Topic: Remembrance Of

2:204; 8:46; 62:11.

Important Words:

فاذکرونی اذکرکم (so remember Me, I will remember you). The verb ذکرہ means, he remembered him; he bore it or him in mind; he spoke or talked of him. ذکر الله means, he remembered God; he glorified God and extolled His greatness; he prayed to Him or offered prayers to Him. ذکرہ الله means, God bestowed His favours on him; He called him to His presence to do him honour. The noun ذکر means, remembrance; mentioning or speaking of; eminence; honour; good name (Aqrab, Mufradat & Lane).

اشکروا (render thanks) is from شکر i.e. he thanked; he was grateful. شکر الله means, he acknowledged the beneficence of God, rendering Him obedience and abstaining from disobedience (Lane).

Commentary:

Remembrance of God on the part of man means, to remember Him with love and devotion, to carry out His behests, to bear in mind His attributes, to glorify Him and offer prayers to Him; and remembrance of man on the part of God signifies, God’s drawing him near to Himself, bestowing favours on him and making provision for his welfare. Thus we are here told that if we seek nearness to God, He will certainly draw us near to Himself. According to yet another meaning of the word ذکر i.e. honour and eminence, the verse would mean that if the Muslims will remember God, He will make them honoured and eminent in the world.

The expression, remember Me, I will remember you, can also mean that one who truly loves God will eventually attract the love of God. Remembrance is really born of love and is in a way synonymous with it. Indeed, nobody can remember an object more than a lover does the object of his love.

See 2:153.

Commentary:

The glorification of God, or the celebration of His praises enjoined in the preceding verses is to be particularly observed in the appointed number of days to be spent in Mina after the Hajj is over. These are the 11th, the 12th and the 13th day of Dhul-Hijjah during which the pilgrims are required, so far as possible, to stay at Mina and pass their time in God’s glorification. In these days they are also required, as a symbol of the driving out of Satan, to cast pebbles daily at the three pillars so long as they stay there. These are called ایام التشریق i.e. the days of beauty and brightness.

The clause, whoso hastens to leave in two days, refers to the stay in Mina. If a pilgrim leaves Mina two days earlier or stays behind for two days more, no sin shall attach to him, provided everything he does is done with good intention, acting righteously and God-fearingly.

The verse ends with the clause, and fear Allah and know that you shall be brought together before Him, to bring home to the reader or the pilgrim that the underlying object of the Pilgrimage is تقوی, the very word with which the Quran began its commandments about Hajj in 2:197, thus emphasizing that mere outward observance of certain rites is nothing unless they are accompanied by تقوی or the spirit of righteousness which must underlie all actions of man.

The clause, واعلموا انکم الیه تحشرون translated above as, know that you shall all be brought together before Him, is also intended to hint that the gathering in Hajj is not meant for the performance of certain rites and ceremonies but, as it were, for meeting God. In this case, the clause would be rendered as, "know that (in Hajj) you are brought together (i.e. the purpose of your gathering is) to meet God" and you must, therefore, behave accordingly. The gathering in Hajj is truly like the حشر (gathering) on the great Day of Judgement.

Now that the description of Hajj as given in these verses has come to an end, it would be appropriate to give here a brief but collective note on the wisdom and the significance of this act of worship and devotion. The Pilgrimage is indeed a great spiritual ordinance. According to the Quran, the Ka‘bah is the first house of worship that was built for mankind (3:97). It dates not from Abraham, who simply rebuilt it, but from Adam. The Quran speaks of it as "the Ancient House" (22:30, 34). A Jewish tradition also says that Abraham built "the altar which Adam had built, which had been destroyed by the waters of the Deluge, which Noah had again builded, and which had, been destroyed in the age of divisions" (The Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan ben Uzziel translated by J. W. Ethebridge, London, 1862, p. 226). The Ka‘bah is the only altar that answers this description; there is no other place so ancient. It was the purpose of God that men from all quarters should assemble at this central house and thus be reminded of their common humanity and common relation with the Lord of the worlds. Differences which divided one nation from another were to be forgotten and all drawn closer to one another in one common bond. The Hajj provides pilgrims of different lands and diverse nationalities with an excellent opportunity to cultivate acquaintance with one another and discuss matters of common interest. This purpose has been made all the more accessible by ordering pilgrims to pass the days of Hajj, and the days following, not within the four walls of Mecca but out in the open desert at Mina, Muzdalifah and ‘Arafat and back again in Mina.

The different objects and places which play an important part in Pilgrimage are spoken of in the Quran as شعائرالله(2:159; 5:3; 22:33) or the Signs of God, which shows that they are meant by God to serve as symbols to impress upon the minds of pilgrims their inward significance.

