Topic: As A Sign
View Aspects
وَقَالُوا۟ لَوْلَآ أُنزِلَ عَلَيْهِ مَلَكٌ ۖ وَلَوْ أَنزَلْنَا مَلَكًا لَّقُضِىَ ٱلْأَمْرُ ثُمَّ لَا يُنظَرُونَ
2:211; 25:8.
یعنی کافروں کی خاطر جب کوئی فرشتہ اتارا جاتا ہے تو وہ انذار کی خبر لے کر ہی اترتا ہے۔
2:211; 25:8.
Commentary:
The question, Why has not an angel been sent down to him, implies a desire on the part of the disbelievers to be visited by an angel whom they might see and be thus convinced of the divine mission of the Prophet. The Quran exposes their folly by replying that although the angels of God do come to the Prophet, yet when they visit disbelievers and are seen by them, they invariably come with Divine punishment. Such angels appeared at the Battle of Badr, when, to quote the expression of the Quran, the matter was decided (2:211). See also the succeeding verse.
e
2:211; 25:8.
1
یعنی کافروں کی خاطر جب کوئی فرشتہ اتارا جاتا ہے تو وہ انذار کی خبر لے کر ہی اترتا ہے۔
a
2:211; 25:8.
756
Commentary:
The question, Why has not an angel been sent down to him, implies a desire on the part of the disbelievers to be visited by an angel whom they might see and be thus convinced of the divine mission of the Prophet. The Quran exposes their folly by replying that although the angels of God do come to the Prophet, yet when they visit disbelievers and are seen by them, they invariably come with Divine punishment. Such angels appeared at the Battle of Badr, when, to quote the expression of the Quran, the matter was decided (2:211). See also the succeeding verse.
a
2:211; 25:8.
826
"The coming of angels" signifies the imminent approach of heavenly punishment.
فَلَعَلَّكَ تَارِكٌۢ بَعْضَ مَا يُوحَىٰٓ إِلَيْكَ وَضَآئِقٌۢ بِهِۦ صَدْرُكَ أَن يَقُولُوا۟ لَوْلَآ أُنزِلَ عَلَيْهِ كَنزٌ أَوْ جَآءَ مَعَهُۥ مَلَكٌ ۚ إِنَّمَآ أَنتَ نَذِيرٌ ۚ وَٱللَّهُ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَىْءٍ وَكِيلٌ
قرآن مجید میں لَعَلَّ کا لفظ ہے اور لغت نے لَعَلَّ کے یہ معنے دئے ہیں کہ متکلم اپنے مقابل کے متعلق دلی خواہش کے اظہار کے لئے کبھی یہ لفظ استعمال کرتا ہے۔ اس لئے ہم نے یہ ترجمہ کیا ہے کہ شاید کفار تجھ سے اب یہ توقع رکھتے ہیں کہ تو قرآن کا کچھ حصہ چُھپا دے جو توقع صرف ان کا وہم ہے عملاً ناممکن ہے۔
17:94; 25:9.
13:8.
17:74.
The word, la‘alla, is used to denote either a state of hope or of fear, whether that state pertains to the speaker or to the addressee or to someone else.
It is a peculiarity of the Quranic diction that sometimes it omits the question and only gives the answer, the question being implied in the answer itself. The present verse is an example of this peculiarity. In the preceding verse believers were promised forgiveness and a great reward. Thereupon disbelievers mockingly asked the Holy Prophet, 'Where is the promised reward of which we do not see the slightest sign? You do not have even the money which you need so badly, nor do the angels descend from heaven to help you.' The Qur’an turns the tables upon them and answers their irony with an irony, saying, 'Ah! How "weighty" is the objection of these people and perhaps, O Prophet, from fear of being unable to answer it, you would hide a part of Our revelation which contains prophecies regarding the prosperity and triumph of Islam! This is only their wishful thinking, their vain and futile hope. Such a thing can never happen.'
17:74.
17:94; 25:9.
13:8.
Important Words:
فلعلك (thou art now perhaps). The word لعل is used to denote either a state of hope or of fear, whether that state pertains to the speaker or to the addressee or to someone else. In the Quranic expression فلعلك تارك بعض مایوحی الیك (thou art now perhaps going to abandon part of that which has been revealed to thee) the word لعل has been used to signify that "the people imagine that thou art now perhaps going to abandon, etc." (Mufradat). See also 2:22.
کنز (treasure) is the noun-infinitive from کنز (kanaza). They say کنز المال i.e. he buried the property or treasure in the earth; he collected the property and treasured it, or he hoarded it or stored it in secret. کنز الرمح means, he stuck or fixed the spear in the ground. کنز التمر means, he stored or packed up the dates (in the receptacle). کنز (kanz) means, treasure; property buried in the earth; any property whereof the portion that should be given in alms is not given; property that is preserved in a receptacle; anything abundant and collected together; gold and silver; a treasure of knowledge or science; that in which property is preserved or that in which property is buried or hoarded in secret (Lane & Aqrab).
