وُجُوهِ

Important Words:

سکاری (not in full possession of your senses) is the plural of سکران which is derived from سکر i.e. he was or became intoxicated, inebriated or drunken. They say سکر علی فلان i.e. such a one became angry or violently angry with him. سکرت الریح means, the wind, became still after blowing. سکر الباب means, he closed or stopped up the door. سکرة الموت means, the intoxication or agony of death which causes confusion of intellect and deprives the sufferer of reason. سکرة الھم والنومmeans, the oppressive sensation, etc. attendant upon anxiety and upon sleep. سکر (sukrun) which is the noun-infinitive from the verb سکر means, the state of intoxication, inebriation or drunkenness; a state that intervenes as an obstruction between a man and his intellect, mostly used in relation to intoxicating drinks but sometimes as meaning such a state arising from anger or from the passion of love, etc. (Lane). For further explanation see 15:73; 22:3. In view of the different meanings of this word a person would be called سکران (intoxicated) when he is drunk; or is in a fit of anger; or in raptures of love; or has received a great and sudden shock; or is stricken with fear; or is overpowered by sleep or some other disturbing element which may distract his attention or obscure his reason, etc.

جنبا (unclean) is derived from جنب. They say جنبه i.e. he led him or it by his side; he put him or it at a distance. جنب الیهmeans he was or became disquieted by a vehement desire to see or meet him. جنابة means distance; the stage of being unclean owing to sexual intercourse or discharge of semen, when it becomes obligatory for one to perform total ablution by bathing. جنب means, stranger; one who is distant and remote; or ( who is under the obligation of performing total ablution (bathing) by reason of sexual intercourse or discharge of semen. The word is used both as masculine and feminine, singular and plural (Lane).

عابری سبیل (are travelling along a way) عابری is really عابرین which is the plural of عابر which is derived from عبر. They say عبرہ i.e. he crossed it, went across it, or passed over it from one side to another. عبر السبیل means, he travelled or passed along the way or road. عبر also means, he died, as though he had travelled the road of life (Lane). The expression عابری سبیل signifies one who is actually travelling. Every person away from home cannot be called عابری سبیل. Again, if a person is away from home on a journey but halts at a place or decides to stay in a town or village for a few days, he will not be reckoner as one of the عابری سبیل (those travelling along a way); but if, while travelling, he halts for a night on the roadside, for example in a inn or at a rest-house or at a railway station, etc., he will be regarded as one.

غائط (privy) is derived from غاط which means, he or it became hidden in the ground; he dug, excavated or hollowed out in the earth; it sank or became depressed in the ground; it descended or sloped downwards in the ground. غائط therefore means:(1) a wide and depressed piece of ground having acclivities bordering it; (2) a place in which one satisfies one’s want of nature, the custom being to do so in a depressed place where one may remain hidden; (3) human excrement or ordure because it is cast away in a غائط (a depressed place). The expression اتی الغائط means, he responded to the call of nature; he satisfied the want of nature; he voided excrement or ordure (Lane).

تیمموا (betake yourselves to) is derived from یممه. They say یممه i.e. he aimed at it or desired it, or he betook himself to it. تیمم المریض means, the sick man, instead of performing the usual ablution for Prayer, betook himself to pure dust and wiped his face and hands therewith. تیمم (tayammum) is technically the process of striking the palms of the hands on the surface of pure earth and then wiping or passing them over the face, etc., in the prescribed manner (Taj).

Commentary:

According to this verse, Prayer cannot be considered to have been properly performed if the devotee simply repeats the words of Prayer without understanding what he says. It is also implicit in the verse that a non-Arab Muslim, besides praying in the prescribed Arabic words, should also pray to God and supplicate to Him in his own tongue, in the language which he usually speaks and in which he can best express his thoughts and feelings.

The word سکاری though primarily meaning "intoxicated" is, as shown under Important Words, much wider in its significance. Any state or condition in which one is not in full possession of oneself, either through anger or love or hunger or sleep, etc. is included in this expression. The Holy Prophet is reported to have said: "If a man is sleepy, then he should not say his Prayers till the state of sleepiness has left him" (Bukhari, ch. on Wudu’). Again: "A man should not say his Prayers when he is hungry and the food has been placed before him (Bukhari, ch. on Salat), or when the call of nature demands his attention" (Dawud, ch. on Taharat).

