountability for their actions in the life to come.

4:62.