The Ka‘bah or the Baitullah (the House of God), the very first house of worship round which thousands of devout pilgrims perform the circuit and towards which they all turn while offering their Prayers wherever they be, recalls to their mind the Unity and Majesty of God upon Whom depends all creation. It also reminds one of the unity of mankind.

The act of running between the Safa and the Marwah calls to the minds of pilgrims the pathetic story of Hagar and Ishmael, reminding them how God provides for his helpless servants even in the solitude of a great wilderness.

Mina is a name derived from the word ’umniyyah which means "an object" or "a desire". This reminds the pilgrim of the fact that he goes there with the "object" or the "desire" of meeting God. From Mina the pilgrim proceeds to Muzdalifah which means "nearness" and reminds him that the object with which he had set out has drawn "near". The other name of Muzdalifah is Mash‘arul-Haram, meaning the sacred symbol. This also hints that the final stage is near. From Muzdalifah, the pilgrim proceeds to ‘Arafat, the root-meaning of which is "to recognize". This reminds him that he has now reached the stage of "recognition" where he has "recognized" or known the One Lord and has met Him.

Again, the place chosen for this great concourse of the Faithful is a barren waste, devoid of all vegetation, as the Quran itself states (14:38). The only things that are met with there are sand, pebbles, rocks and rugged hillocks. Such a place has been chosen to bring home to us the fact that it possesses absolutely no attraction for which one might visit it. If there is anything for which one should go there, it is God and God alone. This is why in the present verse the Quran says, "know that you are being gathered here (not for any worldly object but) to meet Him".

Ihram reminds one of the Day of Resurrection. Like the shroud of a dead body, the pilgrim is covered only with two unsewn sheets, one for the upper part of the body and the other for the lower; and he also has to remain bareheaded. This condition is to remind him that he has here, as it were, risen from the dead. The pilgrims gathered together at ‘Arafat truly present the spectacle of the Day of Resurrection—men suddenly risen from the dead in their white shrouds and assembled in the presence of their Lord.

The casting of pebbles at the three pillars at Mina—known as Dunya, Wusta and ‘Aqabah, is also an interesting representation. It reminds the pilgrim of the three stages through which man has to pass and which have been referred to in the Quran as the three stages of human life, viz. (1) the present world, or Dunya as it is called, which is symbolized by the first pillar, significantly called Jamratud-Dunya, i.e. the pillar situated near; (2) the grave or the middle stage lying between this world and the next, the pillar corresponding to which is called Jamratul-Wusta, i.e. the middle pillar; and (3) the next world (known also as عقبی ‘Uqba) which is symbolized by the third pillar, which is accordingly called Jamratul-‘Aqabah, i.e. the pillar of the distant hillock that comes after the others. The casting of pebbles at these pillars is also symbolic of Satan being pelted. Evil thoughts should be driven out of one’s mind just as God has driven away Satan from His presence.

The animals sacrificed are reminders of the great sacrifice of his son Ishmael offered by Abraham, and teach, in symbolic language, that man should ever be willing not only to sacrifice himself but also his wealth and property and even children in the way of God out of love for Him.

Pilgrims perform seven circuits round the Ka‘bah, run seven times between the Safa and the Marwah and cast seven pebbles at the pillars at Mina. The number seven being regarded by the Arabs as a symbol of perfection (Aqrab), the pilgrim is thereby reminded that in Pilgrimage, as in all other things, he should not be satisfied with half measures. He should always aim at perfection and get it. It is significant that the stages of spiritual progress which lead man to perfection and which have been detailed in 23:2-12 are also seven.

In short, the various rites of the Hajj and the objects that play a part therein are all emblematic and are replete with great and momentous lessons, but only for those who care to meditate.

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

38:28.

Important Words:

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

Commentary:

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

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

3:192.

2:240.

Commentary:

As in the midst of a battle, formal Prayers are either said in haste, or performed in the form of one Rak‘at only. Muslims are enjoined in this verse, with a view to making up the deficiency, to continue remembering God and praying to Him in an informal manner after the obligatory service is over. This was to compensate, on the one hand, for the shortening of Prayer and, on the other, to serve as a means of drawing the special aid and help of God in a time of great danger.

The expression, And when you are secure (from danger), then observe Prayer (in the prescribed form), very clearly brings out the difference between the words صلوا or اقضوا الصلوة (pray or offer Prayer) and the words اقیموا الصلوة (observe Prayer). The latter expression signifies observing Prayer attentively with all its necessary conditions. The verse thus clearly shows that Islam does not look upon the hasty performance of Prayer as coming under the injunction, اقیموا الصلوة (observe Prayer). See also 2:4.

6:64; 7:56.

Commentary:

Remembering God does not here mean the performance of the prescribed Prayers but prayers generally. The Holy Prophet has been enjoined to pray to God morning and evening for the guidance of disbelievers. Thus, on the one hand disbelievers have been told to listen to the Quran attentively (the preceding verse) and, on the other, the Holy Prophet has been enjoined to pray for their guidance. The verse may also be taken to be addressed to disbelievers, suggesting to them that in order to know the truth they should listen to the Quran attentively and pray to God in humility.

