یَتۡلُ
Appears 11 times in Quran
Derived Words (4)
Words derived from the stem "یَتۡلُ".
- follow it
- shall follow him
- may recite
- recites
- reciting
- who recites
- follow
- read
- recite
- reciting
- they recite
Occurrences in Quran
Found 11 verses containing "یَتۡلُ".
وَقَالَتِ الۡیَہُوۡدُ لَیۡسَتِ النَّصٰرٰی عَلٰی شَیۡءٍ وَّقَالَتِ النَّصٰرٰی لَیۡسَتِ الۡیَہُوۡدُ عَلٰی شَیۡءٍ وَّہُمۡ یَتۡلُوۡنَ الۡکِتٰبَ ۗ کَذٰلِکَ قَالَ الَّذِیۡنَ لَا یَعۡلَمُوۡنَ مِثۡلَ قَوۡلِہِمۡ ۚ فَاللّٰہُ یَحۡکُمُ بَیۡنَہُمۡ یَوۡمَ الۡقِیٰمَۃِ فِیۡمَا کَانُوۡا فِیۡہِ یَخۡتَلِفُوۡنَ
5:69.
5:69.
Shai’ means, a thing; anything good; concern; what is willed (Lane).
Nothing is more foreign to the whole spirit of Islam than opposition to truth. Islam teaches that all faiths possess certain truths and a religion is called true not because it has a monopoly of truth but because it possesses the whole truth and is free from all forms of untruth. While claiming to be a perfect and complete religion, Islam frankly acknowledges the truths and virtues other faiths possess.
5:69.
5:69.
Important Words:
الیھود (the Jews) signifies the followers of Moses or of what is known as Judaism. The word as already explained is either derived from ھاد which means, he turned to God or to the truth with repentance (Aqrab); or it is derived from یھودا (Judah) who was one of the sons of Jacob. As the descendants of یھودا formed an independent kingdom at Jerusalem which became the religious centre of the Jews, therefore the Jewish religion came to be known as Judaism and the people professing that religion as یھود or Jews (Enc. Brit. under the word Jews. See also 2:63 and 2:112).
یتلون (they read) is derived from تلا which means: (1) he followed; (2) he read or recited (Aqrab). The Quran says والقمراذا تلاھاi.e. by the moon when it follows the sun; and again یتلوا علیھم آیاته i.e. the Prophet reads or recites to them God’s Signs. In the present verse the word یتلون may be taken to signify either of these two senses, i.e. they both read the same Book or they both follow the same Book. See also 2:103.
Commentary:
Nothing is more foreign to the spirit of Islam than opposition to truth, wherever it may happen to be. Islam teaches that all faiths possess certain truths and the true religion is so called not because it has a monopoly of truth, but because it possesses all truth and is free from all defects. While, therefore, claiming to be a perfect and complete religion, Islam does not denounce other faiths but frankly acknowledges the truths and the virtues they possess. If this golden principle of Islam be properly understood and appreciated, much existing religious rancour and bitterness would disappear. But unfortunately, there is a general tendency among the followers of different religious systems to refuse to acknowledge the truth found in faiths, other than their own. The Quran declares this attitude of mind to be the result of lack of knowledge and wisdom, and this verse strongly condemns Jews and Christians for refusing to see any good whatever in the rival faith, in spite of the fact that they have a good deal in common, being the followers of the same Book—the Bible.
b
5:69.
c
5:69.
a
5:69.
b
5:69.
120
Important Words:
الیھود (the Jews) signifies the followers of Moses or of what is known as Judaism. The word as already explained is either derived from ھاد which means, he turned to God or to the truth with repentance (Aqrab); or it is derived from یھودا (Judah) who was one of the sons of Jacob. As the descendants of یھودا formed an independent kingdom at Jerusalem which became the religious centre of the Jews, therefore the Jewish religion came to be known as Judaism and the people professing that religion as یھود or Jews (Enc. Brit. under the word Jews. See also 2:63 and 2:112).
یتلون (they read) is derived from تلا which means: (1) he followed; (2) he read or recited (Aqrab). The Quran says والقمراذا تلاھاi.e. by the moon when it follows the sun; and again یتلوا علیھم آیاته i.e. the Prophet reads or recites to them God’s Signs. In the present verse the word یتلون may be taken to signify either of these two senses, i.e. they both read the same Book or they both follow the same Book. See also 2:103.
Commentary:
Nothing is more foreign to the spirit of Islam than opposition to truth, wherever it may happen to be. Islam teaches that all faiths possess certain truths and the true religion is so called not because it has a monopoly of truth, but because it possesses all truth and is free from all defects. While, therefore, claiming to be a perfect and complete religion, Islam does not denounce other faiths but frankly acknowledges the truths and the virtues they possess. If this golden principle of Islam be properly understood and appreciated, much existing religious rancour and bitterness would disappear. But unfortunately, there is a general tendency among the followers of different religious systems to refuse to acknowledge the truth found in faiths, other than their own. The Quran declares this attitude of mind to be the result of lack of knowledge and wisdom, and this verse strongly condemns Jews and Christians for refusing to see any good whatever in the rival faith, in spite of the fact that they have a good deal in common, being the followers of the same Book—the Bible.
b
5:69.
c
5:69.
136
Shai’ means, a thing; anything good; concern; what is willed (Lane).
Nothing is more foreign to the whole spirit of Islam than opposition to truth. Islam teaches that all faiths possess certain truths and a religion is called true not because it has a monopoly of truth but because it possesses the whole truth and is free from all forms of untruth. While claiming to be a perfect and complete religion, Islam frankly acknowledges the truths and virtues other faiths possess.
اَلَّذِیۡنَ اٰتَیۡنٰہُمُ الۡکِتٰبَ یَتۡلُوۡنَہٗ حَقَّ تِلَاوَتِہٖۤ اُولٰٓئِکَ یُؤۡمِنُوۡنَ بِہٖ ۗ وَمَنۡ یَّکۡفُرۡ بِہٖ فَاُولٰٓئِکَ ہُمُ الۡخٰسِرُوۡنَ
3:114.
اَلَّذِیْنَ اٰتَیْنَاھُمُ الْکِتٰبَ میں اَلْکِتَابَ سے مراد قرآن کریم ہے اور اس آیت میں اللہ تعالیٰ نے یہود کو ملزم قرار دیا ہے کہ تم نے تو تورات کو پسِ پشت پھینک رکھا تھا۔ مگر اب یہ لوگ جن کو ہم نے قرآن کریم دیا ہے اس پر پوری طرح عمل کرتے ہیں اور اس پر ان کا رسمی ایمان نہیں۔ بلکہ پختہ ایمان ہے۔ (تفصیل کے لئے دیکھیں تفسیر کبیر جلد دوم صفحہ ۱۴۹)۔
3:114.
The words refer to Muslims and not to Jews and Christians, because it is the Muslims who are the true and sincere followers of the Qur’an and not the Jews or the Christians who refused to believe in it and rejected it as a piece of fabrication (Qatadah). This meaning of Yatluna is supported by Ibn-e- ‘Abbas, ‘Abdullah bin Mas‘ud, ‘Ata, and ‘Ikrimah.
3:114.
Commentary:
The words, they to whom We have given the Book, clearly refer here to Muslims and not to Jews and Christians, because it is the Muslims that were the true and sincere followers of the Quran and not Jews and Christians who refused to believe in the Quran and rejected it as a piece of fabrication. Jews and Christians have been referred to in the concluding portion of the verse where, owing to their rejection of the Quran, they are spoken of as the losers. The verse provides very high and well-merited praise for the Companions of the Holy Prophet who have been described as true followers of God’s guidance.
f
3:114.
1
اَلَّذِیْنَ اٰتَیْنَاھُمُ الْکِتٰبَ میں اَلْکِتَابَ سے مراد قرآن کریم ہے اور اس آیت میں اللہ تعالیٰ نے یہود کو ملزم قرار دیا ہے کہ تم نے تو تورات کو پسِ پشت پھینک رکھا تھا۔ مگر اب یہ لوگ جن کو ہم نے قرآن کریم دیا ہے اس پر پوری طرح عمل کرتے ہیں اور اس پر ان کا رسمی ایمان نہیں۔ بلکہ پختہ ایمان ہے۔ (تفصیل کے لئے دیکھیں تفسیر کبیر جلد دوم صفحہ ۱۴۹)۔
a
3:114.
128
Commentary:
The words, they to whom We have given the Book, clearly refer here to Muslims and not to Jews and Christians, because it is the Muslims that were the true and sincere followers of the Quran and not Jews and Christians who refused to believe in the Quran and rejected it as a piece of fabrication. Jews and Christians have been referred to in the concluding portion of the verse where, owing to their rejection of the Quran, they are spoken of as the losers. The verse provides very high and well-merited praise for the Companions of the Holy Prophet who have been described as true followers of God’s guidance.
b
3:114.
142
The words refer to Muslims and not to Jews and Christians, because it is the Muslims who are the true and sincere followers of the Qur’an and not the Jews or the Christians who refused to believe in it and rejected it as a piece of fabrication (Qatadah). This meaning of Yatluna is supported by Ibn-e- ‘Abbas, ‘Abdullah bin Mas‘ud, ‘Ata, and ‘Ikrimah.
رَبَّنَا وَابۡعَثۡ فِیۡہِمۡ رَسُوۡلًا مِّنۡہُمۡ یَتۡلُوۡا عَلَیۡہِمۡ اٰیٰتِکَ وَیُعَلِّمُہُمُ الۡکِتٰبَ وَالۡحِکۡمَۃَ وَیُزَکِّیۡہِمۡ ۚ اِنَّکَ اَنۡتَ الۡعَزِیۡزُ الۡحَکِیۡمُ
2:152; 3:165; 62:3.
