يَذْكُرُ

4:104; 10:13; 39:10; 62:11.

38:28.

Important Words:

باطلا (in vain) is derived from بطل meaning, it was or became false or vain, or void or futile or devoid of virtue or of no account. They say ذھب دمه باطلا meaning his blood went for nothing, i.e. went unretaliated. بطل فی حدیثه means, he jested or was not serious in his discourse. باطل therefore, means: false, spurious, vain, useless, void and of no account (Lane).

Commentary:

Such a grand system to which an allusion has been made in the previous verse could certainly not have been brought into being without a definite purpose. The phenomenon of day and night referred to in the preceding verse affords an illustration of how this purpose is served. With the rising of the sun the whole world is illuminated, and men begin to work. Then night falls and the light of the sun is hidden from our view and men go to sleep, but even then some heavenly bodies are busy doing their allotted task. Thus both during day and night heavenly bodies perform their appointed functions and loyally serve man. The whole universe having been created to serve man, the creation of man must also have a great purpose. Of men, some are bright in themselves like the sun, and there are others who possess no intrinsic light of their own but borrow it from others. Such men as place themselves in right relation to the Sun of the spiritual realm become enlightened, while those that keep away from it are left in the dark.

When man ponders over the spiritual implication of the physical phenomenon of the creation of heavens and earth, the alteration of day, and night and the consummate order that pervades the universe, he is deeply impressed by the great wisdom of the Creator, and from the inmost depths of his being rises the cry: Our Lord, Thou hast not created this in vain. Then apprehension takes hold of him lest he should become deprived of the light of the spiritual Sun and he cries out: Save us from the punishment of Fire, which is nothing but being overtaken by spiritual darkness and moral degradation.

2:10.

9:54.

Important Words:

For the meaning of the word یخادعون and خادعھم see 2:10. The latter expression, though similar in root and construction, means "will punish them for their deception" and not "will deceive them". See also 2:16.

Commentary:

It is not the Holy Prophet but God Himself Whom in reality the hypocrites seek to deceive because the Prophet is only an agent of God and all plots hatched against him are really so many plots hatched to frustrate the purpose of God. Therefore, He Himself will punish them for their deceitful conduct.

Laziness and slowness are the characteristics of a hypocrite. The Holy Prophet is reported to have said, "The most burdensome of Prayers for the hypocrites are the late-evening and morning Prayers"; and "A hypocrite waits until the sun is about to set; then he gets up and hurriedly performs four Rak‘at of late-afternoon Prayer, and remembers God but little" (Muslim). It is only true faith and certainty that can engender in man the spirit of eagerness to live up to one’s conviction.

Important Words:

حجر (forbidden). حجرہ (hajara-hu) means, he prevented or prohibited or forbade or interdicted him; or tie deprived him. حجر (hijr) means, forbidden or prohibited or unlawful; the faculty of reason or understanding because it prevents one from doing improper acts. The word also means custody or guardianship (Aqrab).

Commentary:

This verse gives another instance of the absurdity of man-made laws.

By "forbidden crops" are meant such cultivated fields as were dedicated to idols. These could be used only by the priests that attended upon the idols. The cattle might eat of all crops except those that were dedicated to idols.

The cattle whose backs were forbidden are those mentioned in 5:104. Nobody was allowed to ride them or use them as beasts of burden.

The cattle over which they pronounce not the name of Allah are the cattle which they dedicated to their associate-gods. There is no reference here to the mentioning of God’s name at the time of slaughtering.

19:10; 76:2.

Commentary:

The word شیئاً here signifies شیئاً مذکوراً i.e. anything worth mentioning or having any significance or importance. This meaning is supported by 76:2.

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?

Important Words:

یذکرھم (speak ill of them). ذکرہ means, (1) he mentioned it, told it, related it; (2) he spoke well of him or he spoke ill of him and mentioned his faults. They say لئن ذکرتنی لتندمن i.e. if thou speak ill of me, thou wilt assuredly repent. An Arab poet says:

لا تذکری فرسی وما أطعمته

فیکون جلدك مثل جلد الا جرب

i.e. do not thou speak ill of my horse and of what I have given him for food or thy skin will be like the skin of the scabby (Lane & Aqrab).