The expression, nor when you are unclean, means that just as a man cannot perform Prayers when he is in a state of سکر (not in full possession of his senses). Similarly, he cannot perform Prayers in a state of being جنبا (for the meaning of which see Important Words above), until he performs total ablution by bathing. Sexual intercourse creates a sort of uncleanness in the body which must be removed by bathing in order to ensure proper state of purity, cheerfulness and readiness necessary for worship.

The clause, except when you are travelling along a way, means that though ordinarily a person who is in a state of "uncleanness" cannot perform his Prayers except after properly bathing, yet if he becomes "unclean" when he is actually travelling on the way, bathing is not obligatory on him for the performance of Prayers. He can in this case perform tayammum as ordered in the concluding part of the verse.

The sentence, if you are ill or you are on a journey (while unclean) or if one of you comes from the privy or you have touched women and you find no water, then betake yourselves to pure dust, mentions four classes of persons on whom وضوء (ablution) or غسل (total ablution) is not obligatory for the performance of Prayer, they being required to perform what is known as tayammum, i.e. betaking to pure dust and wiping therewith the face and the hands, as detailed in Hadith and Sunnah. These four classes are: (1) the sick; (2) those on a journey; (3) those coming from the privy; (4) those touching women, (i.e. having carnal knowledge of them). Out of these four classes only the last two are such as produce a state of uncleanness, necessitating the performance of وضوء (ablution) or غسل (total ablution), as the case may be. So the clause, and you find no water, only relates to them. The verse thus purports to say that if the last-mentioned two classes of men do not find water, they can perform tayammum, i.e. wipe their faces and hands with pure dust before saying their Prayers.

In the case of the former two clauses no condition as to water is necessary. These two classes of men may resort to تیمم (tayammum) even if they find water. This is why the words, "and you are unclean" have been supplied after the words, if you are ill or you are on a journey. It must be noted that the expression علی سفر (on a journey), in the present verse, is the same as the expression عابری سبیل (travelling along a way), both signifying the state of actual travelling when one is, as it were, on the wing.

Finally, it must be noted that dust has been chosen as a substitute for water because, just as water reminds a person of his origin (77:21), thus creating in him a sense of humility, similarly, dust calls to his mind the other humble substance from which he was created (He created you from dust, 30:21). But the dust used must be pure, which is a necessary condition for the performance of Prayers. Any excess should be blown away before it is used in order to ensure just the minimum quantity for the performance of تیمم.

From the verse it is clear that though performing proper ablution is ordinarily necessary for Prayers yet, Islam being a perfect religion, one is allowed to substitute tayammum in place of ablution in certain exceptional cases.

2:186.

Important Words:

جنب (unclean) for which see 4:44.

Commentary:

After the questions of food and marriage comes the question of cleanliness on which Islam lays so much emphasis, specially on clean­liness necessary for the proper performance of worship. The feet are here mentioned after the head, not because they are intended, as alleged by the Shias, to be only wiped like the head, but because they come last in the process of ablution. This is apparent from the fact that the word ارجل (feet) has been put in the accusative case in the standard text, like the words وجوه (faces) and ایدی (hands), thus showing that, like the latter, the word "feet" is also governed in the accusative case by the verb اغسلوا (wash) and not by the particle با (over) which governs the word رؤس (heads) only. Hence the addition of the verb "wash" before it in the translation. It is true that a solitary reading gives the word ارجل(arjula) as ارجل (arjulin in the genitive case). But even this does not necessarily mean that the word is not governed by the verb اغسلوا (wash); for, according to the rules of Arabic grammar, nouns in the accusative case may sometimes be put in the genitive case owing to their proximity to a noun in the genitive case. According to this rule, ارجل (feet) would be taken to have been put in this reading in the genitive case owing to its proximity to the word رؤس (heads), but really it is governed not by the preposition با but by the verb اغسلوا. In fact, the word ارجل (feet) has been put after رؤس (heads) to point out the order which is to be observed in the performance of ablution. The authentic sayings of the Holy Prophet also make it clear that in performing an ablution the feet should be washed and not merely wiped. These sayings are also supported by the practice of the Holy Prophet.