这节经文可以作为全章主题的总结, 本章不仅是本节的详述者, 而且其完全以本节所叙述的主题的次序处理其不同的主题, 也就是说, 先是迹象, 然后是经典, 然后是经典的哲理, 最后是民族发展的一切方法 (见本章引言)。有趣的是这里可以看到, «古兰经» 提到两篇不同的伊布拉欣的祈祷文--------一篇是关于伊司哈格的后代的, 一篇是关于伊司马仪的后代的。2:125中提到了前一篇祈祷文, 而后一篇在注释条目下的本节经文中被提到。在他的关于伊司哈格后代的祈祷文中, 伊布拉欣要求在他们中间提拔宗教领袖或复兴者, 但他没有提到他们的特殊的工作或身份--------他们是安拉派遣的普通复兴者, 将为古以色列人改过自新而相互继承。可是, 在这节经文中他在祈祷文中祈求安拉在他的后代中间提升一位负有特殊使命的伟大先知。这一差别真是伊布拉欣宗族两系支脉极为真实的写照。在本章125-130节经文提到伊布拉欣的这两篇祈祷文时, 曾暗示伊布拉欣不仅确为伊司哈卡的子孙的繁荣祈祷, 而且也为他的长子伊司马仪的子孙祈祷。伊司哈卡的后裔由于自己的罪恶行为而失去了先知品位。因此本节经文中那个主许的和为他降临而祈祷的先知一定属于伊布拉欣的另一些后裔, 即伊司玛仪的子孙。为了指出那被期望和主许的先知该是伊司马仪的后代, «古兰经» 非常适宜地提到了伊布拉欣和伊司马仪天房的建筑并提到了伊布拉欣为他长子的后代所作的祈祷。对于这一自然的结论, 基督教评论家们一般提出两种异议: (1) «圣经» 没有提到安拉曾向伊布拉欣作过有关伊司马仪的许诺, (2) 承认安拉确曾作过这样的诺言, 而不能证明这个事实, 即伊斯兰教的先知是伊司马仪的后裔。
至于第一种异议, 即使从 «圣经» 中看不到有关伊司马仪的预言, 不是说这样预言决不会有。而且, 如果可以用 «圣经» 的根据来证实对伊司哈卡及其后代的许诺确有其事, 为什么不能承认 «古兰经» 的根据, 在这一方面说来, 又为什么不能承认伊司玛仪的子女的根据, 可以证明安拉是向伊司马仪并且还向他的几个儿子作了许诺呢。可是 «圣经» 本身确提到了伊司马仪后代的未来的昌盛, 与提到伊司哈卡的儿子们的情况一样 («创世记» 16:10-12; 17:6-10; 17:18-20)。事实上, 对伊司马仪所作的许诺在实质上与对伊司哈卡所作的许诺并无不同--------他们两者都得到了祝福, 都会有成果, 两者的子孙都会特别兴旺, 两者都会成为伟大的民族, 两者的后代都受主许得到王国及领土。因此既然对两兄弟所作的许诺在性质上无实质差别, 给伊司哈卡的子女的那种奖赏, 伊司马仪的子女也必须能得到。这个事实已得到十分著名的基督教徒的肯定。(The Scofield Reference Bible, P.25)。
即使这个许约可被理解为包括伊司马仪的后代, 也还得证明穆圣是属于伊司马仪的宗族。在回答这第二个异议时, 可简单地注意一下几点: (1) 穆圣所属的古来西宗族始终相信并断言他们自己是伊司马仪的后裔, 这个声明得到全阿拉伯半岛人民的承认。 (2) 如果说古来西宗族和阿拉伯半岛的其他伊司马仪后代宗族是伊司马仪后裔是错误的, 那么, 伊司马仪的真正的后裔就要对这种声称提出抗议; 但没有听说曾有这样的异议。 (3) 在 («创世记»17:20) 中提到安拉已许诺祝福伊司马仪, 使他后代兴旺, 使他成为一个伟大民族和十二个王子的父亲。假如阿拉伯半岛的人民不是他的后裔, 受约的民族又在哪里?阿拉伯半岛的伊司马仪后代的各宗族确实是这块土地上的唯一有权声称者。 (4) 按照 («创世记» 21:8-14) 夏甲 (亚伯拉罕之妻) 为了满足萨拉 (亚伯拉罕之妻, 伊司哈卡之母) 的虚荣, 不得不离开她的家庭。如果不把她带到海佳兹 (حِجَازْ, Hijaz), 她的子孙是在哪里呢?她的流放又是在什么地方? (5) 阿拉伯地理学家一致同意巴兰 (فَارَان, Paran) 是给海佳兹的小山群所取的名称 (مُعْجَمُ الْبُلْدَان, Mu‘jamul-Buldan)。 (6) 按照 «圣经», 伊司马仪后裔 “居住的地方是从哈腓拉 (Havilah) 到书珥 (Shur)” («创世记»25:18), 而从 “哈腓拉到书珥” 这一短语是指阿拉伯半岛上反方向的两端 (J.Eadie, 季、伊迪编 Bib.Cyc.伦敦, 1862年)。(7) «圣经» 称伊司马仪为 “野人” («创世记»16:12), اَعْرَابِی (A‘rabi) 这词, 即 “沙漠的居住者” 表示差不多相同的意义。 (8) 甚至保罗也承认夏甲与阿拉伯半岛的关系 («加拉太书» 4:25)。 (9) 凯达尔 (Kedar) 是伊司马仪的一个儿子, 大家承认他的后裔定居在阿拉伯半岛的南部 (Bib. Cyc.伦敦, 1862年)。 (10) 托里 (C.C.Torrey) 教授说: “根据希伯来传说, 阿拉伯人是伊司马仪的后代。随后在 «创世记» 25:13ff 中被指名的 “十二个王子” («创世记» 17: 20) 代表阿拉伯人的各宗教或区域; 要特别注意凯达尔 (قِيْدَار, Kedar)、杜马 (دُوْمَة, Duma--------دُوْمَةُ الْجَنْدَلْ, Dumatul-Jandal)、提玛 (تَيْمَاء, Teima) 这个伟大的民族就是阿拉伯半岛人民” (Jewish Foundation of Islam, 83页)。“从体形特征、语言、所出现的当地习惯, ……以及从 «圣经» 的证实来看, 阿拉伯人基本上大多是伊司马仪的后代” (Cyclopedia of Biblical Literature, new York P. 685)。(11) “让我们始终谴责夏甲子孙们的邪恶倾向, 尤其是畜牲般的古莱西 (قُرَيْش, Kuraish) 人 (部落)” (Leaves from Three Ancient Qurans, edited by the Rev. Mingana, D.D., Intro.XIII)。
یہ رسول کریم صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم کے ظہور کے لئے دعا ہے۔
2:152; 3:165; 62:3.
The verse serves as a summary of the subject-matter of the entire Surah which constitutes not only its enlargement but treats the various subjects in exactly the same order in which they have been mentioned in this verse, i.e. first come the Signs, then the Book, then the Wisdom of the Law, and last of all the Means of national progress (See Introduction to the Surah).
It may be of interest to note here that the Qur’an speaks of two separate prayers of Abraham—one about the progeny of Isaac and the other about that of Ishmael. The former prayer is mentioned in 2:125 and the latter in the verse under comment. In his prayer about the progeny of Isaac, Abraham asks that Imams or Reformers may be raised from among them, but he makes no mention of their special work or status—they are ordinary Divine Reformers who will follow one another for the reformation of the Israelites. In his prayer in the present verse, however, he prays to God to raise among his progeny a great Prophet
2:152; 3:165; 62:3.
Important Words:
آیات (Signs) is the plural of آیة which means, a sign, token, or mark by which a person or thing is known or recognized; it properly signifies any apparent thing inseparable from a thing not equally apparent, so that when one perceives the former, one knows that one also perceives the latter which one cannot perceive by itself; it also means a miracle, a wonder. The word is also used in the sense of a sentence; a part of speech; a verse (Lane & Aqrab).
کتاب (Book) means, anything written; a book; a prescribed law (Aqrab). See also 2:54.
حکمة (Wisdom) is derived from حکم (hakama). They say, حکمه i.e. he prevented or restrained him (from acting in an evil manner). حکم بالامر means, he judged and decreed in the matter. حکم (hakuma) means, he became wise (Aqrab). حکمةmeans, what prevents or restrains one from ignorant behaviour; knowledge or science; knowledge of the true nature of things; wisdom or wisdom underlying a commandment; an action according to the requirements thereof (Mufradat & Lane).
یزکیھم (purify them) is derived from زکی (zakka) which again is derived from زکا meaning, he or it grew and increased and developed; he or it became purified. زکی means, he purified; he caused to grow and increase. تزکیة means, the act of purifying and increasing (Aqrab).
العزیز (the Mighty) is derived from عز i.e. he was or became mighty, potent or powerful; or high, elevated or illustrious; or hard and resisting. عزیز means, mighty and powerful or high and elevated; or hard and resisting. It also sometimes means, distressing or grievous. العزیز used as the attributive name of God means, the Mighty Who overcomes everything; the Incomparable or Unparalleled (Lane). See also 2:207 and 5:55.
الحکیم (the Wise) is derived from the same root from which حکمة (for which see above) is derived. حکیم means, possessing knowledge or science or wisdom; wise; a sage; a philosopher; a physician; one who performs or executes affairs firmly, soundly, thoroughly, skilfully and well. الحکیم is one of the names of God meaning the All-Wise (Lane). Applied to the Quran the word would signify the book that is full of wisdom and is free from all defect and imperfection, having no incongruity or unsoundness; or the book which judiciously decides religious differences.
Commentary:
In this verse which is one of the most important, attention is drawn to the prayer of Abraham when he was leaving his wife Hagar and his son Ishmael to live in the arid valley of Mecca. The great prayer was to the effect that God might raise from among the Meccans a Prophet, who should (1) lay before the people Signs of God that may carry conviction to their minds; (2) teach them the Law of God; (3) initiate them into the philosophy of divine commandments, because until the wisdom underlying a commandment is brought home, one does not feel disposed to attend to it, but rather looks upon it as a burden, as was the case with the Christians who, unable to understand the underlying wisdom of the Mosaic Law, began to look upon it as a curse (Rom. 4:15; Gal. 3:13); and finally (4) purify the lives of men and open out to them the avenues of progress. See also 2:152.
This prayer of Abraham, offered from the very depth of his heart, was fulfilled in the person of the Holy Prophet. The wonderful way in which the Holy Prophet combined in his person the four characteristics mentioned in this prayer is a fact of history to which even his most hostile critics have testified. By universal consent the Prophet of Islam has been acclaimed as "the most successful Prophet".
The fact that Abraham did not here pray for many Prophets, but for one Prophet only shows that while offering this prayer, he had in view a very great Prophet, a Master-Prophet who was to transcend all. This prayer of Abraham has been applied by the Holy Prophet to himself. He is reported to have said انا دعوة ابراھیم i.e. "I am the prayer (personified) of Abraham" (Jarir & ‘Asakir).
As mentioned in the introductory remarks in the beginning of this chapter, the verse under comment serves as a summary of the entire chapter which is not only an enlargement of the subject matter of this verse but treats its various subjects in exactly the same order in which they have been mentioned in this verse, i.e. first come the Signs, then the Book, then the Wisdom of the Law, and last of all the means of national progress.
It may be of interest to note here that the Quran speaks of two separate prayers of Abraham—one about the progeny of Isaac and the other about that of Ishmael. The former prayer has been mentioned in 2:125 and the latter in the verse under comment. In his prayer about the progeny of Isaac, Abraham asks that Imams or Reformers may be raised from among them, but he makes no mention of their special work or status—they are ordinary Reformers who will follow one another for the reformation of the Israelites. On the other hand, when Abraham prays about the progeny of Ishmael, he begs his Lord to raise among them a special Prophet with a specific and lofty mission. Again, when God answers the first-mentioned prayer of Abraham, He does not make any mention of the Reformers to be raised but leaves their appearance to be inferred only by implication; but He does make a pointed reference to the fact that in spite of these Reformers, the Israelites will end as transgressors. On the contrary, God makes no such mention about the progeny of Ishmael, thereby hinting that after the Promised Prophet has been raised, their glorious days will continue till the end of the world. This is indeed a marvellously true portrait of the two branches of the House of Abraham.
In making mention of the prayers of Abraham in verses 127 to 130 the Quran makes an allusion to the fact that Abraham did not only pray for the prosperity of the children of Isaac but also for the posterity of Ishmael, his firstborn. When the offspring of Isaac lost the gift of prophethood on account of their evil deeds, the next descendants of Abraham were the children of Ishmael and thus the Promised Prophet must belong to the House of the latter. In order to point out that the expected Prophet was to be an Ishmaelite, the Quran makes mention of the construction of the Ka‘bah by Abraham and Ishmael and of the prayers offered by Abraham for the posterity of his eldest son.
To this natural conclusion Christian critics generally bring forward two objections (1) that the Bible makes no mention of any promise having been made by God to Abraham concerning Ishmael, and (2) that, admitting that God did make such a promise, there is no proof of the fact that the Prophet of Islam was descended from Ishmael.
As regards the first objection, it should be borne in mind that even if the Bible be shown to contain no prophecy about Ishmael, the absence of such a mention in it cannot be considered as conclusive testimony that such a prophecy was not actually made. It is no secret that Sarah, the mother of Isaac, hated Ishmael and his mother, Hagar. This hatred of their mother for the House of Ishmael was inherited by her sons, the Israelites (Gen. 16:12). In these circumstances it would be idle to search for any express prophecy in favour of Ishmael and his progeny in the Bible; particularly when it was for a long time subjected to all sorts of interference on the part of the Israelites. Moreover, if the Biblical evidence can be taken to establish the existence of a promise about Isaac and his sons, why should not the evidence of the Quran and, for that matter, of the children of Ishmael, be accepted to establish the fact that promises were held out by God to Ishmael and his sons also. But the undeniable fact is that the Bible does contain references to the future prosperity of the sons of Ishmael similar to those it contains about the sons of Isaac. The following are some of these references:
(1) "And God said unto Abraham, thou shalt keep my covenant, therefore, thou, and thy seed after thee in their generations. This is my covenant, which ye shall keep between me and you and thy seed after thee; every man child among you shall be circumcised" (Gen. 17:9, 10). This covenant was made with Abraham before the birth of Isaac and after Ishmael had been born, which shows that it applied to Ishmael and his children.