2:199; 5:3.

2:204.

Commentary:

Apart from the spiritual good that the Pilgrimage does to a Muslim, it possesses great social and political significance. It has great potentialities for welding different Muslim countries into one strong international brotherhood of Islam. Muslims from all parts of the world, who meet at Mecca once a year can exchange views on all sorts of matters of international importance, renew old and establish new contacts. They have opportunities to acquaint themselves with the problems that confront their brethren in faith in other countries, to copy one another’s good points and profit by one another’s experience and also to cooperate with one another in many other ways. Mecca being God’s appointed centre of Islam, the Pilgrimage can serve as a sort of a United Nations Organization for the whole Muslim world. All other religions have failed to produce such a forum for the exchange of international ideas and programmes. But it is regretted that Muslims have not yet awakened to the realization of Mecca being an international capital for the whole Muslim world. These are some of the material benefits and advantages to which reference has been made in the words, "that they may witness its benefits;" and the words "and may mention the name of Allah," refer to the great spiritual benefits which Muslims can and should derive from the Pilgrimage to Mecca. See also 3:98.

5:5; 6:119.

5:74; 16:23; 37:5.

Important Words:

منسکا (rites of sacrifice) is derived from نسك . They say نسك الذبیحة i.e. he slaughtered and sacrificed the animal. نسك الرجلmeans, the man led a life devoted to God; he practised virtue and piety. نسك للّٰه means, he sacrificed seeking to win the pleasure of God; he did good deeds willingly and spontaneously in order to win nearness to God. نسك الثوب means, he washed the cloth. منسك means, rites of sacrifice; place where those rites are performed; one’s native place. مناسك الحج means, the religious rites and ceremonies of the Pilgrimage.

For مخبتین see 11:24.

Commentary:

With this verse begins the subject of sacrifice, one of the three main themes with which this Surah deals, the other two being Hajj and jihad.

The words "And to every people We appointed rites of Sacrifice," show that the commandment relating to Sacrifice is not confined to Islam. Sacrifice is common to all religions because they have proceeded from the same Divine source. It also appears from this verse that it was the sacrifice of animals that was originally enjoined on the followers of all religions and that the cruel practice of offering human beings as sacrifice was a later innovation.

In view of the different meanings of the root word true sacrifice possesses three essential characteristics:-

(a) It should be fully voluntary and spontaneous;

(b) It should be offered with the purest of motives, i.e. only to win the pleasure of God;

(c) It should not be offered from ulterior motives and material considerations.

Thus the first commandment relating to sacrifice though apparently very simple is of great inward significance. It is that sacrifice should be offered only for the sake of Allah and that Allah’s name should be invoked while the animal is being slaughtered for food. This not only sanctifies and blesses the food but is also calculated to turn attention to the sublime object underlying the act of slaughtering the animal—to win the pleasure of God and to be prepared to sacrifice the dearest thing in His way and for His sake.

The words, "So your God is one God, therefore, submit ye all to Him," have twofold significance: (1) The fact that the rite of sacrifice is common to all religions, although they are so widely separated from one another as regards the time and place of their origin, shows that originally they all emanated from the same Supreme Source and that the God of all nations is One God. (2) That the object underlying sacrifice is to realize and proclaim the Oneness of God by sacrificing our ambitions and aspirations, all our ideas and ideals and even life and honour for His sake, and by completely submitting ourselves to His commandments. The concept of sacrifice according to Islam does not consist in appeasing an offended deity or in atoning for one’s sins but in sacrificing one’s all for the sake of God and in the way of God. Those who have full realization of this concept of sacrifice are called (humble) in the language of the Quran.

18:25; 76:31; 81:30.

Commentary:

The verse may mean, as elsewhere stated, that disbelievers will not benefit by the Quran unless they make their will conform to the will of God, i.e. they subordinate all their desires to the Divine Will (76:31). Or it may signify that it is not possible for man to find the right way unless God sends down His Word for his guidance. The words "He alone is worthy to be feared," mean that we should take God alone as a shield for protection against sins (the root word وقی meaning, to guard or shield oneself). Or it may mean, that God alone can grant forgiveness when a man falters or falls.