Topic: Al-Qadir (All-Powerful)

3:134; 5:49; 35:33; 57:22.

Important Words:

وجھة (goal) is derived from وجه meaning, the face. وجھة therefore, means: (1) a direction to which one turns one’s face; (2) a goal or an object (Aqrab).

استبقوا (vie with one another) is formed from استبق which is derived from سبق which means, he went ahead of him and left him behind; he outstripped him; he excelled him in some quality. استبق means: (1) he tried to go ahead of others so as to reach the goal first; (2) he hastened and employed his full powers to attain or reach an object (Aqrab & Lane).

خیرات (good works) is the plural of خیرة which means (1) anything excessively good; (2) anything superior to other things (Aqrab).

Commentary:

This short verse contains, in a few words, a mighty lesson as to how the Muslims can achieve success in life. First, they should fix for themselves a goal and that goal should not be the attainment of a particular good but of every good. Nay, they should aspire for more than that. They should try to attain such things as are exceedingly good and superior to others. Again, they should not seek these things in a careless and haphazard manner but should hasten towards them, vying with one another in a spirit of healthy emulation to reach the goal before others.

The expression استبقوا (vie with one another) used here in the plural form also points to the fact that in this race for all that is good, Muslims should try to help those who are weak and assist them in the attainment of virtue. A true Muslim should not only himself strive after virtue but should also invite others to attain to the same stage of virtue which he himself has attained. The spiritual race referred to in the verse thus becomes a most peculiar race in which the competitors not only vie with one another but also look towards their comrades and help such of them as may stumble on their way or be lax in other respects.

The clause, Wherever you be, Allah will bring you all together, means that a Muslim should not think of vying with only those who immediately surround him and thus be satisfied by outstripping them, but should also remember the fact that in far-off places there may be those who are running very fast—faster than those who surround him—and as God will judge all together, a Muslim should not be unmindful of the unknown competitors but should try to spend his energies to the fullest possible extent so that he may truly top the list.

The clause is capable of yet another interpretation. It is human nature that when a man comes to know that the result of his works would be announced publicly, he strives all the harder to outdo others in the discharge of his duties. Hence, God calls upon Muslims to bear in mind that on a certain day they will be gathered together with the peoples of all ages and the results of their deeds will be announced before that huge assemblage; so they should exert themselves accordingly.

The clause, Surely, Allah has the power to do all that He wills, is intended to remind Muslims that there is no limit to man’s spiritual progress and development. A man can rise to any stage of progress and yet the All-Powerful God can help and guide him to the attainment of a still higher stage.

The words ھو مولیھا (which dominates him) literally mean, which he makes dominant over him, i.e. a man first sets up an objective and then makes it a dominating factor in his life. The expression ھومولیھا also means, to which he turns his face. In both these senses the underlying idea is that of engrossment and devotion.

21:48.

5:19, 41; 48:15.

Commentary:

In this and the following two verses, with which the present Surah concludes, the subject of تزکیة (tazkiyah) or purification has been dealt with as promised in the prayer of Abraham (2:130). By reminding us that to Allah belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is in the earth, the Quran teaches us that, since everything is God’s, we must avoid all those things which He requires us to avoid and adopt all those which He requires us to adopt. If we obey the commandments of God, which are meant for our own good, He will cause us to thrive and prosper, for He is the Controller of all causes and all effects.

The verse embodies the great secret of attaining purification. That secret is, that if you wish to become pure, you should begin with the root, i.e. you should make your hearts pure. Says the Holy Prophet: "In the body of man there is a piece of flesh; if this piece of flesh is sound, the whole body becomes sound; if it is corrupt, the whole body becomes corrupt. Behold! It is the heart" (Bukhari).

The particle با (for) in the Arabic clause rendered as, Allah will call you to account for it, means: (a) by means of or on the basis of; (b) for or because of. Following the first meaning, the verse would mean "Allah will call you to account by means of it or on the basis of it", i.e. your actions will be judged on the basis of that which is in your hearts. They will be weighed from the point of view of your motives. This is another way of saying, in the words of the Holy Prophet, انما الاعمال بالنیات i.e. Surely, the actions of men will be judged by the intention or the motive with which they are performed (Bukhari). Following the second meaning of it, the verse would mean, "Allah will call you to account for it or because of it", i.e. no human thought will be lost, however hidden it may be and that it will be requited or pardoned as Allah may will it.

