يَبْتَغُ

3:29, 119; 4:145.

10:66; 35:11.

Commentary:

The verse gives a most graphic and painful portrait of many present-day Muslims.

59:9.

5:9; 11:90.

Important Words:

الھدی (the animal brought as an offering) is the noun-infinitive from ھدی meaning, he directed; or he showed the way. ھدیة means, a present, i.e. a thing sent or offered to another as a token of love, courtesy or honour. ھدی means (1) mode or manner of acting; conduct or character; (2) what one brings as an offering to the Ka‘bah, consisting of camels or kine or sheep or goats to be sacrificed; or the goods or commodities so brought; (3) camels absolutely (Aqrab & Lane).

القلائد (collars) is the plural of قلادة which is the noun-infinitive from قلد meaning, he twisted or wound or wreathed a thing upon another. قلدھاقلادة (qallada-ha) means, he put a necklace upon her neck. قلدالبدنة means, he hung upon the neck of the camel or cow, etc. brought as an offering to Mecca, a collar, to show that it was meant for sacrifice as an offering. قلادة means, a necklace; a collar or the like; that which is hung, as a sign or mark, upon the neck of a camel or cow, etc. brought to Mecca for sacrifice (Lane & Aqrab). The word قلائد (collars) may also mean "collared animals" (Muhit). The words ھدی and قلائد as used in this verse both signify animals that are taken to Mecca for sacrifice during the Pilgrimage, قلائد particularly meaning such animals as have collars round their necks, and ھدی all animals without distinction that are brought to Mecca for sacrifice.

آمین (who repair) is the plural of آم which is the active participle from ام. They say امه i.e. he repaired or directed his course to it; he aimed at or sought after it; he endeavoured to reach or attain it (Lane). See also 3:8; 3:21; 3:114.

Commentary:

The words شعائرالله (Signs of Allah, for which see 2:159) signify anything that leads to the knowledge and realization of God. The offerings made to God, or the animals of sacrifice brought to the Ka‘bah, are "Signs of God", in the sense that they teach us to be ever ready to sacrifice all, that belongs to us, for the sake of God.

The words الشھرالحرام (Sacred Month) may signify each one of the four Sacred Months, viz. Shawwal, Dhul-Qa‘dah, Dhul-Hijjah and Rajab. Some theologians, however, hold the view that here the "Sacred Month" means only Dhul-Hijjah, i.e. the month of حج (Greater Pilgrimage), to which a special reference has been made on account of the great gathering of pilgrims that takes place at Mecca in that month. Others are of the opinion that the word here refers to Rajab, the usual month of عمرة (Lesser Pilgrimage), to which no respect was paid by certain Arab tribes. Abstaining from profaning the Sacred Month may also mean paying due respect to the works performed therein.

All manner of fighting must cease during the four Sacred Months. As pilgrims have to travel to and from Mecca during these months, not only are pilgrims and animals of sacrifice not to be molested on the way, but all hostilities must cease and there should be perfect peace so that pilgrims may perform both their inward and outward journeys in complete security. The hunting of land animals has also been forbidden for similar reason.

The words, nor those repairing to the Sacred House, refer particularly to the pilgrims who go to Mecca for the Greater or the Lesser Pilgrimage. But they may also refer to such travellers as may proceed to Mecca for any valid purpose, including such non-Muslims as may visit the Sacred House with the permission of its custodians to gain religious knowledge.

The expression, help not one another in sin and transgression, constitutes an effective reply to the malicious charge that Islam is a militant religion, encouraging aggressive warfare against the infidels. How can a Book which gives such clear injunctions to its followers as are contained in the above words, be expected to command them to take up arms against innocent and unoffending people and to kill them wherever they are found on the sole ground that they do not profess Islam?

The verse clearly forbids Muslims to fight their enemies in the four Sacred Months even when a state of war exists. The Holy Prophet himself was the first to carry out this injunction. He would not fight the idolatrous Meccans when, at Hudaibiyyah, they refused to allow him and his 1,400 followers to perform عمرة (Lesser Pilgrimage) for which he had undertaken such a long and arduous journey. He went back to Medina after signing a treaty, the terms of which at that time appeared to be very humiliating, in spite of the fact that his followers were prepared to fight. The Holy Prophet, however, paid no heed to the outraged feelings of his followers and did what righteousness and piety demanded. But when non-Muslims are the first to attack Muslims during a Sacred Month, the latter are allowed to defend themselves (2:195, 218).

