يَحْسَبَ

22:45.

Important Words:

The particle ل (lam) in the expression لیزدادوا here denotes not purpose but result or consequence: as in the well-known Arabic couplet:

لدو ا للموت و ابنوا للخراب فکلکم یسیر الی تباب

i.e. Bear children that they should die and build houses that they should fall into ruins, for all of you are marching towards destruction. Thus the verse would mean: We grant them respite that they should mend their ways, but the result is that they increase in sin. Such ل (lam) is known as لام عاقبت in Arabic.

The particle ل may, in one sense, also denote cause, as an Arab would say خرجت من البلد لمخافة اشر i.e. I left the town because of the fear of evil. In this sense, the clause would mean, We grant them respite because they have increased in evil, i.e. their increasing in evil has been the cause of Our granting them respite so that they may have an opportunity to mend their ways and reform themselves.

4:38; 17:30; 25:68.

Important Words:

میراث (heritage) is derived from ورث i.e. he inherited. ورث اباہ or ورث مال ابیه means, he inherited the property of his father. They say ورثت مجدہ i.e. I inherited his glory. ورث من ابیه or ورث عن ابیه means, he inherited from his father, or he inherited part of the property of his father. اورثه الشیء means, he made him inherit the thing. اورثه المرض ضعفا means, the disease occasioned him, as its result, weakness. ورث and ارث and تراث and میراث all mean, what is inherited; an inheritance; a heritage whether property, rank, quality, nobility, etc. وارث means, an heir. الوارث as an epithet applied to God means, He Who remains after all creatures have perished (Lane). Primarily, الوراثة signifies the transfer of property, etc. from one to another without sale or gift. The Arabs say ورثت علما من فلان i.e., I gained or acquired knowledge from such a one (Mufradat).

Commentary:

The chief obstacle in the way of the hypocrites to accept Islam was that constant calls were made on Muslims to spend money in the cause of God and make sacrifices for it. They are told in this verse that their unwillingness to spend would eventually do them no good nor would it save their possessions from destruction.

The sentence, And to Allah belongs the heritage of the heavens and the earth, obviously does not mean that Allah will receive heavens and earth in inheritance from someone else. The word میراث rendered as "heritage" here signifies ownership. The word also means portion allotted to one, as in the verse الذین یرثون الفردوس i.e. those who shall inherit Paradise (23:12). Now, Paradise is not inherited by anyone; it is only received as an allotted portion from God.

3:179.

Commentary:

This verse contains the great prophecy that the enemies of Islam who had waged war against the Muslims would never prevail. Such a prophecy could not be made by a human being in the circumstances in which it was made; for it is an established historical fact that at the time when this prophecy was made the Muslims were extremely weak both in number and equipment and no mortal could predict that such a weak and ill-equipped community could vanquish their numerous and powerful enemies. Only God, Who is Almighty and Omniscient, could predict victory for the Muslims in such circumstances; and the promised victory did actually come to pass.