(2) "And the angel of the Lord said unto her (Ishmael’s mother), I will multiply thy seed exceedingly, that it shall not be numbered for multitude. And the angel of the Lord said unto her, Behold, thou art with child and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael; because the Lord hath heard thy affliction. And he will be a wild man (it appears that here some expression like "Arab" or the dweller of a desert country, has been translated as "wild"); his hand will be against every man, and every man’s hand against him; and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren"; i.e., although all will constantly oppose him and be jealous of him, yet he will succeed (Gen. 16:10-12).
(3) Further evidence of Ishmael and his posterity being included in the covenant which God established between Himself and Abraham and his seed after him is furnished by Gen. 17:6-8 which says, "And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee. And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee and to thy seed after thee. And I will give unto thee and to thy seed after thee the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God." Now, has not the land of Canaan remained in the possession of the Ishmaelites for over 1,300 years? If the Arab Muslims are not the seed of Abraham, why has Canaan continued in their possession for so long?
(4) Again in Gen. 17:18-20, we read:
"And Abraham said unto God, O that Ishmael might live before thee! and God said,…And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee. Behold I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation." It will thus be seen that the promises made for Ishmael are similar to those made for Isaac; nay, they are even greater in number, for, with regard to Ishmael, God says, (a) "I have blessed him"; (b) "I will make him fruitful"; (c) "I will multiply him exceedingly"; (d) "twelve princes shall he beget"; and (e) "I will make him a great nation".
(5) Further evidence of the fact that Ishmael was included in God’s covenant is furnished by the fact that circumcision which was instituted by God as a token of His covenant with Abraham and his seed after him, has continued among the descendants of Ishmael. Though Islam also enjoined it, yet it was already in vogue among the Arabs, which shows that they were the seed of Abraham and were consequently included in the covenant of which circumcision was instituted as a symbol.
In order to exclude Ishmael from God’s covenant, Christian writers sometimes bring forward the plea that the offspring of a handmaid cannot be included in Abraham’s seed. But this is entirely baseless; for, even conceding, for the sake of argument, that Ishmael’s mother was a handmaid, it has been clearly said with reference to Ishmael: "And also of the son of the bondwoman will I make a nation because he is thy seed" (Gen. 41:13).
The above-quoted verses of the Bible show (1) that Ishmael was born according to the promise of God given to Abraham before Ishmael’s birth; (2) that God blessed Ishmael and his mother, Hagar; (3) that He promised to make Ishmael and his mother fruitful and to multiply them exceedingly; (4) that God was with Ishmael; and (5) that the covenant of God with Abraham about the circumcision of every male child among his progeny applied to Ishmael and his children.
As a matter of fact, the promise made to Ishmael does not differ very much from that made to Isaac; they are both to be blessed, both to be made fruitful, the descendants of both to multiply exceedingly and both are to be made great nations, and kingdom and dominion is promised to the progeny of both. So when the nature of the promise made to both the brothers does not substantially differ, the kind of reward granted to the children of Isaac will have also to be admitted for the children of Ishmael. It would be wrong to think that as in Gen. 17:21 it is written that God will establish His covenant with Isaac, so Prophets were meant to be raised from among his children only, for a similar covenant was made with Abraham even before the birth of Isaac, and this clearly applied to Ishmael. This covenant is contained in Gen. 17:10, 11 according to which Ishmael was circumcised at the age of 13 and thenceforward circumcision became a religious rite with the posterity of Ishmael. It is therefore beyond any shadow of doubt that the covenant referred to above was intended for the children of Ishmael quite as much as for the children of Isaac. This fact has even been admitted by some eminent Christian writers of established authority (The Scofield Reference Bible, p. 25).
So far about verbal promises. Now let us see how God practically treated Ishmael. We read in Gen. 21:14-20, "And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and took bread, and a bottle of water, and gave it unto Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, and the child, and sent her away: and she departed, and wandered in the wilderness of Beer-Sheba. And the water was spent in the bottle, and she cast the child under one of the shrubs. And she went, and sat her down over against him a good way off, as it were a bowshot: for she said, Let me not see the death of the child. And she sat over against him, and lifted up her voice, and wept. And God heard the voice of the lad; and the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, and said unto her, What aileth thee, Hagar? Fear not; for God has heard the voice of the lad where he is. Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him in thine hand; for I will make him a great nation. And God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water; and she went, and filled the bottle with water, and gave the lad drink. And God was with the lad; and he grew, and dwelt in the wilderness, and became an archer."
This shows that God rendered miraculous help to Ishmael and brought into existence a well of water for his sake. It is now for the Christians to show what extraordinary thing God wrought for Isaac that may be compared with this. In the above passage it is also said that "God was with the lad", which means that Ishmael grew up under the special protection of the Lord.
Further evidence of the fact that Ishmael was looked upon as the seed of Abraham, on a par with Isaac, is furnished by the following circumstances:
In Gen. 25:6, we read that when Abraham grew old and was nearing his end, he sent away the sons of the concubines. And then the Bible goes on to say: "And these are the days of the years of Abraham’s life which he lived, an hundred three score and fifteen years, and Abraham gave up the ghost, and died in a good old age, an old man full of years; and was gathered to his people. And his sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah." (Gen. 25:7-9). Now, if Ishmael was also treated as the offspring of a concubine, he ought to have been treated as the other children, who were the issue of concubines, were treated. But such was not the case; for when Abraham died, the children of the concubines were away and only Ishmael and Isaac were present, and both of them participated in the burial ceremony of their father. This shows that Ishmael was not treated as the offspring of a concubine, but was looked upon as the equal of Isaac and was treated accordingly.
In reply to the second objection that even if the covenant be understood to include the sons of Ishmael, it is yet to be proved that the Holy Prophet belonged to the House of Ishmael, the following points may briefly be noted:
(1) The best way to know the origin of a race is to refer to the traditions and the testimony of the race itself; and, as we all know, the Quraish, the tribe to which the Holy Prophet belonged, always believed and declared themselves to be the descendants of Ishmael and this claim was recognized by all the people of Arabia.
(2) If the claim of the Quraish and, for that matter, that of other Ishmaelite tribes of Arabia, to Ishmaelite descent had been false, the real descendants of Ishmael would have protested against such a false claim; but no such objection is known to have been ever raised.
(3) In Gen. 17:20 God had promised to bless Ishmael, to multiply his progeny, to make him a great nation and the father of twelve princes. If the people of Arabia are not his descendants, where is the promised nation? The Ishmaelite tribes of Arabia are indeed the only claimants in the field,
(4) According to Gen. 21:8-14 Hagar had to leave her home in order to satisfy the vanity of Sarah. If she was not taken to Hedjaz, where are her descendants found, and which is the place of her banishment?
(5) After her banishment Hagar dwelt in the wilderness of Paran (Gen. 21:21). Christian writers have tried to prove that Paran is Feiran near Jebel Serbal in the Sinai Peninsula. But the great English commentator of the Old Testament, who devoted his whole life to the study of the Bible, Dr. S. R. Driver, has had to confess after all that "the site of Paran, from which the wilderness derives its name, is, however, unknown" (Deut. p.4). On the contrary, the Arab geographers are all agreed that Paran is the name given to the hills of Hedjaz (Mu‘jamul-Buldan).
(6) We are told that the generations of Ishmael "dwelt from Havilah unto Shur" (Gen. 25:18) and the phrase "from Havilah unto Shur" designates the opposite extremes of Arabia (Bib. Cyc. by J. Eadie, London, 1862).
(7) The Bible calls Ishmael "a wild man" (Gen. 16:12) and the word اعرابی (A‘rabi) "a dweller of the desert" conveys almost the same sense.
(8) Even Paul has admitted Hagar’s connection with Arabia (Gal. 4:25).
(9) Kedar was a son of Ishmael and it is admitted that his descendants settled in the southern part of Arabia (Bib. Cyc. London, 1862).
(10) Prof. C. C. Torrey says: "The Arabs were Ishmaelites according to the Hebrew tradition…The 'twelve princes' (Gen. 17:20) subsequently named in Gen. 25:13ff, represent Arabian tribes or districts; notice especially Kedar, Duma (Dumatul-Jandal), Teima. The great nation is the people of Arabia." (Jewish Foundation of Islam, p.83).
(11) Similarly, the learned authors of the Cyclopedia of Biblical Literature, New York, (1877, p. 685) admit that "the Arabs, from physical characteristics, language, the occurrence of native traditions…and the testimony of the Bible are mainly and essentially Ishmaelites."
(12) Lastly there is the opinion of Narsai, a Syrian writer who lived about a hundred years before the birth of the Holy Prophet. Mingana quotes Narsai as saying: "The raid of the sons of Hagar was more cruel even than famine, and the blow that they gave was more sore than disease; the wound of the sons of Abraham is like the venom of a serpent and perhaps there is a remedy for the poison of reptiles but not for theirs—let us always blame the foul inclination of the sons of Hagar, and specially the people (the tribe) of Kuraish who are like animals." (Leaves from Three Ancient Qurans, edited by the Rev. A. Mingana, D.D. Intro. xiii).
In the face of these conclusive proofs both the objections, that (1) Ishmael was not included in the covenant which God made with Abraham, and that (2) Ishmael did not settle in Arabia or that the Holy Prophet of Islam was not a descen-dant of Ishmael, fall to the ground.
Before passing on to the next verse a brief reference to Hagar, mother of Ishmael, will not be out of place here. C. J. Ellicott, Lord Bishop of Gloucester, says in his Commentary: "Hagar…was to be, not Abraham’s concubine, but his wife" (Vol. 1, p. 69). The Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan ben Uzziel tell us that "Sarah…took Hagar…and set her free, and gave her to Abraham, her husband, to wife" (Translation by J. W. Etheridge, London, 1862, p. 205). This setting free of the "handmaid" or "bondwoman" does not imply that Hagar was a barbarian slave or that she was a slave from her very childhood. Sir Leonard Wooley says that she was a "civilised creature sprung from the second great centre of culture in the ancient world" (Abraham, London, 1936, p. 144).
"According to Midrash", says another authority, "Hagar had been given as a slave to Abraham by her father, the Pharaoh of Egypt, who said, "My daughter had better be a slave in the house of Abraham, than mistress in any other" (Translation of the Targums by J. W. Etheridge, note 8, on page 204).
c
2:152; 3:165; 62:3.