Important Words:

ایھم (those of them who). ای is a noun used in five different senses. (1) It means, who? which? and what? They say ایھم اخوک i.e. who or which of them is thy brother? In the Quran we have فبای حدیث بعدہ یومنون i.e. And in what announcement after it will they believe? (2) It denotes a condition. They say ایھم یکرمنی اکرمه i.e. whichever of them treats me with honour, I will treat him with honour. (3) It is a conjunct noun; and is sometimes used in the manner of الذی and therefore requires a complement; as in the Quranic verse ثم لننزعن من کل شیعة ایھم اشد علی الرحمان عصیا i.e. Then We will assuredly draw forth from every sect those of them who are most exorbitantly rebellious against the Compassionate God (4) It denotes perfection or consummation and in this case it is an epithet applying to an indeterminate noun. They say زید رجل ای رجل i.e. Zaid is a man; what a man! (5) It is also a connective of the vocative یا with the noun signifying the person or persons called, when this noun has the article ال prefixed to it; and with a noun of indication, as ذا; and with a conjunct noun having ال prefixed to it, as الذی it is a noun formed for serving as such a connective; and has ھا affixed to it. They say یا ایھا الرجل i.e. O thou man or O thou, the man, or O thou who art the man (Lane).

Commentary:

This verse may be interpreted in two ways: (1) The pronoun اولئك (those) may be taken as referring to the Prophets mentioned in v. 56. In this case the verse would mean that those Prophets always invited people to the worship of the One God, sought His nearness and feared His punishment. (2) The pronoun اولئك may refer to the gods of the idolaters, the latter (idolaters) being taken as subject of the verb یدعون(they call on). In this case the verse would mean, those whom the idolaters call upon beside God themselves seek His nearness and pleasure and fear His punishment.

Important Words:

کاتبوھم (write it for them). کاتب (kataba) is derived from کتب (kataba) which means, he wrote; he made a thing obligatory; or he prescribed a law. کتب اللّٰه لاغلبن انا ورسلی i.e. Allah has decreed or has made it obligatory upon Himself that He and His Messengers will prevail (58:22). کاتب العبد means, he made a written contract with the slave that the latter shall pay a certain sum as the price of his emancipation and then he shall earn his freedom (Lane & Aqrab). This civil written contract by means of which a slave can earn his manumission is called مکاتبة (mukatabat).

تحصنا (keeping chaste) is derived from حصن, meaning, he or it was or became inaccessible, fortified or protected against attack. حصنت المرأة means, the woman was chaste i.e. protected herself against moral or sexual sinfulness. أحصنت المرأة means, the woman got married or she was chaste. تحصن (tahassana) means, he fortified himself or he entered the حصن i.e. fortress; or he protected himself by it; he guarded or protected himself in any way. تحصنت المرأة means, she was chaste (Lane & Aqrab). See also 4:25.

The expression ان علمتم فیھم خیراً (if you know any good in them) may mean (1) if you know that they are fit to work and earn their living; (2) if you know that after their manumission they will become useful members of the society.

Commentary:

We maintain that of all Divine Messengers and Prophets of God, of all Founders of different creeds, Faiths and religious systems, of all social reformers and philanthropists and of all those teachers and leaders of men, who, at any time, in any land and in any form, contributed to the social uplift and moral and spiritual regeneration of humanity, the share of Muhammad, the Holy Prophet of Islam, was by far the largest. And one of the greatest services to mankind of this greatest and noblest of men was his unequivocal and emphatic condemnation of, and the effective measures he took to abolish those social injustices that were practised by one section of humanity against another. His mind rebelled and revolted against the then prevalent idea that man could be bought, sold and treated by man like chattels. His ideal of human brotherhood and the inborn and inherent equality of all men could scarcely be reconciled with the practice of slavery which was so widespread as to have become inextricably interwoven and deeply rooted in the social conditions and ideas of his time. His heart burnt to see the iniquities and enormities practised by man upon man. He grieved and pined for this unfortunate section of humanity. He would, if he could, abolish altogether by a stroke of the pen a system so repugnant and revolting, so destructive of all noble human instincts, of all that distinguishes man from beast and brute. But this institution had become an integral part of the whole fabric of human society in his time. To abolish it all of a sudden was neither wise, nor practicable or even possible. It should have meant a death-blow to the entire existing social order. The sudden emancipation in hundreds of thousands of those persons who having been held in bondage for generations had lost all initiative to lead an independent life, would have seriously told upon the whole moral tone of society. Jobless and workless they would have stooped to all sorts of immoral acts. This was exactly what the Holy Prophet sought to avoid and he did succeed in avoiding it. On the other hand, he laid down precepts and injunctions which were calculated to do away with slavery gradually but surely and effectively.