Commentary:
It is a peculiarity of Quranic diction that sometimes it omits to give the question and only gives the answer, the question being implied in the answer itself. The present verse constitutes an example of this style. In the previous verse believers were promised forgiveness and a great reward. Thereupon disbelievers asked the Holy Prophet in a jeering and ironical manner, "You say your followers will get a great reward and their sins will be forgiven. We know nothing about the forgiveness of their sins. But where is the promised reward of which we do not see the slightest sign? You do not have even the money which you need so badly, nor do the angels descend from heaven to help you." The Quran turns the tables upon the disbelievers and answers their irony, with an irony, saying, "How weighty indeed is the objection of these people and perhaps, o Prophet, from fear of being unable to answer it, you would hide a part of Our revelation which contains prophecies regarding the prosperity and triumph of Islam!" meaning that such a thing can never be.
The verse is capable of another interpretation also. In this case the word لعل would be taken to refer to the hope of disbelievers that the Holy Prophet may, out of fear of their objections, suppress part of the Divine revelation. The verse declares such hopes to be vain and futile, for the Holy Prophet was "only a warner," and the function and duty of a warner is only to issue the warning and deliver his message faithfully; he has no right to suppress any portion of the message. Again, by using the words "only a Warner" the verse also hints that the Holy Prophet did not claim to be God so that the treasures of the earth might be under his control; he was only a human being. If it be said here that believers who were promised "a great reward" (see the preceding verse) were also human beings like the Holy Prophet, it should be remembered that they were promised the reward not immediately but after they had established their title to it by displaying patience and steadfastness under trials and hardships for a considerable time. So disbelievers could demand from the Holy Prophet clear and palpable signs of the prosperity promised to him only when the promised time had come and not earlier. To come attended with power and glory in the very beginning is a sign of personal authority which belongs to God alone and not to any human being."
The words, Allah is Guardian over all things, are intended to point to the fact that all these promises will certainly come to pass. The Holy Prophet will assuredly get both مغفرة (lit. covering up) and a great reward, and the angels of God will undoubtedly descend to bring his work to completion and make null and void the machinations of his enemies. Not only will he himself be favoured with a great reward, but his followers and disciples also would become rulers and kings. Any fair-minded and impartial person can see that both these promises were literally fulfilled.
Some hostile critics of Islam have pretended to infer from this verse that the Holy Prophet was actually prepared to abandon a portion of the Quran out of fear of the objections of his opponents. But the context spurns this baseless interpretation. Can any reasonable person imagine that the demand for the descent of helping angels or for the possession of a treasure was such that, on account of it, the Holy Prophet should, in any way, have become prepared to suppress part of Divine revelation, or that he was unaware of the fact that he was only a warner whose duty was to deliver the Message, whatever it might be? Again, did he not know that God had clearly spoken to him saying He Himself was "Guardian over all things"? So the words, thou art now perhaps going to abandon part of that which has been revealed to thee, contain only a vain hope on the part of the disbelievers that the Prophet might give up part of his revelation; they do not at all find any intention or readiness on his part to do so. Do not these critics know that when at Mecca a deputation of the Quraish waited on the Holy Prophet and asked him to give up preaching against their idols and threatened to crush him and his tribe in case he refused to do so, the prompt answer he gave was that even if they put the sun on his right and the moon on his left he would not swerve a hair’s breadth from the teachings which God had given him? Could he, whom the threats or cajolery of the Quraish at a time when he was extremely weak could not induce to give up his preaching, have become so unnerved by these silly objections as to become ready to conceal a part of the DivineWord?
The verse that follows also gives the lie to such an inference, for it contains a challenge to the world to produce ten Surahs like any ten Surahs of the Quran. If there had been any doubt in the Prophet’s mind concerning any portion of the Quran, could that very portion possibly have been followed by a challenge like this? This challenge shows that he believed in the truth of every word of the Quran with a conviction firm as a rock.
d
17:74.
e
17:94; 25:9.
f
13:8.
1
قرآن مجید میں لَعَلَّ کا لفظ ہے اور لغت نے لَعَلَّ کے یہ معنے دئے ہیں کہ متکلم اپنے مقابل کے متعلق دلی خواہش کے اظہار کے لئے کبھی یہ لفظ استعمال کرتا ہے۔ اس لئے ہم نے یہ ترجمہ کیا ہے کہ شاید کفار تجھ سے اب یہ توقع رکھتے ہیں کہ تو قرآن کا کچھ حصہ چُھپا دے جو توقع صرف ان کا وہم ہے عملاً ناممکن ہے۔
a
17:74.
b
17:94; 25:9.
c
13:8.