81
这节经文可以作为全章主题的总结, 本章不仅是本节的详述者, 而且其完全以本节所叙述的主题的次序处理其不同的主题, 也就是说, 先是迹象, 然后是经典, 然后是经典的哲理, 最后是民族发展的一切方法 (见本章引言)。有趣的是这里可以看到, «古兰经» 提到两篇不同的伊布拉欣的祈祷文--------一篇是关于伊司哈格的后代的, 一篇是关于伊司马仪的后代的。2:125中提到了前一篇祈祷文, 而后一篇在注释条目下的本节经文中被提到。在他的关于伊司哈格后代的祈祷文中, 伊布拉欣要求在他们中间提拔宗教领袖或复兴者, 但他没有提到他们的特殊的工作或身份--------他们是安拉派遣的普通复兴者, 将为古以色列人改过自新而相互继承。可是, 在这节经文中他在祈祷文中祈求安拉在他的后代中间提升一位负有特殊使命的伟大先知。这一差别真是伊布拉欣宗族两系支脉极为真实的写照。在本章125-130节经文提到伊布拉欣的这两篇祈祷文时, 曾暗示伊布拉欣不仅确为伊司哈卡的子孙的繁荣祈祷, 而且也为他的长子伊司马仪的子孙祈祷。伊司哈卡的后裔由于自己的罪恶行为而失去了先知品位。因此本节经文中那个主许的和为他降临而祈祷的先知一定属于伊布拉欣的另一些后裔, 即伊司玛仪的子孙。为了指出那被期望和主许的先知该是伊司马仪的后代, «古兰经» 非常适宜地提到了伊布拉欣和伊司马仪天房的建筑并提到了伊布拉欣为他长子的后代所作的祈祷。对于这一自然的结论, 基督教评论家们一般提出两种异议: (1) «圣经» 没有提到安拉曾向伊布拉欣作过有关伊司马仪的许诺, (2) 承认安拉确曾作过这样的诺言, 而不能证明这个事实, 即伊斯兰教的先知是伊司马仪的后裔。
至于第一种异议, 即使从 «圣经» 中看不到有关伊司马仪的预言, 不是说这样预言决不会有。而且, 如果可以用 «圣经» 的根据来证实对伊司哈卡及其后代的许诺确有其事, 为什么不能承认 «古兰经» 的根据, 在这一方面说来, 又为什么不能承认伊司玛仪的子女的根据, 可以证明安拉是向伊司马仪并且还向他的几个儿子作了许诺呢。可是 «圣经» 本身确提到了伊司马仪后代的未来的昌盛, 与提到伊司哈卡的儿子们的情况一样 («创世记» 16:10-12; 17:6-10; 17:18-20)。事实上, 对伊司马仪所作的许诺在实质上与对伊司哈卡所作的许诺并无不同--------他们两者都得到了祝福, 都会有成果, 两者的子孙都会特别兴旺, 两者都会成为伟大的民族, 两者的后代都受主许得到王国及领土。因此既然对两兄弟所作的许诺在性质上无实质差别, 给伊司哈卡的子女的那种奖赏, 伊司马仪的子女也必须能得到。这个事实已得到十分著名的基督教徒的肯定。(The Scofield Reference Bible, P.25)。
即使这个许约可被理解为包括伊司马仪的后代, 也还得证明穆圣是属于伊司马仪的宗族。在回答这第二个异议时, 可简单地注意一下几点: (1) 穆圣所属的古来西宗族始终相信并断言他们自己是伊司马仪的后裔, 这个声明得到全阿拉伯半岛人民的承认。 (2) 如果说古来西宗族和阿拉伯半岛的其他伊司马仪后代宗族是伊司马仪后裔是错误的, 那么, 伊司马仪的真正的后裔就要对这种声称提出抗议; 但没有听说曾有这样的异议。 (3) 在 («创世记»17:20) 中提到安拉已许诺祝福伊司马仪, 使他后代兴旺, 使他成为一个伟大民族和十二个王子的父亲。假如阿拉伯半岛的人民不是他的后裔, 受约的民族又在哪里?阿拉伯半岛的伊司马仪后代的各宗族确实是这块土地上的唯一有权声称者。 (4) 按照 («创世记» 21:8-14) 夏甲 (亚伯拉罕之妻) 为了满足萨拉 (亚伯拉罕之妻, 伊司哈卡之母) 的虚荣, 不得不离开她的家庭。如果不把她带到海佳兹 (حِجَازْ, Hijaz), 她的子孙是在哪里呢?她的流放又是在什么地方? (5) 阿拉伯地理学家一致同意巴兰 (فَارَان, Paran) 是给海佳兹的小山群所取的名称 (مُعْجَمُ الْبُلْدَان, Mu‘jamul-Buldan)。 (6) 按照 «圣经», 伊司马仪后裔 “居住的地方是从哈腓拉 (Havilah) 到书珥 (Shur)” («创世记»25:18), 而从 “哈腓拉到书珥” 这一短语是指阿拉伯半岛上反方向的两端 (J.Eadie, 季、伊迪编 Bib.Cyc.伦敦, 1862年)。(7) «圣经» 称伊司马仪为 “野人” («创世记»16:12), اَعْرَابِی (A‘rabi) 这词, 即 “沙漠的居住者” 表示差不多相同的意义。 (8) 甚至保罗也承认夏甲与阿拉伯半岛的关系 («加拉太书» 4:25)。 (9) 凯达尔 (Kedar) 是伊司马仪的一个儿子, 大家承认他的后裔定居在阿拉伯半岛的南部 (Bib. Cyc.伦敦, 1862年)。 (10) 托里 (C.C.Torrey) 教授说: “根据希伯来传说, 阿拉伯人是伊司马仪的后代。随后在 «创世记» 25:13ff 中被指名的 “十二个王子” («创世记» 17: 20) 代表阿拉伯人的各宗教或区域; 要特别注意凯达尔 (قِيْدَار, Kedar)、杜马 (دُوْمَة, Duma--------دُوْمَةُ الْجَنْدَلْ, Dumatul-Jandal)、提玛 (تَيْمَاء, Teima) 这个伟大的民族就是阿拉伯半岛人民” (Jewish Foundation of Islam, 83页)。“从体形特征、语言、所出现的当地习惯, ……以及从 «圣经» 的证实来看, 阿拉伯人基本上大多是伊司马仪的后代” (Cyclopedia of Biblical Literature, new York P. 685)。(11) “让我们始终谴责夏甲子孙们的邪恶倾向, 尤其是畜牲般的古莱西 (قُرَيْش, Kuraish) 人 (部落)” (Leaves from Three Ancient Qurans, edited by the Rev. Mingana, D.D., Intro.XIII)。
2
یہ رسول کریم صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم کے ظہور کے لئے دعا ہے۔
a
2:152; 3:165; 62:3.
136
Important Words:
آیات (Signs) is the plural of آیة which means, a sign, token, or mark by which a person or thing is known or recognized; it properly signifies any apparent thing inseparable from a thing not equally apparent, so that when one perceives the former, one knows that one also perceives the latter which one cannot perceive by itself; it also means a miracle, a wonder. The word is also used in the sense of a sentence; a part of speech; a verse (Lane & Aqrab).
کتاب (Book) means, anything written; a book; a prescribed law (Aqrab). See also 2:54.
حکمة (Wisdom) is derived from حکم (hakama). They say, حکمه i.e. he prevented or restrained him (from acting in an evil manner). حکم بالامر means, he judged and decreed in the matter. حکم (hakuma) means, he became wise (Aqrab). حکمةmeans, what prevents or restrains one from ignorant behaviour; knowledge or science; knowledge of the true nature of things; wisdom or wisdom underlying a commandment; an action according to the requirements thereof (Mufradat & Lane).
یزکیھم (purify them) is derived from زکی (zakka) which again is derived from زکا meaning, he or it grew and increased and developed; he or it became purified. زکی means, he purified; he caused to grow and increase. تزکیة means, the act of purifying and increasing (Aqrab).
العزیز (the Mighty) is derived from عز i.e. he was or became mighty, potent or powerful; or high, elevated or illustrious; or hard and resisting. عزیز means, mighty and powerful or high and elevated; or hard and resisting. It also sometimes means, distressing or grievous. العزیز used as the attributive name of God means, the Mighty Who overcomes everything; the Incomparable or Unparalleled (Lane). See also 2:207 and 5:55.
الحکیم (the Wise) is derived from the same root from which حکمة (for which see above) is derived. حکیم means, possessing knowledge or science or wisdom; wise; a sage; a philosopher; a physician; one who performs or executes affairs firmly, soundly, thoroughly, skilfully and well. الحکیم is one of the names of God meaning the All-Wise (Lane). Applied to the Quran the word would signify the book that is full of wisdom and is free from all defect and imperfection, having no incongruity or unsoundness; or the book which judiciously decides religious differences.
Commentary:
In this verse which is one of the most important, attention is drawn to the prayer of Abraham when he was leaving his wife Hagar and his son Ishmael to live in the arid valley of Mecca. The great prayer was to the effect that God might raise from among the Meccans a Prophet, who should (1) lay before the people Signs of God that may carry conviction to their minds; (2) teach them the Law of God; (3) initiate them into the philosophy of divine commandments, because until the wisdom underlying a commandment is brought home, one does not feel disposed to attend to it, but rather looks upon it as a burden, as was the case with the Christians who, unable to understand the underlying wisdom of the Mosaic Law, began to look upon it as a curse (Rom. 4:15; Gal. 3:13); and finally (4) purify the lives of men and open out to them the avenues of progress. See also 2:152.
This prayer of Abraham, offered from the very depth of his heart, was fulfilled in the person of the Holy Prophet. The wonderful way in which the Holy Prophet combined in his person the four characteristics mentioned in this prayer is a fact of history to which even his most hostile critics have testified. By universal consent the Prophet of Islam has been acclaimed as "the most successful Prophet".
The fact that Abraham did not here pray for many Prophets, but for one Prophet only shows that while offering this prayer, he had in view a very great Prophet, a Master-Prophet who was to transcend all. This prayer of Abraham has been applied by the Holy Prophet to himself. He is reported to have said انا دعوة ابراھیم i.e. "I am the prayer (personified) of Abraham" (Jarir & ‘Asakir).
As mentioned in the introductory remarks in the beginning of this chapter, the verse under comment serves as a summary of the entire chapter which is not only an enlargement of the subject matter of this verse but treats its various subjects in exactly the same order in which they have been mentioned in this verse, i.e. first come the Signs, then the Book, then the Wisdom of the Law, and last of all the means of national progress.
It may be of interest to note here that the Quran speaks of two separate prayers of Abraham—one about the progeny of Isaac and the other about that of Ishmael. The former prayer has been mentioned in 2:125 and the latter in the verse under comment. In his prayer about the progeny of Isaac, Abraham asks that Imams or Reformers may be raised from among them, but he makes no mention of their special work or status—they are ordinary Reformers who will follow one another for the reformation of the Israelites. On the other hand, when Abraham prays about the progeny of Ishmael, he begs his Lord to raise among them a special Prophet with a specific and lofty mission. Again, when God answers the first-mentioned prayer of Abraham, He does not make any mention of the Reformers to be raised but leaves their appearance to be inferred only by implication; but He does make a pointed reference to the fact that in spite of these Reformers, the Israelites will end as transgressors. On the contrary, God makes no such mention about the progeny of Ishmael, thereby hinting that after the Promised Prophet has been raised, their glorious days will continue till the end of the world. This is indeed a marvellously true portrait of the two branches of the House of Abraham.
In making mention of the prayers of Abraham in verses 127 to 130 the Quran makes an allusion to the fact that Abraham did not only pray for the prosperity of the children of Isaac but also for the posterity of Ishmael, his firstborn. When the offspring of Isaac lost the gift of prophethood on account of their evil deeds, the next descendants of Abraham were the children of Ishmael and thus the Promised Prophet must belong to the House of the latter. In order to point out that the expected Prophet was to be an Ishmaelite, the Quran makes mention of the construction of the Ka‘bah by Abraham and Ishmael and of the prayers offered by Abraham for the posterity of his eldest son.
To this natural conclusion Christian critics generally bring forward two objections (1) that the Bible makes no mention of any promise having been made by God to Abraham concerning Ishmael, and (2) that, admitting that God did make such a promise, there is no proof of the fact that the Prophet of Islam was descended from Ishmael.
As regards the first objection, it should be borne in mind that even if the Bible be shown to contain no prophecy about Ishmael, the absence of such a mention in it cannot be considered as conclusive testimony that such a prophecy was not actually made. It is no secret that Sarah, the mother of Isaac, hated Ishmael and his mother, Hagar. This hatred of their mother for the House of Ishmael was inherited by her sons, the Israelites (Gen. 16:12). In these circumstances it would be idle to search for any express prophecy in favour of Ishmael and his progeny in the Bible; particularly when it was for a long time subjected to all sorts of interference on the part of the Israelites. Moreover, if the Biblical evidence can be taken to establish the existence of a promise about Isaac and his sons, why should not the evidence of the Quran and, for that matter, of the children of Ishmael, be accepted to establish the fact that promises were held out by God to Ishmael and his sons also. But the undeniable fact is that the Bible does contain references to the future prosperity of the sons of Ishmael similar to those it contains about the sons of Isaac. The following are some of these references:
(1) "And God said unto Abraham, thou shalt keep my covenant, therefore, thou, and thy seed after thee in their generations. This is my covenant, which ye shall keep between me and you and thy seed after thee; every man child among you shall be circumcised" (Gen. 17:9, 10). This covenant was made with Abraham before the birth of Isaac and after Ishmael had been born, which shows that it applied to Ishmael and his children.