There are, however, cases when the feet are not to be washed but simply "wiped" like the heads, e.g., when one is wearing socks or stockings. So it may be that the common reading arjula (in the accusative case) applies to the general rule of "washing" the feet when performing وضوء (ablution), while the exceptional reading arjuli (in the genitive case) applies to the exceptional cases when the feet are to be "wiped" like the head.

The words, you have touched women, embody a chaste and graceful expression and mean "you have had sexual intercourse with them".

The sense of the verse may be summed up as follows: (1) Before offering his Prayers, a Muslim should perform the prescribed ablution, i.e.washing of the face and the hands, wiping of the head, and washing of the feet. (2) If a man is جنب (unclean), i.e. he has had sexual intercourse with his wife or, for that matter, has had a nocturnal discharge, he should have a complete bath in order to purify himself for Prayers. (3) If, however, a man is sick and the process of ablution or bathing is likely to do him harm, or if he is on a journey and cannot find water, then even after answering the call of nature or becoming "unclean" by having sexual intercourse with his wife, he is allowed to forego the process of ablution or bathing and to perform instead the تیمم with pure dust. See also 4:44.

7:179; 18:18; 39:37-38.

6:129; 19:69.

Commentary:

In this verse believers are assured that they should not feel discouraged at the obstinacy and waywardness of disbelievers because those who are the inveterate enemies of the truth today may become its devoted votaries tomorrow. The decision as to who deserves to be guided in the end and who will forever remain wedded to disbelief rests entirely in God’s own hands. One thing, however, is certain: truth shall ultimately prevail. So there is no cause for believers to be disheartened at the opposition shown by disbelievers.

The words "on their faces" have also been used in 54:49 where we have, On the day when they will be dragged into the Fire on their faces. So the words in the verse under comment may also mean that disbelievers "shall be dragged on their faces" into the fire i.e. they shall be humbled, disgraced and severely punished. Some sayings of the Holy Prophet also throw light on the meaning of the words, "on their faces." He is reported to have said, ان الذی امشھم علی ارجلھم قادر علی ان یمشیھم علی وجوھھم i.e. He Who has made men walk on their feet can also make them move along on their faces (Bukhari, Kitabur-Riqaq). Another hadith says that on the Day of Resurrection men will be raised in three different forms. Some will be raised as riding, others on foot, and yet others on their faces. Another hadith speaks of the people of the last category as being dragged on their faces (Ma‘ani, vol. 15). It appears that people of the first category will be the Prophets, those of the second the Faithful, while those belonging to the third category will be the disbelievers. In fact, an action done in this world will assume a corresponding form in the next. As the aim and object of disbelievers in this world is the attainment of paltry material gains and they, as it were, instead of looking up to God, look down to earth, so in this verse they are represented as moving along with their faces turned downward in the next life.

The Arabic expression مرالقوم علی وجوھھم means, the people went on hurrying. Taken in this sense the words علی وجوھھم mean, when disbelievers are raised on the Day of Resurrection, they will be hurrying along which would indicate the perturbed state of their minds (14:44). The word وجه also means, an object, intention or motive. In this sense of the word, the expression "on their faces," would mean that God would raise them according to their intentions and motives and the objects they pursued in this life. As in the present life, they turned their backs to God, so in the life to come they would be kept far removed from Him. And as they did not employ their natural powers to find out the truth in this life, so they would be deprived of these powers in the next and would be raised deaf, dumb and blind.

The words "it abates" do not mean that the fire of Hell will become extinguished or its intensity would lessen. They only mean that when on account of burning in the Fire for a sufficiently long time, the disbelievers’ sense of feeling became dull, God would again sharpen it and they would once more begin to feel the burning of Hellfire as keenly as before. See also 4:57.

Commentary:

The context shows and the wording of the present verse also lends support to the inference that the allusion in the word "fire" is to "the fire of war." The disbelievers ignited that fire and were themselves consumed in it. They were destroyed by the weapon which they employed against the believers. They drew the sword against Islam and by the sword they perished.

The words, the fire from their faces, signify the punishment that they will see in front of them i.e. the punishment whose signs will be apparent and manifest; and the words "nor from their backs" signify the punishment that will come upon them from behind their backs i.e. the punishment which will overtake them suddenly and unawares. Moreover, the punishment will overwhelm all of them—their leaders who are their faces and the ordinary folk who follow them and blindly accept their lead.