1394
Important Words:
فلعلك (thou art now perhaps). The word لعل is used to denote either a state of hope or of fear, whether that state pertains to the speaker or to the addressee or to someone else. In the Quranic expression فلعلك تارك بعض مایوحی الیك (thou art now perhaps going to abandon part of that which has been revealed to thee) the word لعل has been used to signify that "the people imagine that thou art now perhaps going to abandon, etc." (Mufradat). See also 2:22.
کنز (treasure) is the noun-infinitive from کنز (kanaza). They say کنز المال i.e. he buried the property or treasure in the earth; he collected the property and treasured it, or he hoarded it or stored it in secret. کنز الرمح means, he stuck or fixed the spear in the ground. کنز التمر means, he stored or packed up the dates (in the receptacle). کنز (kanz) means, treasure; property buried in the earth; any property whereof the portion that should be given in alms is not given; property that is preserved in a receptacle; anything abundant and collected together; gold and silver; a treasure of knowledge or science; that in which property is preserved or that in which property is buried or hoarded in secret (Lane & Aqrab).
Commentary:
It is a peculiarity of Quranic diction that sometimes it omits to give the question and only gives the answer, the question being implied in the answer itself. The present verse constitutes an example of this style. In the previous verse believers were promised forgiveness and a great reward. Thereupon disbelievers asked the Holy Prophet in a jeering and ironical manner, "You say your followers will get a great reward and their sins will be forgiven. We know nothing about the forgiveness of their sins. But where is the promised reward of which we do not see the slightest sign? You do not have even the money which you need so badly, nor do the angels descend from heaven to help you." The Quran turns the tables upon the disbelievers and answers their irony, with an irony, saying, "How weighty indeed is the objection of these people and perhaps, o Prophet, from fear of being unable to answer it, you would hide a part of Our revelation which contains prophecies regarding the prosperity and triumph of Islam!" meaning that such a thing can never be.
The verse is capable of another interpretation also. In this case the word لعل would be taken to refer to the hope of disbelievers that the Holy Prophet may, out of fear of their objections, suppress part of the Divine revelation. The verse declares such hopes to be vain and futile, for the Holy Prophet was "only a warner," and the function and duty of a warner is only to issue the warning and deliver his message faithfully; he has no right to suppress any portion of the message. Again, by using the words "only a Warner" the verse also hints that the Holy Prophet did not claim to be God so that the treasures of the earth might be under his control; he was only a human being. If it be said here that believers who were promised "a great reward" (see the preceding verse) were also human beings like the Holy Prophet, it should be remembered that they were promised the reward not immediately but after they had established their title to it by displaying patience and steadfastness under trials and hardships for a considerable time. So disbelievers could demand from the Holy Prophet clear and palpable signs of the prosperity promised to him only when the promised time had come and not earlier. To come attended with power and glory in the very beginning is a sign of personal authority which belongs to God alone and not to any human being."
The words, Allah is Guardian over all things, are intended to point to the fact that all these promises will certainly come to pass. The Holy Prophet will assuredly get both مغفرة (lit. covering up) and a great reward, and the angels of God will undoubtedly descend to bring his work to completion and make null and void the machinations of his enemies. Not only will he himself be favoured with a great reward, but his followers and disciples also would become rulers and kings. Any fair-minded and impartial person can see that both these promises were literally fulfilled.
Some hostile critics of Islam have pretended to infer from this verse that the Holy Prophet was actually prepared to abandon a portion of the Quran out of fear of the objections of his opponents. But the context spurns this baseless interpretation. Can any reasonable person imagine that the demand for the descent of helping angels or for the possession of a treasure was such that, on account of it, the Holy Prophet should, in any way, have become prepared to suppress part of Divine revelation, or that he was unaware of the fact that he was only a warner whose duty was to deliver the Message, whatever it might be? Again, did he not know that God had clearly spoken to him saying He Himself was "Guardian over all things"? So the words, thou art now perhaps going to abandon part of that which has been revealed to thee, contain only a vain hope on the part of the disbelievers that the Prophet might give up part of his revelation; they do not at all find any intention or readiness on his part to do so. Do not these critics know that when at Mecca a deputation of the Quraish waited on the Holy Prophet and asked him to give up preaching against their idols and threatened to crush him and his tribe in case he refused to do so, the prompt answer he gave was that even if they put the sun on his right and the moon on his left he would not swerve a hair’s breadth from the teachings which God had given him? Could he, whom the threats or cajolery of the Quraish at a time when he was extremely weak could not induce to give up his preaching, have become so unnerved by these silly objections as to become ready to conceal a part of the DivineWord?