(2) "And the angel of the Lord said unto her (Ishmael’s mother), I will multiply thy seed exceedingly, that it shall not be numbered for multitude. And the angel of the Lord said unto her, Behold, thou art with child and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael; because the Lord hath heard thy affliction. And he will be a wild man (it appears that here some expression like "Arab" or the dweller of a desert country, has been translated as "wild"); his hand will be against every man, and every man’s hand against him; and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren"; i.e., although all will constantly oppose him and be jealous of him, yet he will succeed (Gen. 16:10-12).
(3) Further evidence of Ishmael and his posterity being included in the covenant which God established between Himself and Abraham and his seed after him is furnished by Gen. 17:6-8 which says, "And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee. And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee and to thy seed after thee. And I will give unto thee and to thy seed after thee the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God." Now, has not the land of Canaan remained in the possession of the Ishmaelites for over 1,300 years? If the Arab Muslims are not the seed of Abraham, why has Canaan continued in their possession for so long?
(4) Again in Gen. 17:18-20, we read:
"And Abraham said unto God, O that Ishmael might live before thee! and God said,…And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee. Behold I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation." It will thus be seen that the promises made for Ishmael are similar to those made for Isaac; nay, they are even greater in number, for, with regard to Ishmael, God says, (a) "I have blessed him"; (b) "I will make him fruitful"; (c) "I will multiply him exceedingly"; (d) "twelve princes shall he beget"; and (e) "I will make him a great nation".
(5) Further evidence of the fact that Ishmael was included in God’s covenant is furnished by the fact that circumcision which was instituted by God as a token of His covenant with Abraham and his seed after him, has continued among the descendants of Ishmael. Though Islam also enjoined it, yet it was already in vogue among the Arabs, which shows that they were the seed of Abraham and were consequently included in the covenant of which circumcision was instituted as a symbol.
In order to exclude Ishmael from God’s covenant, Christian writers sometimes bring forward the plea that the offspring of a handmaid cannot be included in Abraham’s seed. But this is entirely baseless; for, even conceding, for the sake of argument, that Ishmael’s mother was a handmaid, it has been clearly said with reference to Ishmael: "And also of the son of the bondwoman will I make a nation because he is thy seed" (Gen. 41:13).
The above-quoted verses of the Bible show (1) that Ishmael was born according to the promise of God given to Abraham before Ishmael’s birth; (2) that God blessed Ishmael and his mother, Hagar; (3) that He promised to make Ishmael and his mother fruitful and to multiply them exceedingly; (4) that God was with Ishmael; and (5) that the covenant of God with Abraham about the circumcision of every male child among his progeny applied to Ishmael and his children.
As a matter of fact, the promise made to Ishmael does not differ very much from that made to Isaac; they are both to be blessed, both to be made fruitful, the descendants of both to multiply exceedingly and both are to be made great nations, and kingdom and dominion is promised to the progeny of both. So when the nature of the promise made to both the brothers does not substantially differ, the kind of reward granted to the children of Isaac will have also to be admitted for the children of Ishmael. It would be wrong to think that as in Gen. 17:21 it is written that God will establish His covenant with Isaac, so Prophets were meant to be raised from among his children only, for a similar covenant was made with Abraham even before the birth of Isaac, and this clearly applied to Ishmael. This covenant is contained in Gen. 17:10, 11 according to which Ishmael was circumcised at the age of 13 and thenceforward circumcision became a religious rite with the posterity of Ishmael. It is therefore beyond any shadow of doubt that the covenant referred to above was intended for the children of Ishmael quite as much as for the children of Isaac. This fact has even been admitted by some eminent Christian writers of established authority (The Scofield Reference Bible, p. 25).
So far about verbal promises. Now let us see how God practically treated Ishmael. We read in Gen. 21:14-20, "And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and took bread, and a bottle of water, and gave it unto Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, and the child, and sent her away: and she departed, and wandered in the wilderness of Beer-Sheba. And the water was spent in the bottle, and she cast the child under one of the shrubs. And she went, and sat her down over against him a good way off, as it were a bowshot: for she said, Let me not see the death of the child. And she sat over against him, and lifted up her voice, and wept. And God heard the voice of the lad; and the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, and said unto her, What aileth thee, Hagar? Fear not; for God has heard the voice of the lad where he is. Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him in thine hand; for I will make him a great nation. And God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water; and she went, and filled the bottle with water, and gave the lad drink. And God was with the lad; and he grew, and dwelt in the wilderness, and became an archer."
This shows that God rendered miraculous help to Ishmael and brought into existence a well of water for his sake. It is now for the Christians to show what extraordinary thing God wrought for Isaac that may be compared with this. In the above passage it is also said that "God was with the lad", which means that Ishmael grew up under the special protection of the Lord.
Further evidence of the fact that Ishmael was looked upon as the seed of Abraham, on a par with Isaac, is furnished by the following circumstances:
In Gen. 25:6, we read that when Abraham grew old and was nearing his end, he sent away the sons of the concubines. And then the Bible goes on to say: "And these are the days of the years of Abraham’s life which he lived, an hundred three score and fifteen years, and Abraham gave up the ghost, and died in a good old age, an old man full of years; and was gathered to his people. And his sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah." (Gen. 25:7-9). Now, if Ishmael was also treated as the offspring of a concubine, he ought to have been treated as the other children, who were the issue of concubines, were treated. But such was not the case; for when Abraham died, the children of the concubines were away and only Ishmael and Isaac were present, and both of them participated in the burial ceremony of their father. This shows that Ishmael was not treated as the offspring of a concubine, but was looked upon as the equal of Isaac and was treated accordingly.
In reply to the second objection that even if the covenant be understood to include the sons of Ishmael, it is yet to be proved that the Holy Prophet belonged to the House of Ishmael, the following points may briefly be noted:
(1) The best way to know the origin of a race is to refer to the traditions and the testimony of the race itself; and, as we all know, the Quraish, the tribe to which the Holy Prophet belonged, always believed and declared themselves to be the descendants of Ishmael and this claim was recognized by all the people of Arabia.
(2) If the claim of the Quraish and, for that matter, that of other Ishmaelite tribes of Arabia, to Ishmaelite descent had been false, the real descendants of Ishmael would have protested against such a false claim; but no such objection is known to have been ever raised.
(3) In Gen. 17:20 God had promised to bless Ishmael, to multiply his progeny, to make him a great nation and the father of twelve princes. If the people of Arabia are not his descendants, where is the promised nation? The Ishmaelite tribes of Arabia are indeed the only claimants in the field,
(4) According to Gen. 21:8-14 Hagar had to leave her home in order to satisfy the vanity of Sarah. If she was not taken to Hedjaz, where are her descendants found, and which is the place of her banishment?
(5) After her banishment Hagar dwelt in the wilderness of Paran (Gen. 21:21). Christian writers have tried to prove that Paran is Feiran near Jebel Serbal in the Sinai Peninsula. But the great English commentator of the Old Testament, who devoted his whole life to the study of the Bible, Dr. S. R. Driver, has had to confess after all that "the site of Paran, from which the wilderness derives its name, is, however, unknown" (Deut. p.4). On the contrary, the Arab geographers are all agreed that Paran is the name given to the hills of Hedjaz (Mu‘jamul-Buldan).
(6) We are told that the generations of Ishmael "dwelt from Havilah unto Shur" (Gen. 25:18) and the phrase "from Havilah unto Shur" designates the opposite extremes of Arabia (Bib. Cyc. by J. Eadie, London, 1862).
(7) The Bible calls Ishmael "a wild man" (Gen. 16:12) and the word اعرابی (A‘rabi) "a dweller of the desert" conveys almost the same sense.
(8) Even Paul has admitted Hagar’s connection with Arabia (Gal. 4:25).
(9) Kedar was a son of Ishmael and it is admitted that his descendants settled in the southern part of Arabia (Bib. Cyc. London, 1862).
(10) Prof. C. C. Torrey says: "The Arabs were Ishmaelites according to the Hebrew tradition…The 'twelve princes' (Gen. 17:20) subsequently named in Gen. 25:13ff, represent Arabian tribes or districts; notice especially Kedar, Duma (Dumatul-Jandal), Teima. The great nation is the people of Arabia." (Jewish Foundation of Islam, p.83).
(11) Similarly, the learned authors of the Cyclopedia of Biblical Literature, New York, (1877, p. 685) admit that "the Arabs, from physical characteristics, language, the occurrence of native traditions…and the testimony of the Bible are mainly and essentially Ishmaelites."
(12) Lastly there is the opinion of Narsai, a Syrian writer who lived about a hundred years before the birth of the Holy Prophet. Mingana quotes Narsai as saying: "The raid of the sons of Hagar was more cruel even than famine, and the blow that they gave was more sore than disease; the wound of the sons of Abraham is like the venom of a serpent and perhaps there is a remedy for the poison of reptiles but not for theirs—let us always blame the foul inclination of the sons of Hagar, and specially the people (the tribe) of Kuraish who are like animals." (Leaves from Three Ancient Qurans, edited by the Rev. A. Mingana, D.D. Intro. xiii).
In the face of these conclusive proofs both the objections, that (1) Ishmael was not included in the covenant which God made with Abraham, and that (2) Ishmael did not settle in Arabia or that the Holy Prophet of Islam was not a descen-dant of Ishmael, fall to the ground.
Before passing on to the next verse a brief reference to Hagar, mother of Ishmael, will not be out of place here. C. J. Ellicott, Lord Bishop of Gloucester, says in his Commentary: "Hagar…was to be, not Abraham’s concubine, but his wife" (Vol. 1, p. 69). The Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan ben Uzziel tell us that "Sarah…took Hagar…and set her free, and gave her to Abraham, her husband, to wife" (Translation by J. W. Etheridge, London, 1862, p. 205). This setting free of the "handmaid" or "bondwoman" does not imply that Hagar was a barbarian slave or that she was a slave from her very childhood. Sir Leonard Wooley says that she was a "civilised creature sprung from the second great centre of culture in the ancient world" (Abraham, London, 1936, p. 144).
"According to Midrash", says another authority, "Hagar had been given as a slave to Abraham by her father, the Pharaoh of Egypt, who said, "My daughter had better be a slave in the house of Abraham, than mistress in any other" (Translation of the Targums by J. W. Etheridge, note 8, on page 204).
b
2:152; 3:165; 62:3.
147
The verse serves as a summary of the subject-matter of the entire Surah which constitutes not only its enlargement but treats the various subjects in exactly the same order in which they have been mentioned in this verse, i.e. first come the Signs, then the Book, then the Wisdom of the Law, and last of all the Means of national progress (See Introduction to the Surah).
It may be of interest to note here that the Qur’an speaks of two separate prayers of Abraham—one about the progeny of Isaac and the other about that of Ishmael. The former prayer is mentioned in 2:125 and the latter in the verse under comment. In his prayer about the progeny of Isaac, Abraham asks that Imams or Reformers may be raised from among them, but he makes no mention of their special work or status—they are ordinary Divine Reformers who will follow one another for the reformation of the Israelites. In his prayer in the present verse, however, he prays to God to raise among his progeny a great Prophet
کَمَاۤ اَرۡسَلۡنَا فِیۡکُمۡ رَسُوۡلًا مِّنۡکُمۡ یَتۡلُوۡا عَلَیۡکُمۡ اٰیٰتِنَا وَیُزَکِّیۡکُمۡ وَیُعَلِّمُکُمُ الۡکِتٰبَ وَالۡحِکۡمَۃَ وَیُعَلِّمُکُمۡ مَّا لَمۡ تَکُوۡنُوۡا تَعۡلَمُوۡنَ
See 2:130.