These injunctions were of two categories:

(i) Temporary provisions bearing upon the general improvement and betterment of the moral and social conditions of the existing slaves and their speedy enfranchisement. Slaves were to be treated as members of the family as long as they were in bondage, and at the same time it was declared as a most heinous crime tantamount to murder to deprive a free man of his freedom and reduce him to slavery (Muslim Kitabul-Iman). But those persons were excepted from this commandment who should themselves incur the loss of their freedom by participating in a war undertaken to destroy Islam and to impose their own beliefs and doctrines upon the Muslims at the point of the sword. Even this denial of freedom to war prisoners was to last only till those prisoners had discharged their share of the guilt, either by paying off their part of the cost of war by getting themselves ransomed or by the Muslims themselves setting them free as an act of favour which the Quran has so repeatedly and emphatically enjoined on them (47:5). See also 23:7.

(ii) Provisions of a permanent nature aiming at the complete and total extinction of slavery in every shape or form. One of such provisions by means of which a slave could earn his emancipation, independently and irrespective of the fact whether his master liked it or not, was that he could enter into a civil written contract with the latter. It is this written contract which is known as mukatabat (deed of manumission) and to which the verse under comment refers. According to this contract a definite amount of money or labour is fixed as the price of the freedom of a slave. After the contract is duly written and attested the slave is considered as manumitted and is free to earn the required amount of money by any legitimate means he likes. After he has paid the whole stipulated sum he is quite free. As to whether the slave is fit to enter into a contract of the above nature with his master is to be decided by the State and not by the master of the slave and also the amount of the money he has to pay and the manner and the time-limit of the payment. No choice is left to the owner if the slave applies for such a contract and the State considers him eligible to it with the conditions and stipulations proposed by it but to accept it. By this excellent arrangement Islam sought to secure to all slaves, who could not otherwise obtain freedom, their full emancipation and liberty, at the same time steering clear of the terrible social and moral evils to which the whole Muslim society would have fallen a helpless victim if slavery had been abolished with a stroke of the pen.

The verse has further urged the wealthy and the rich Muslims to help, with their money, those slaves who enter into mukatabat with their masters, to earn their emancipation.

The words ومن یکرھھن (but if anyone forces them to remain unmarried) signify that the responsibility of keeping them from marriage will be that of their masters. They will not be accountable for this default.

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.

5:3; 48:30.

Commentary:

الفقراء seems to be case in apposition to the categories of recipients of the فییء mentioned in the preceding verse. From Hadith it appears that the poor Refugees were the greatest beneficiaries from فییء obtained from Banu Nadir.

26:219.

25:65; 41:39.

2:246; 57:12; 64:18.

2:211.

Commentary:

In the opening verse of the Surah the Holy Prophet was enjoined that he should constantly pray in the night, for this would give him the necessary strength to discharge the grave responsibility of preaching the Divine Message that was shortly going to devolve on him. In the verse under comment he is assured of Divine pleasure, and is told that he has faithfully carried out God’s command about the night prayer, not only he, but a party of believers also. The command was not specifically directed to the followers of the Holy Prophet, but being always desirous of following in his footsteps, they copied his example in this respect also.

The sentence "Allah determines the measure of the night and the day," signifies that sometimes the nights are long and sometimes they are short and sometimes the day and the night are equal.

The words ان لن تحصوه may apply to Muslims in general. In this sense they are told that all of them would not be able to say the Night Prayer regularly and punctually. Or the words may signify that as Muslims are longing to win God’s pleasure and attain nearness to Him, so they should read the Quran thoughtfully. In this way they would acquire knowledge of, and insight into, Divine attributes.

Besides the meaning given in the text, the expression فاقرؤا ما تیسر منه may mean: (1) recite of the Quran as much as you possibly can.