The verse that follows also gives the lie to such an inference, for it contains a challenge to the world to produce ten Surahs like any ten Surahs of the Quran. If there had been any doubt in the Prophet’s mind concerning any portion of the Quran, could that very portion possibly have been followed by a challenge like this? This challenge shows that he believed in the truth of every word of the Quran with a conviction firm as a rock.
a
17:94; 25:9.
b
13:8.
e
17:74.
1301
The word, la‘alla, is used to denote either a state of hope or of fear, whether that state pertains to the speaker or to the addressee or to someone else.
1302
It is a peculiarity of the Quranic diction that sometimes it omits the question and only gives the answer, the question being implied in the answer itself. The present verse is an example of this peculiarity. In the preceding verse believers were promised forgiveness and a great reward. Thereupon disbelievers mockingly asked the Holy Prophet, 'Where is the promised reward of which we do not see the slightest sign? You do not have even the money which you need so badly, nor do the angels descend from heaven to help you.' The Qur’an turns the tables upon them and answers their irony with an irony, saying, 'Ah! How "weighty" is the objection of these people and perhaps, O Prophet, from fear of being unable to answer it, you would hide a part of Our revelation which contains prophecies regarding the prosperity and triumph of Islam! This is only their wishful thinking, their vain and futile hope. Such a thing can never happen.'
لَّوْ مَا تَأْتِينَا بِٱلْمَلَٰٓئِكَةِ إِن كُنتَ مِنَ ٱلصَّٰدِقِينَ
6:9; 11:13; 25:8.
6:9; 11:13; 25:8.
6:9; 11:13; 25:8.
Commentary:
In the previous Surahs and also in the beginning of the present Surah it has been claimed that the victory of Islam will be brought about through Divine revelation vouchsafed to the Holy Prophet. In answer to this claim, disbelievers dubbed the Holy Prophet a madman, tauntingly saying that, as he claimed that his revelations were brought to him by angels, the latter ought to have been visible to other men also. Since nobody ever saw these angels it was evident that he suffered from hallucinations and that his mind was affected.
g
6:9; 11:13; 25:8.
a
6:9; 11:13; 25:8.
1714
Commentary:
In the previous Surahs and also in the beginning of the present Surah it has been claimed that the victory of Islam will be brought about through Divine revelation vouchsafed to the Holy Prophet. In answer to this claim, disbelievers dubbed the Holy Prophet a madman, tauntingly saying that, as he claimed that his revelations were brought to him by angels, the latter ought to have been visible to other men also. Since nobody ever saw these angels it was evident that he suffered from hallucinations and that his mind was affected.
c
6:9; 11:13; 25:8.
أَوْ تُسْقِطَ ٱلسَّمَآءَ كَمَا زَعَمْتَ عَلَيْنَا كِسَفًا أَوْ تَأْتِىَ بِٱللَّهِ وَٱلْمَلَٰٓئِكَةِ قَبِيلًا
اس کی تشریح سورۂ سبا آیت۱۰ سے ہو جاتی ہے جس سے ظاہر ہے کہ اس کے معنے عذاب کے ہیں۔
Commentary:
Disbelievers mockingly told the Holy Prophet, that, if he could not bring to them any of the good things which they demanded he might as well cause the sky to fall upon them or let God and His angels destroy them.
2
اس کی تشریح سورۂ سبا آیت۱۰ سے ہو جاتی ہے جس سے ظاہر ہے کہ اس کے معنے عذاب کے ہیں۔
2021
Commentary:
Disbelievers mockingly told the Holy Prophet, that, if he could not bring to them any of the good things which they demanded he might as well cause the sky to fall upon them or let God and His angels destroy them.
وَقَالُوا۟ مَالِ هَٰذَا ٱلرَّسُولِ يَأْكُلُ ٱلطَّعَامَ وَيَمْشِى فِى ٱلْأَسْوَاقِ ۙ لَوْلَآ أُنزِلَ إِلَيْهِ مَلَكٌ فَيَكُونَ مَعَهُۥ نَذِيرًا
11:13; 15:8; 17:93.
11:13; 15:8; 17:93.
Commentary:
This and the next verse contain another objection of disbelievers against the Holy Prophet, which the verses following them proceed to answer. The objection is: "The Holy Prophet is but an ordinary man. He eats and walks in the streets. If he was a Messenger of God, he should have been followed by an entourage of angels who would have borne testimony to his truth and should have warned his rejecters and deniers of the punishment that was in store for them."
d
11:13; 15:8; 17:93.
a
11:13; 15:8; 17:93.
2646
Commentary:
This and the next verse contain another objection of disbelievers against the Holy Prophet, which the verses following them proceed to answer. The objection is: "The Holy Prophet is but an ordinary man. He eats and walks in the streets. If he was a Messenger of God, he should have been followed by an entourage of angels who would have borne testimony to his truth and should have warned his rejecters and deniers of the punishment that was in store for them."
b
11:13; 15:8; 17:93.
2066A
What is the matter with this Messenger?