With a slight change in the arrangement of the words this verse refers to the work of the Holy Prophet in exactly the same words in which Abraham prayed to God about the appearance of a Prophet among the Meccans (2:130), which clearly shows that Abraham’s prayer had found fulfilment in the person of the Holy Prophet.
2:204; 8:46; 62:11.
Commentary:
The word کما meaning "even as" has been used to connect this verse with the preceding one by pointing out that God will bestow upon the believers the favours mentioned in the preceding verse even as, or just as, He has favoured them with a Prophet.
With a slight change in the arrangement of the words this verse refers to the work of the Holy Prophet in exactly the same words in which Abraham prayed to God about the appearance of a Prophet among the Meccans (2:130), which clearly shows that Abraham’s prayer had found fulfilment in the person of the Holy Prophet. The change in arrangement is that, while recounting the favours of God, this verse, unlike verse 2:130, mentions the work of purification before that of the teaching of the Book and Wisdom, because though in theory the teaching of the Book may come first, in actual practice purification is more important than the teaching of the Book and Wisdom; for whereas the former is the end, the latter is simply the means to that end.
Another difference between this verse and 2:130 is that whereas the latter ends with the words, Thou art the Mighty, the Wise, the former concludes with the words, And (he) teaches you that which you did not know. The reason for this change is not far to seek. Abraham had used the words, Surely, Thou art the Mighty, the Wise, in his prayer, meaning that God being Mighty, it was not difficult for Him to accept his prayer; and as He was also Wise, He knew best what the requirements of his posterity would be. But when God spoke of the actual fulfilment of this prayer, it was quite unnecessary to repeat these words. So in place of the above-quoted words, the words, (he) teaches you that which you did not know, have been added to signify: firstly, that, while accepting the prayer God had granted even more than Abraham had prayed for; and secondly, that the teachings of the Holy Prophet were far in advance of the teachings of the former Prophets and were such as the world really needed but had not so far known.
a
2:130.
101
这节经文陈述将来穆圣的工作所用的字句和伊布拉欣 (亚伯拉罕) 向安拉祈求在麦加人中间出现一位先知的字句完全相同 (2:130)。只有字句先后次序略有变化, 这清楚地表明伊布拉欣的祈祷已在穆圣身上应验。
a
2:204; 8:46; 62:11.
158
Commentary:
The word کما meaning "even as" has been used to connect this verse with the preceding one by pointing out that God will bestow upon the believers the favours mentioned in the preceding verse even as, or just as, He has favoured them with a Prophet.
With a slight change in the arrangement of the words this verse refers to the work of the Holy Prophet in exactly the same words in which Abraham prayed to God about the appearance of a Prophet among the Meccans (2:130), which clearly shows that Abraham’s prayer had found fulfilment in the person of the Holy Prophet. The change in arrangement is that, while recounting the favours of God, this verse, unlike verse 2:130, mentions the work of purification before that of the teaching of the Book and Wisdom, because though in theory the teaching of the Book may come first, in actual practice purification is more important than the teaching of the Book and Wisdom; for whereas the former is the end, the latter is simply the means to that end.
Another difference between this verse and 2:130 is that whereas the latter ends with the words, Thou art the Mighty, the Wise, the former concludes with the words, And (he) teaches you that which you did not know. The reason for this change is not far to seek. Abraham had used the words, Surely, Thou art the Mighty, the Wise, in his prayer, meaning that God being Mighty, it was not difficult for Him to accept his prayer; and as He was also Wise, He knew best what the requirements of his posterity would be. But when God spoke of the actual fulfilment of this prayer, it was quite unnecessary to repeat these words. So in place of the above-quoted words, the words, (he) teaches you that which you did not know, have been added to signify: firstly, that, while accepting the prayer God had granted even more than Abraham had prayed for; and secondly, that the teachings of the Holy Prophet were far in advance of the teachings of the former Prophets and were such as the world really needed but had not so far known.
a
See 2:130.
177
With a slight change in the arrangement of the words this verse refers to the work of the Holy Prophet in exactly the same words in which Abraham prayed to God about the appearance of a Prophet among the Meccans (2:130), which clearly shows that Abraham’s prayer had found fulfilment in the person of the Holy Prophet.
لَقَدۡ مَنَّ اللّٰہُ عَلَی الۡمُؤۡمِنِیۡنَ اِذۡ بَعَثَ فِیۡہِمۡ رَسُوۡلًا مِّنۡ اَنۡفُسِہِمۡ یَتۡلُوۡا عَلَیۡہِمۡ اٰیٰتِہٖ وَیُزَکِّیۡہِمۡ وَیُعَلِّمُہُمُ الۡکِتٰبَ وَالۡحِکۡمَۃَ وَاِنۡ کَانُوۡا مِنۡ قَبۡلُ لَفِیۡ ضَلٰلٍ مُّبِیۡنٍ
2:130, 152; 9:128; 63:3; 65:12.
The words are intended to awaken in the hearts of Muslims a desire to follow the example of the Holy Prophet, who was like them and was one of them.
2:130, 152; 9:128; 62:3; 65:12.
Commentary:
The expression, by raising among them a Messenger from among themselves, is intended to awaken in the hearts of Muslims a desire to follow the example of the Holy Prophet, who was like them and one of them. The Prophet was not only a man like them but was actually one of them. If he could rise to such spiritual heights, why could not they?
All Messengers of God are raised from among human beings and they possess the same faculties and are actuated by the same desires and aspirations as other human beings, and, therefore, they can serve as true models for their fellow beings. But a so-called "Son of God" does not possess the same desires and the same faculties as we have, and cannot, therefore, be a model for us. Our model should be from our own kind. He who is not of our kind, being a divine being, free from human passions and human weaknesses, cannot be held out to us as a model for imitation.
The verse also points to the fulfilment of the prayer of Abraham contained in 2:130, in which the different functions of the Promised Prophet have been mentioned just as they are mentioned here.
a
2:130, 152; 9:128; 63:3; 65:12.
289
这句话的意思是唤醒穆斯林心中以穆圣为模范的愿望, 而穆圣和他们一样, 也是他们中的一员。
a
2:130, 152; 9:128; 62:3; 65:12.
447
Commentary:
The expression, by raising among them a Messenger from among themselves, is intended to awaken in the hearts of Muslims a desire to follow the example of the Holy Prophet, who was like them and one of them. The Prophet was not only a man like them but was actually one of them. If he could rise to such spiritual heights, why could not they?
All Messengers of God are raised from among human beings and they possess the same faculties and are actuated by the same desires and aspirations as other human beings, and, therefore, they can serve as true models for their fellow beings. But a so-called "Son of God" does not possess the same desires and the same faculties as we have, and cannot, therefore, be a model for us. Our model should be from our own kind. He who is not of our kind, being a divine being, free from human passions and human weaknesses, cannot be held out to us as a model for imitation.
The verse also points to the fulfilment of the prayer of Abraham contained in 2:130, in which the different functions of the Promised Prophet have been mentioned just as they are mentioned here.
a
2:130, 152; 9:128; 63:3; 65:12.
520
The words are intended to awaken in the hearts of Muslims a desire to follow the example of the Holy Prophet, who was like them and was one of them.
اَفَمَنۡ کَانَ عَلٰی بَیِّنَۃٍ مِّنۡ رَّبِّہٖ وَیَتۡلُوۡہُ شَاہِدٌ مِّنۡہُ وَمِنۡ قَبۡلِہٖ کِتٰبُ مُوۡسٰۤی اِمَامًا وَّرَحۡمَۃً ۚ اُولٰٓئِکَ یُؤۡمِنُوۡنَ بِہٖ ۚ وَمَنۡ یَّکۡفُرۡ بِہٖ مِنَ الۡاَحۡزَابِ فَالنَّارُ مَوۡعِدُہٗ ۚ فَلَا تَکُ فِیۡ مِرۡیَۃٍ مِّنۡہُ ۚ اِنَّہُ الۡحَقُّ مِنۡ رَّبِّکَ وَلٰکِنَّ اَکۡثَرَ النَّاسِ لَا یُؤۡمِنُوۡنَ
2:148; 10:95.
47:15.
46:11; 61:7.
这些话中有三个论据证明穆圣: (a) ‘一个立足於养主明证的人,’ (b) ‘在他之后有一个证人将来自安拉来证明他的真理,’ (c) ‘在他之前还有穆撒的经典。’ ‘养主明证’ 是穆圣给他的腐败没落的民族生活中所带来的伟大精神革命, 而证明他的真理的证人是他的追随者中产生的宗教导师, 他们用自己的训导和实践在每个时代证实了伊斯兰教和 «古兰经» 的真理, 杰出的证人是主许的迈喜合, 阿哈默底亚运动的创始人; ‘在他之前还有穆撒的经典’ 这句话, 指的是圣经中可以见到的有关穆圣的许多预言。读注释932。
یعنی محمد رسول اللہ صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم۔
یعنی خدا تعالیٰ کی طرف سے۔
یعنی اس کی امت میں سے بھی ایک مامور پیدا ہوگا جو اپنے الہامات کے ذریعہ سے اس کی تصدیق کرے گا۔ گویا محمد رسول اللہ صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم کو تین گواہ حاصل ہیں۔ ایک تو خود دلائل رکھتا ہے۔ دوسرے اس کی امت میں سے اولیاء اللہ پیدا ہوتے رہیں گے۔ جو اس کی سچائی کی گواہی دیں گے۔ تیسرے اس سے پہلے بھی حضرت موسیٰ علیہ السلام کی کتاب اس کی سچائی پر گواہی دے رہی ہے۔ اتنی گواہیاں کسی اور نبی کو میّسر نہیں۔
47:15.
46:11; 61:7.
2:148; 10:95.
Three arguments have been given in this verse in support of the Holy Prophet in the words: (a) 'Who stands upon a clear proof from his Lord,' (b) to testify to whose truth a witness from Him shall follow him,' and (c) 'who was preceded by the Book of Moses.' 'The clear proof from his Lord' was the great moral revolution which the Holy Prophet had brought about in the life of his corrupt and decadent people, and the witnesses who bore testimony to his truth were the Divine Teachers from among his followers who, by their precept and practice, established the truth of Islam and the Qur’an in every age, the witness par excellence being the Promised Messiah, Founder of the Ahmadiyya Movement; and the words 'was preceded by the Book of Moses' point to the prophecies that are found in the Bible about the Holy Prophet. See {2135}.
47:15.
46:11; 61:7.
2:148; 10:95.
Commentary:
This verse embodies three important criteria by which the truth of the Quran and that of the Holy Prophet can be tested, and declares that he who satisfies these three criteria cannot be an impostor.
There are three classes of men whom a Divine Message can possibly concern:(1) the contemporaries of a Messenger of God, to whom the Message is directly addressed; (2) the generations yet unborn who are to receive the Message in the future; (3) the past generations to whom their Prophet gave the news that a Messenger was to come. If these three classes of witnesses bear testimony to the truth of a claimant to prophethood, there can remain no doubt about his truth. The faith of the last-mentioned class of people, i.e. those who expect the advent of a Messenger of God, has its basis in past prophecies about his advent, while the first-mentioned class, i.e. the contemporaries of a claimant, judge his claim (a) by the touchstone whether he possesses in his own person any proof which testifies to his truth, or (b) by the prophecies of earlier Scriptures about the advent of a Divine Messenger. Lastly, there is the second class of people, i.e. those yet unborn who in their time look upon the signs witnessed by the contemporaries of a claimant as mere stories, and confine their scrutiny to the change brought about by the claimant—the fruit of his reformatory efforts. In fact, succeeding generations attach more importance to the fruits of the labours of a Divine Messenger and to the results of his mission than to anything else. If his Message continues to bear fruit down to their time, they come to realize that it is a truly useful thing and concerns them as much as it did past generations.