Though Islam permits prayers, both aloud and in secret, yet in the present verse suppressed prayers are emphasized in order to create in the heart feelings of humility, sincerity and fear.

8:16; 47:5.

33:42; 62:11.

Commentary:

Muslims are here told that they should not think that war with disbelievers had ended with the Battle of Badr. The enemy was to return to the attack repeatedly and with larger and still larger forces. So Muslims are exhorted to remain firm and not to waver before the repeated onslaughts of the enemy.

The words, remember Allah much, imply that as the enemy will call his allies to his aid, so the Faithful, too, should call God to their help by constantly praying to Him.

The secret of success is stated here to lie in two things: (1) that Muslims should never feel secure from the attacks of the enemy and should always be prepared for them, and (2) that they should be always invoking God’s help.

30:34; 39:9, 50.

Important Words:

مسرفین (the extravagant) is the plural of مسرف which is the active participle from اسرف which again is derived from سرفmeaning, he was ignorant; or he was unmindful or heedless. سرف الطعام means, the wheat or food became cankered or eaten away. اسرف means, he exceeded or transgressed the just or right limit or measure; he acted extravagantly or immoderately. They say فلان اسرف فی ماله meaning, such a one was hasty in respect of his property i.e. he expended his property extravagantly without keeping within proper bounds. اسرف فی القتل means, he exceeded the due bounds or just limits in slaying. اسراف, which is the noun-infinitive from اسرف, also signifies the committing of many faults, offences, or crimes and sins. مسرف means, one exceeding or transgressing the right limit or measure; one acting extravagantly; one unmindful, negligent or heedless; one denying or disacknowledging the favours or benefits or the Unity or the Prophets or the Law of God; a disbeliever or an unbeliever (Lane & Aqrab).

Commentary:

This verse describes the different attitudes which a man assumes when he is stricken with distress. Sometimes the blow is so hard that he falls to the ground. This state is described in the words, lying on his side. Again, sometimes distress renders a man restless and uneasy. This state is described in the words, sitting or standing, because the constant changing of posture is a sure sign of restlessness.

The verse means that, although disbelievers continue to demand that if the Prophet of Islam is really sent by God, they should be visited with punishment for their rejection of him, yet when Divine punishment actually overtakes them, they are seized with despair. It thus embodies two important lessons. The first is that we should not be hasty in attacking the motives of other people, because the verse clearly says that the disbelievers do not commit evil deeds deliberately, knowing them to be so, but only do what appears good in their eyes, i.e. their evil deeds are the result of faulty reasoning and defective vision. It may be asked here, why then will disbelievers be punished for doing what appears good in their eyes. The answer to that question is that the verse does not say that the evil deeds of each and every individual appear good in his sight but that it is only to the extravagant that they so appear. The offence of the disbelievers lies in the fact that they become extravagant, and so they justly deserve to suffer the consequences of an extravagant life.

The second important lesson contained in this verse is that the plea of good motives is not always acceptable and therefore it cannot always save a person from the consequences of his actions. It is only when the motives themselves become vitiated on account of corrupt living or when it is in our power to rectify our motives but we fail to do so, that we become deserving of punishment. In the law of nature, as against the law of Shari‘ah, motives count for nothing, the consequences being invariably determined by the nature of one’s actions. He who takes a fatal dose of poison must die, no matter what his motives are and no matter what kind of life he leads. But in the law of Shari‘ah due allowance is made for the circumstances in which a certain deed is done and for the motives that prompt it.

Commentary:

This beautiful verse embodies a great and extremely natural truth. The more the people of the world gain the paltry goods of this life, the greater becomes the hunger and the consequent burning of their heart. But as for those who seek God, the more they turn to Him, the greater is their peace of mind. This shows that search after God is the innermost yearning of human nature and the real goal of man’s life, and that when that goal is attained man begins to enjoy perfect peace of mind, for then he rests, as it were, in the very lap of the All-Knowing and All-Powerful God, Maker and Controller of the universe. Would the people of the world had realized this great secret of happiness!

63:10.

Commentary:

The verse constitutes a great testimonial to the righteousness and goodness of the Holy Prophet’s Companions and to their love for God and their liking for His remembrance. They are men, says the verse, of flesh and bones. They have their worldly ambitions and aspirations, their professions and avocations. They are not monks and hermits cut apart from the world. Yet amidst all their material pursuits and engagements they do not neglect to discharge their duties to God and man. This certificate of merit which the Companions of the Holy Prophet received from Allah, their Divine Lord and Master, has been referred to in several other places in the Quran, viz. "Those who, if We establish them in the earth will observe Prayer and pay the Zakah and enjoin good and forbid evil" (22:42), and "Their sides keep away from their beds; and they call upon their Lord in fear and hope, and spend out of what We have bestowed upon them" (32:17). It is because of this life of righteousness and service of humanity that "Allah was well pleased with them, and they were well pleased with Him" (58:23).