17:47; 23:67-68; 39:46.

5:61.

Important Words:

یسطون (would attack) is formed from سطا. They say سطا به او علیه i.e. he sprang or rushed upon him and overpowered him; he made an assault or attack upon him. سطا الفرس means, the horse went at random or in a headlong manner, not obeying guidance; he went with wide step or raised his tail in running. سطا الماء means, the water was or became abundant (Lane & Aqrab).

17:98.

5:61.

Commentary:

The words "will be gathered on their faces" may mean: (i) disbelievers will be gathered together and dragged on their faces into the fire of Hell; (ii) disbelievers will be gathered together when in a state of prostration with their faces on the ground and then dragged into Hell.

9:123.

59:9.

Important Words:

أشداء (hard) is the plural of شدید which is derived from شد which means, he was or became strong. شد علی عدوہ means, he attacked his enemy. شدید means, firm or firm of heart; strong; compact; powerful; robust; courageous; brave; keen or tenacious; niggardly; avaricious; exalted (Lane & Aqrab).

سیما (mark) is derived from سوم (sawwama). They say سوم الفرس i.e. he put a mark upon the horse; he put the mark with iron such as is used for branding or with something whereby he should be known. سیما or سومة means, a mark, sign or token or badge by which a thing is known or by which the good is known from the bad (Lane & Aqrab).

Commentary:

The preceding verse had made a great prophecy about the eventual triumph of Islam over all other religious systems. The verse under comment signifies that the foundation of the grand and glorious future of Islam have already been laid by "Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah and those who are with him," and mentions some of the noble qualities of good and sincere believers, through whose selfless efforts this consummation will be brought about. They are brave, firm and courageous and not susceptible to the evil influences of bad persons and environment; on the contrary, they are loving and kind towards each other. These are the two essential characteristics of a progressive and rising people who seek to leave their mark on the course of world events. Elsewhere in the Quran (5:55) the true and good Muslims have been described as أذلة علی المؤمنین أعزة علی الکافرین i.e. kind and humble towards believers and hard and firm against disbelievers.

The words, "this is their description in the Torah," may refer to the Biblical description, viz. "he shined forth from mount Paran and he came with ten thousands of saints" (Deut. 33:2). And the expression, "and their description in the Gospel is like unto a seed-produce" may refer to another Biblical parable, viz. "Behold, a sower went forth to sow; and when he sowed seeds some fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold" (Matt. 13:3-8). The former description seems to apply to the Companions of the Holy Prophet and the latter parable to the followers of Jesus’ Counterpart, the Promised Messiah, who, from very small and insignificant beginnings, are destined to develop into a mighty organization and gradually but progressively to carry the Message of Islam to the ends of the earth till it will prevail and triumph over all religions, and its opponents will wonder at, and be jealous of, its power and prestige.

Important Words:

یسحبون (dragged) is derived from سحب. They say سحبه i.e. he dragged or drew it along upon the ground. سحب الریح التراب means the wind drew along the dust upon the ground. One would say جاء یسحب ذیله i.e. he came dragging along his skirt on the ground, i.e. walking haughtily (Lane & Aqrab).

Commentary:

How remarkably and to the very letter the prophecy made in this verse was fulfilled! It is reported that of the Quraishite leaders and chiefs who were killed in the Battle of Badr, 24 were thrown in a pit for burial, and before he left the field of battle, the Holy Prophet went to the pit, and calling each of them by name addressed them in the words: ھل وجدتم ما وعد کم ربکم حقا فانی وجدت ما وعدنی ربی حقا i.e. Have you found true what your Lord promised you; I have indeed, found true what my Lord promised me (Bukhari, Kitabul-Maghazi). He further said: یا أھل القلیب بئس عشیرة النبی کنتم لنبیکم، کذبتمونی و صدقنی الناس و أخرجتمونی وآ وانی الناس و قاتلتمونی ونصرنی الناس i.e. "O fellows of the pit! you proved to be bad relatives of your Prophet. You declared me to be a liar but other people testified to my truth. You expelled me, but other people gave me asylum. You fought against me and other people helped me" (Tabari).

75:23; 76:12.