In point of importance, pride of place belongs to internal evidence, that is, the evidence which a claimant possesses in his own person, because such evidence serves as a clear proof not only for the contemporaries of the claimant but also for the generations to come and because it relieves seekers after truth of the trouble of turning to other things for guidance, it being in itself a sufficient proof of the truth of the claimant. This kind of proof is referred to in the words, Can he who possesses a clear proof from his Lord be an impostor?
The second evidence, which is also second in importance, of the truth of a Divine claimant pertains to the results produced by his Message and the fruits of his labours; for in the absence of this evidence, the practical value of a Message claimed to be Divine becomes doubtful in the eyes of later generations. In fact, the intrinsic truth of a Message does not constitute a sufficient incentive for acting upon it. It has to be shown that it is also meant for the recipient and for the age in which he lives and that it has not been superseded by a later Message. The fact that a Message continues to bear fruit suffices to establish the fact that it is as practicable and as useful at present as it was in the past. This kind of evidence is referred to in the words, and a witness from Him shall follow him.
Last in point of importance is the evidence which relates to prophecies holding hope of a future reformer and a future Message. The evidence of such prophecies is also useful, for it keeps the minds of men prepared for the acceptance of the Message, although naturally only those people benefit by it in whose time the expected Message actually makes its appearance. This kind of evidence is hinted at in the words, and who was preceded by the Book of Moses, a guide and a mercy.
All these three kinds of evidence have been adduced in this verse in support of the Holy Prophet and the Quranic Message. The Quran possesses strong internal evidence of its Divine origin; the Scriptures that preceded it bear clear witness to its truth; and it was also to bear fruit in the future in a way that nobody could have any reasonable ground to reject it. Similarly, the Holy Prophet who brought this Message also possesses this triple evidence which clearly proves him to be a true Messenger of God.
The words, a witness from Him (God) shall follow him (the Holy Prophet), also point to the appearance of a great Reformer in the Latter Days who was to come as "a witness" to bear testimony to the truth of the Holy Prophet. It is worth noting that the person who was to appear after the Holy Prophet to bear testimony to his truth has been called a شاھد (a witness) and it is evident that a witness is needed only when the continued practicability and usefulness of a Message is called in question. It is evident, therefore, that after the advent of the Holy Prophet a Messenger was needed only at a time when there should arise about the Quran the question whether it was still worthy of being acted upon. It is well known that such a question never arose about the Quran during the last 1350 years, and it is only in the present time that doubts have begun to be expressed about this claim of the Quran with persistence from all quarters. There is a section of Muslims themselves who hold the view that some teachings of the Quran, particularly with regard to the five daily Prayers, the amputation of the hands of a thief, polygamy, purdah, usury, etc., need alteration or amendment. Then there are the followers of claimants like Baha’ullah, who believe that the Law of Islam has become abrogated and they seek to introduce a new Law in its place. Last of all, the so-called higher critics of the west question the authenticity of some historical facts mentioned in the Quran as well as the practicability of some of its teachings. Such a state of affairs never existed before the present age and therefore, truly speaking, no "witness" was needed before now.
The words منه (from Him) in the expression, a witness from Him, clearly show that the promised witness was to be a heavenly Messenger. This heavenly Messenger is Ahmad, the Promised Messiah, Founder of the Ahmadiyya Movement,who appeared at a time when the teachings of Islam had begun openly to be declared unpractical and impracticable and the object of whose advent was to bear witness to the truth of Islam by means of clear proofs and fresh heavenly signs.
It should also be remembered that the words, a witness from Him shall follow him, promised the appearance of a person who was to invite men to accept and follow the Quran and not of one who was to abrogate its teachings. Thus, incidentally, the verse furnishes an irrefutable argument against the claims of Baha’ullah.
The third evidence in support of the truth of the Quran and of the Holy Prophet lies in the fact that their advent was predicted by previous Prophets. The Book of Moses forms the most conspicuous example of it. It contains clear prophecies about the Holy Prophet and the Quran. Among others, the reader is referred to Deut. 18:18.
The Book of Moses is here called "a guide" because it serves as a guide to the truth of Islam. It is "a mercy" in the sense that it has made it easy for men to accept the truth in four different ways: (1) by means of prophecies which point to the truth of the Holy Prophet; (2) by laying down criteria by means of which the truth of a Prophet can be tested; (3) by enabling men to compare the teachings of the two Books; and (4) by helping to explain the fundamentals of the Law.
The word احزاب (opposing parties) generally signifies the parties that oppose the Prophets. As the Holy Prophet was raised for the whole of mankind, the words would here signify the followers of all the religions of the world other than Islam.
The words, be not thou in doubt about it, are addressed to the reader and not to the Holy Prophet. These words are preceded by the words, those who consider these matters believe therein, to point out that as there has already come into existence a party of men who believe in the Quran and the Holy Prophet, it is highly unreasonable to think that, whereas the evidences mentioned above have succeeded in bringing into existence a party of firm believers, the Prophet himself to whom those evidences were revealed should remain in doubt about their Divine origin. These words, therefore, cannot be said to have been addressed to the Holy Prophet. They are undoubtedly addressed to each and every reader of the Quran.
a
2:148; 10:95.
d
47:15.
e
46:11; 61:7.
611
这些话中有三个论据证明穆圣: (a) ‘一个立足於养主明证的人,’ (b) ‘在他之后有一个证人将来自安拉来证明他的真理,’ (c) ‘在他之前还有穆撒的经典。’ ‘养主明证’ 是穆圣给他的腐败没落的民族生活中所带来的伟大精神革命, 而证明他的真理的证人是他的追随者中产生的宗教导师, 他们用自己的训导和实践在每个时代证实了伊斯兰教和 «古兰经» 的真理, 杰出的证人是主许的迈喜合, 阿哈默底亚运动的创始人; ‘在他之前还有穆撒的经典’ 这句话, 指的是圣经中可以见到的有关穆圣的许多预言。读注释932。
2
یعنی محمد رسول اللہ صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم۔
3
یعنی خدا تعالیٰ کی طرف سے۔
4
یعنی اس کی امت میں سے بھی ایک مامور پیدا ہوگا جو اپنے الہامات کے ذریعہ سے اس کی تصدیق کرے گا۔ گویا محمد رسول اللہ صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم کو تین گواہ حاصل ہیں۔ ایک تو خود دلائل رکھتا ہے۔ دوسرے اس کی امت میں سے اولیاء اللہ پیدا ہوتے رہیں گے۔ جو اس کی سچائی کی گواہی دیں گے۔ تیسرے اس سے پہلے بھی حضرت موسیٰ علیہ السلام کی کتاب اس کی سچائی پر گواہی دے رہی ہے۔ اتنی گواہیاں کسی اور نبی کو میّسر نہیں۔
a
47:15.
b
46:11; 61:7.
c
2:148; 10:95.
1399
Commentary:
This verse embodies three important criteria by which the truth of the Quran and that of the Holy Prophet can be tested, and declares that he who satisfies these three criteria cannot be an impostor.
There are three classes of men whom a Divine Message can possibly concern:(1) the contemporaries of a Messenger of God, to whom the Message is directly addressed; (2) the generations yet unborn who are to receive the Message in the future; (3) the past generations to whom their Prophet gave the news that a Messenger was to come. If these three classes of witnesses bear testimony to the truth of a claimant to prophethood, there can remain no doubt about his truth. The faith of the last-mentioned class of people, i.e. those who expect the advent of a Messenger of God, has its basis in past prophecies about his advent, while the first-mentioned class, i.e. the contemporaries of a claimant, judge his claim (a) by the touchstone whether he possesses in his own person any proof which testifies to his truth, or (b) by the prophecies of earlier Scriptures about the advent of a Divine Messenger. Lastly, there is the second class of people, i.e. those yet unborn who in their time look upon the signs witnessed by the contemporaries of a claimant as mere stories, and confine their scrutiny to the change brought about by the claimant—the fruit of his reformatory efforts. In fact, succeeding generations attach more importance to the fruits of the labours of a Divine Messenger and to the results of his mission than to anything else. If his Message continues to bear fruit down to their time, they come to realize that it is a truly useful thing and concerns them as much as it did past generations.
In point of importance, pride of place belongs to internal evidence, that is, the evidence which a claimant possesses in his own person, because such evidence serves as a clear proof not only for the contemporaries of the claimant but also for the generations to come and because it relieves seekers after truth of the trouble of turning to other things for guidance, it being in itself a sufficient proof of the truth of the claimant. This kind of proof is referred to in the words, Can he who possesses a clear proof from his Lord be an impostor?
The second evidence, which is also second in importance, of the truth of a Divine claimant pertains to the results produced by his Message and the fruits of his labours; for in the absence of this evidence, the practical value of a Message claimed to be Divine becomes doubtful in the eyes of later generations. In fact, the intrinsic truth of a Message does not constitute a sufficient incentive for acting upon it. It has to be shown that it is also meant for the recipient and for the age in which he lives and that it has not been superseded by a later Message. The fact that a Message continues to bear fruit suffices to establish the fact that it is as practicable and as useful at present as it was in the past. This kind of evidence is referred to in the words, and a witness from Him shall follow him.
Last in point of importance is the evidence which relates to prophecies holding hope of a future reformer and a future Message. The evidence of such prophecies is also useful, for it keeps the minds of men prepared for the acceptance of the Message, although naturally only those people benefit by it in whose time the expected Message actually makes its appearance. This kind of evidence is hinted at in the words, and who was preceded by the Book of Moses, a guide and a mercy.
All these three kinds of evidence have been adduced in this verse in support of the Holy Prophet and the Quranic Message. The Quran possesses strong internal evidence of its Divine origin; the Scriptures that preceded it bear clear witness to its truth; and it was also to bear fruit in the future in a way that nobody could have any reasonable ground to reject it. Similarly, the Holy Prophet who brought this Message also possesses this triple evidence which clearly proves him to be a true Messenger of God.
The words, a witness from Him (God) shall follow him (the Holy Prophet), also point to the appearance of a great Reformer in the Latter Days who was to come as "a witness" to bear testimony to the truth of the Holy Prophet. It is worth noting that the person who was to appear after the Holy Prophet to bear testimony to his truth has been called a شاھد (a witness) and it is evident that a witness is needed only when the continued practicability and usefulness of a Message is called in question. It is evident, therefore, that after the advent of the Holy Prophet a Messenger was needed only at a time when there should arise about the Quran the question whether it was still worthy of being acted upon. It is well known that such a question never arose about the Quran during the last 1350 years, and it is only in the present time that doubts have begun to be expressed about this claim of the Quran with persistence from all quarters. There is a section of Muslims themselves who hold the view that some teachings of the Quran, particularly with regard to the five daily Prayers, the amputation of the hands of a thief, polygamy, purdah, usury, etc., need alteration or amendment. Then there are the followers of claimants like Baha’ullah, who believe that the Law of Islam has become abrogated and they seek to introduce a new Law in its place. Last of all, the so-called higher critics of the west question the authenticity of some historical facts mentioned in the Quran as well as the practicability of some of its teachings. Such a state of affairs never existed before the present age and therefore, truly speaking, no "witness" was needed before now.
The words منه (from Him) in the expression, a witness from Him, clearly show that the promised witness was to be a heavenly Messenger. This heavenly Messenger is Ahmad, the Promised Messiah, Founder of the Ahmadiyya Movement,who appeared at a time when the teachings of Islam had begun openly to be declared unpractical and impracticable and the object of whose advent was to bear witness to the truth of Islam by means of clear proofs and fresh heavenly signs.