Commentary:

In this verse an exception has been made in regard to a certain class of poets, viz. that not all poets belong to the category referred to above (vv. 225-227). There are poets who use their God-given poetic gifts to further the cause of truth and lead righteous lives. They are excepted from the poets referred to above.

18:28.

Important Words:

اتل (recite) is imperative from تلا. They say تلا الکتاب i.e. he read, rehearsed, recited the book; he followed it and did according to it. ھو یتلو فلانا means, he follows such a one in action; he imitates him. تلوت الابل means, I drove the camels together from their several quarters. اتل means, proclaim; preach, read, recite, rehearse; follow (Lane & Aqrab). See also 2:114.

ذکر (remembrance) is infinitive noun from ذکر (dhakara) which means, he remembered; he kept in mind. ذکر (dhikrun) means, remembrance; speaking of or mentioning; honour; eminence; good name; praise, etc. (Lane & Aqrab). See also 2:153, 201; 6:69 & 15:7.

Commentary:

Three things have been mentioned in this verse, viz. preaching and reading of the Quran, observance of Prayer and the remembrance of Allah. The purpose of all three is to deliver man from the bondage of sin and to help him to rise morally and spiritually which is the supreme object of all Divine Books. A living faith in a Supreme Being to Whom man has to render an account of all his actions after his death in a new life is the basic principle of all revealed religions and their great aim is to create and inculcate such faith because it is this faith that can serve as a potent and effective check on man’s evil propensities and actions. This is why the Quran reverts again and again to the subject of God’s existence and speaks of His great power, glory and love and lays the greatest emphasis on Divine remembrance of which the Islamic Prayer constitutes the most complete form; and of which—if performed with all its necessary conditions—purity of mind and actions is the inevitable result. Observance of Prayer, however, demands the fulfilment of the following five conditions:

1. One should be regular in saying Prayers.

2. Prayers should be said punctually at their appointed hours and in accordance with the prescribed rules.

3. One should be humble in spirit and should not allow one’s thoughts to wander away while saying Prayer.

4. Prayers should be said in congregation.

5. One should exhort others also to be regular and punctual in saying Prayers.

ذکر الله may mean, (1) man’s glorification of God, or (2) God’s remembrance of man, i.e. His raising him to a place of honour and eminence and spreading his good reputation. The verse purports to say that if you remember God and glorify Him, He will bestow honour and renown upon you and will make you eminent and respected in the world. See also 23:10.

4:104; 8:46; 62:11.

Commentary:

The verse means to say that the remembrance of God will play a great part in the wonderful revolution that the Holy Prophet will bring about among his people by his noble example.

40:59.

Commentary:

The verse refers to two classes of men—believers who are described as obedient men endowed with knowledge and understanding; and disbelievers who are their opposites.

20:101, 102; 72:18.

21:45.

2:75; 6:44.

Commentary:

The verse seems to refer to the latter-day Muslims when as a result of neglecting the teachings of Islam they will have become spiritually corrupt, morally depraved and politically impotent. The verse means to bring home to them the realization of their all-round degradation and makes to them a pathetic appeal. "Has not the time arrived yet," it seems to say to them, "now that they have sunk to the lowest depths of degradation, they should turn to God and act upon the teachings of their religion which once raised them to the highest peaks of greatness, grandeur and glory."

Commentary:

In the previous verses mention was made of the Jews who rejected the Holy Prophet’s Message and who profaned their Sabbath and consequently incurred God’s displeasure. In the present verse, however, Muslims have been enjoined to be particularly careful about the obligatory Friday Prayer. Every people has a Sabbath and the Muslim Sabbath is Friday. As soon as call for Prayer is made all business is to cease and the Faithful should attend the mosque to listen to the Imam’s sermon (khutbah), which usually deals with some topical subject concerning the moral and social needs of the community and how to fulfil them.

As the Surah seems particularly to deal with the time of the Promised Messiah, the call for Friday Prayer may also signify his clarion call to Muslims to listen to his Message.

3:192; 4:104; 8:46.

Commentary:

Unlike Jewish or Christian Sabbath, the Muslim Sabbath is not a day of rest. Before the Friday Prayer and after it Muslims are exhorted to follow their daily avocations. The words "of Allah’s grace," have generally been understood to mean "doing business and earning one’s livelihood."

8:29; 24:38; 64:16; 102:2.

Commentary:

The believers have been informed in this and the next verse that God demands from them the sacrifice of their wealth and offsprings in the cause of Truth, since it is sacrifice that distinguishes true believers from the hypocrites.