It should also be remembered that the words, a witness from Him shall follow him, promised the appearance of a person who was to invite men to accept and follow the Quran and not of one who was to abrogate its teachings. Thus, incidentally, the verse furnishes an irrefutable argument against the claims of Baha’ullah.
The third evidence in support of the truth of the Quran and of the Holy Prophet lies in the fact that their advent was predicted by previous Prophets. The Book of Moses forms the most conspicuous example of it. It contains clear prophecies about the Holy Prophet and the Quran. Among others, the reader is referred to Deut. 18:18.
The Book of Moses is here called "a guide" because it serves as a guide to the truth of Islam. It is "a mercy" in the sense that it has made it easy for men to accept the truth in four different ways: (1) by means of prophecies which point to the truth of the Holy Prophet; (2) by laying down criteria by means of which the truth of a Prophet can be tested; (3) by enabling men to compare the teachings of the two Books; and (4) by helping to explain the fundamentals of the Law.
The word احزاب (opposing parties) generally signifies the parties that oppose the Prophets. As the Holy Prophet was raised for the whole of mankind, the words would here signify the followers of all the religions of the world other than Islam.
The words, be not thou in doubt about it, are addressed to the reader and not to the Holy Prophet. These words are preceded by the words, those who consider these matters believe therein, to point out that as there has already come into existence a party of men who believe in the Quran and the Holy Prophet, it is highly unreasonable to think that, whereas the evidences mentioned above have succeeded in bringing into existence a party of firm believers, the Prophet himself to whom those evidences were revealed should remain in doubt about their Divine origin. These words, therefore, cannot be said to have been addressed to the Holy Prophet. They are undoubtedly addressed to each and every reader of the Quran.
c
47:15.
d
46:11; 61:7.
e
2:148; 10:95.
1304
Three arguments have been given in this verse in support of the Holy Prophet in the words: (a) 'Who stands upon a clear proof from his Lord,' (b) to testify to whose truth a witness from Him shall follow him,' and (c) 'who was preceded by the Book of Moses.' 'The clear proof from his Lord' was the great moral revolution which the Holy Prophet had brought about in the life of his corrupt and decadent people, and the witnesses who bore testimony to his truth were the Divine Teachers from among his followers who, by their precept and practice, established the truth of Islam and the Qur’an in every age, the witness par excellence being the Promised Messiah, Founder of the Ahmadiyya Movement; and the words 'was preceded by the Book of Moses' point to the prophecies that are found in the Bible about the Holy Prophet. See {2135}.
وَاِذَا تُتۡلٰی عَلَیۡہِمۡ اٰیٰتُنَا بَیِّنٰتٍ تَعۡرِفُ فِیۡ وُجُوۡہِ الَّذِیۡنَ کَفَرُوا الۡمُنۡکَرَ ۖ یَکَادُوۡنَ یَسۡطُوۡنَ بِالَّذِیۡنَ یَتۡلُوۡنَ عَلَیۡہِمۡ اٰیٰتِنَا ۗ قُلۡ اَفَاُنَبِّئُکُمۡ بِشَرٍّ مِّنۡ ذٰلِکُمُ ۗ اَلنَّارُ وَعَدَہَا اللّٰہُ الَّذِیۡنَ کَفَرُوۡا ۖ وَبِئۡسَ الۡمَصِیۡرُ
5:61.
17:47: 23:67, 68; 39:46.
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).
b
17:47: 23:67, 68; 39:46.
c
5:61.
c
17:47; 23:67-68; 39:46.
d
5:61.
2501
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).
a
5:61.
d
17:47: 23:67, 68; 39:46.
اِنَّ الَّذِیۡنَ یَتۡلُوۡنَ کِتٰبَ اللّٰہِ وَاَقَامُوا الصَّلٰوۃَ وَاَنۡفَقُوۡا مِمَّا رَزَقۡنٰہُمۡ سِرًّا وَّعَلَانِیَۃً یَّرۡجُوۡنَ تِجٰرَۃً لَّنۡ تَبُوۡرَ
14:32; 16:76.
یعنی وہ تجارت جو خداتعالیٰ سے کی جاتی ہے۔
14:32; 16:76.
This verse gives a description of ‘Ulama’ (those who are endowed with knowledge) mentioned in the preceding verse.
2:275; 14:32; 16:76.
Commentary:
The present verse gives a description of العلماء (those who possess knowledge) mentioned in the preceding verse.
b
14:32; 16:76.
1
یعنی وہ تجارت جو خداتعالیٰ سے کی جاتی ہے۔
a
2:275; 14:32; 16:76.
3199
Commentary:
The present verse gives a description of العلماء (those who possess knowledge) mentioned in the preceding verse.
a
14:32; 16:76.
2420
This verse gives a description of ‘Ulama’ (those who are endowed with knowledge) mentioned in the preceding verse.
وَسِیۡقَ الَّذِیۡنَ کَفَرُوۡۤا اِلٰی جَہَنَّمَ زُمَرًا ۖ حَتّٰۤی اِذَا جَآءُوۡہَا فُتِحَتۡ اَبۡوٰبُہَا وَقَالَ لَہُمۡ خَزَنَتُہَاۤ اَلَمۡ یَاۡتِکُمۡ رُسُلٌ مِّنۡکُمۡ یَتۡلُوۡنَ عَلَیۡکُمۡ اٰیٰتِ رَبِّکُمۡ وَیُنۡذِرُوۡنَکُمۡ لِقَآءَ یَوۡمِکُمۡ ہٰذَا ۚ قَالُوۡا بَلٰی وَلٰکِنۡ حَقَّتۡ کَلِمَۃُ الۡعَذَابِ عَلَی الۡکٰفِرِیۡنَ
19:87.
40:51 67:9, 10.
19:87.
6:131; 40:51; 67:9-10.
Commentary:
This and the next few verses deal with the end and destiny of both believers and disbelievers. The disbelievers end by burning in the fire of frustration, failure and regrets in this world, and in the fire of Hell in the next world.
c
19:87.
d
40:51 67:9, 10.
b
19:87.
c
6:131; 40:51; 67:9-10.
3488
Commentary:
This and the next few verses deal with the end and destiny of both believers and disbelievers. The disbelievers end by burning in the fire of frustration, failure and regrets in this world, and in the fire of Hell in the next world.
b
19:87.
c
40:51 67:9, 10.
ہُوَ الَّذِیۡ بَعَثَ فِی الۡاُمِّیّٖنَ رَسُوۡلًا مِّنۡہُمۡ یَتۡلُوۡا عَلَیۡہِمۡ اٰیٰتِہٖ وَیُزَکِّیۡہِمۡ وَیُعَلِّمُہُمُ الۡکِتٰبَ وَالۡحِکۡمَۃَ وَاِنۡ کَانُوۡا مِنۡ قَبۡلُ لَفِیۡ ضَلٰلٍ مُّبِیۡنٍ
3:165; 7:158; 9:128.
见 3:76 和 7:158。
穆圣的使命在于这节经文中所提到的四重圣职。这是托付给他的伟大而高尚的任务; 因为他出现在阿拉伯文盲中, 众圣之父伊布拉欣在几千年以前在和他的儿子伊司马仪一齐奠立天房根基时做了祈祷 (2:130)。事实上, 复兴者没法真正继承他的使命, 除非他以其高尚而纯洁的表率建立一个虔诚、笃信而正义的信徒所组成的社会, 首先教以他那启示中的理想和原则及其哲理、意义和重要性, 然后派遣他们去国外向别的宗族传播启示。他灌输给信徒们的教育, 磨砺了他们的智慧, 他的教导的哲理使他们产生了坚定的信仰, 他那高尚的表率使他们心灵纯洁。这节经文就是指这个基本的宗教事实。
3:165; 7:158; 9:128.
See 3:76 and 7:158.
The Divine mission of the Holy Prophet consisted in the performance of the fourfold sacred duty referred to in this verse. This was the great and noble task which was entrusted to him; because it was to his appearance among the unlettered Arabs that the Patriarch Abraham had prayed several thousand years ago, when in company with his son, Ishmael, he was raising the foundations of the Ka‘bah (2:130). In fact, no Reformer can truly succeed in his mission unless he prepares, by his noble and purifying example, a community of sincere, devoted and righteous followers, whom he first teaches the ideals and the principles of his Message and their philosophy, significance and importance, and then sends them abroad to preach that Message to other people. The training he imparts to his followers refines their intellect, and the philosophy of his teaching engenders in them certainty of faith, and his noble example creates in them purity of heart. It is to this basic fact of religion that the verse refers.
3:165; 7:158; 9:128.
Commentary:
For الأمیین see 3:76 & 7:158.
The divine mission of the Holy Prophet consisted in the performance of the fourfold sacred duty referred to in the verse under comment. This was the noble task which was to be entrusted to that great Prophet for whose appearance among the unlettered Arabs the Patriarch Abraham had prayed several thousand years in advance, when in company with his son, Ishmael, he was raising the foundations of the Ka‘bah (2:130).
In fact, no Reformer can truly succeed in his mission unless he prepares, by his noble and purifying example, a community of sincere, devoted and righteous followers, whom he teaches the ideals and principles of his Message and their philosophy, significance and importance, and then sends them out to preach that Message to other people. The training he imparts to them refines their intellect, and the philosophy of his teaching engenders in them certainty of faith, and his noble example creates in them purity of heart and refines character. It is to this basic fact of religion that the verse under comment refers.
c
3:165; 7:158; 9:128.
1425
见 3:76 和 7:158。
1426
穆圣的使命在于这节经文中所提到的四重圣职。这是托付给他的伟大而高尚的任务; 因为他出现在阿拉伯文盲中, 众圣之父伊布拉欣在几千年以前在和他的儿子伊司马仪一齐奠立天房根基时做了祈祷 (2:130)。事实上, 复兴者没法真正继承他的使命, 除非他以其高尚而纯洁的表率建立一个虔诚、笃信而正义的信徒所组成的社会, 首先教以他那启示中的理想和原则及其哲理、意义和重要性, 然后派遣他们去国外向别的宗族传播启示。他灌输给信徒们的教育, 磨砺了他们的智慧, 他的教导的哲理使他们产生了坚定的信仰, 他那高尚的表率使他们心灵纯洁。这节经文就是指这个基本的宗教事实。
c
3:165; 7:158; 9:128.
4235
Commentary:
For الأمیین see 3:76 & 7:158.
The divine mission of the Holy Prophet consisted in the performance of the fourfold sacred duty referred to in the verse under comment. This was the noble task which was to be entrusted to that great Prophet for whose appearance among the unlettered Arabs the Patriarch Abraham had prayed several thousand years in advance, when in company with his son, Ishmael, he was raising the foundations of the Ka‘bah (2:130).
In fact, no Reformer can truly succeed in his mission unless he prepares, by his noble and purifying example, a community of sincere, devoted and righteous followers, whom he teaches the ideals and principles of his Message and their philosophy, significance and importance, and then sends them out to preach that Message to other people. The training he imparts to them refines their intellect, and the philosophy of his teaching engenders in them certainty of faith, and his noble example creates in them purity of heart and refines character. It is to this basic fact of religion that the verse under comment refers.
c
3:165; 7:158; 9:128.
3044
See 3:76 and 7:158.
3045
The Divine mission of the Holy Prophet consisted in the performance of the fourfold sacred duty referred to in this verse. This was the great and noble task which was entrusted to him; because it was to his appearance among the unlettered Arabs that the Patriarch Abraham had prayed several thousand years ago, when in company with his son, Ishmael, he was raising the foundations of the Ka‘bah (2:130). In fact, no Reformer can truly succeed in his mission unless he prepares, by his noble and purifying example, a community of sincere, devoted and righteous followers, whom he first teaches the ideals and the principles of his Message and their philosophy, significance and importance, and then sends them abroad to preach that Message to other people. The training he imparts to his followers refines their intellect, and the philosophy of his teaching engenders in them certainty of faith, and his noble example creates in them purity of heart. It is to this basic fact of religion that the verse refers.