In connection with the words, whether you keep it hidden, it should be remembered that God will not call man to account for passing or momentary thoughts that sometimes cross his mind, for they are beyond one’s control. In 2:287 we read, "Allah burdens not any soul beyond its capacity", and it is certainly beyond our "capacity" to check the fleeting thoughts that occasionally flash across our minds. It is only the evil thoughts that we cherish and harbour in our minds, such as malice, envy, etc., and we shall be called to account for only the evil designs that we knowingly evolve and contemplate. The Holy Prophet is reported to have said that God has commanded the angels saying: "If a servant of mine thinks of doing an evil deed, do not write it down against him; but if he carries out his intention, then write it down. And if he intends to do a good deed, but abstains from doing it, write it down as one good act; and if he actually does a good deed then let it be noted as ten acts of virtue" (Tirmidhi).

The expression, whomsoever He pleases, does not mean that God acts, as it were, arbitrarily without law or purpose. In the Quranic idiom the expression, "the will or pleasure of God," rather denotes the existence of a natural law (7:157). But as in the case of Allah it is His will which stands for His Law, therefore the Quran uses this expression to point out that (1) God is the final authority in the universe; and that (2) His will is the law; and that (3) His will manifests itself in a just and benevolent manner, for He is the possessor of perfect attributes (17:111).

Commentary:

The verse further enlarges on the idea contained in the preceding verse, at the same time hinting that as far as possible man should try to pardon the wrongs done him by his brethren; for is not God, before Whom all of us will one day stand, the great Pardoner and the Effacer of sins?

5:19; 48:15.

Commentary:

Expressions like, He punishes whom He pleases and forgives whom He pleases, do not mean that the divine government of the universe is arbitrary and is based on no system or law. Such expressions are only intended to point out that, God being the final authority in the universe, His word is the law, there being no appeal against His orders. So man should be extremely careful in following His wish and carrying out His commandments. But, as God has Himself ordained, "His mercy surpasses or outweighs His anger" (Bukhari), and the universe is governed by "set laws of good and evil" (Muslim, ch. on Iman).

22:6.

Commentary:

In vv. 52-54, it was explained that the false gods of disbelievers were unable to devise a Law for the guidance of mankind, and in the immediately preceding verses it has been made clear that disbelievers too cannot make such a Law. The present verse, however, makes a more general statement and says that a perfect Law can only be framed by Him Who has full control over man’s birth, death and reasoning faculties, Who knows his needs and requirements and knows also how to satisfy them. God being Almighty and All-Knowing, all these things are subject to His control. He selects as His Messenger only him of whom He knows that his intellect would not suffer decline. History bears testimony to the fact that whereas there have been thousands of Prophets, there never was one whose reason or intellect ever declined or was impaired. This fact clearly shows that God Who had sent these Messengers had full control over their mental powers. Hence the Almighty and the All-Knowing God alone can send down revelation embodying principles and teaching which can lead man to the realization of the noble and grand purpose of his life.

Nations, like individuals, are subject to the law of decline and death. After attaining to the highest stages of knowledge they begin to show signs of senility and decay or relapse into ignorance. When one nation suffers intellectual or moral death, God makes another nation take its place and gives it a new Prophet and a new Law. The use of the Divine attributes of "All-Knowing" and "Powerful" at the end of the verse suggests that the function of giving true guidance properly belongs to Him Whose knowledge and powers never suffer decline or impairment.

2:74; 30:51; 35:10; 41:40; 42:10; 57:18.

Commentary:

The verse purports to say that the inescapable inference from the preceding verse is (1) that God is الحق i.e. His existence is an established fact and He is the Creator Who creates according to the requirements of wisdom and justice; (2) that He infuses new life into a spiritually dead people and (3) that He has the power to do all things which are in accordance with His design and device and which fulfil His purpose.

The word الموتی (the dead) here specially signifies those who are spiritually dead. The physically dead are mentioned in the next verse.

24:46; 32:9.

Important Words:

نسباً (kindred by descent). They say نسبه i.e. he mentioned his (i.e. another person’s) relationship (lineage or genealogy); he traced up his (i.e. another person’s) lineage to his greatest ancestor; he asked him to tell him his lineage or genealogy. نسبه الی فلان means, he referred or attributed his lineage or origin to such a one. نسب means, origin, genealogy, pedigree, parentage with respect to father and mother or with respect to father only (Lane).

صھر (kindred by marriage) is derived from صھر (sahara). They say صھر الشیء i.e. he brought or drew the thing to him. صھر القوم او بالقوم او صھر فیھم اوالیھم means, he took to himself a wife from among the people. أصھر الیھم or أصھر بھم means, he connected himself with them; and became or made himself, an object of inviolable respect, by a covenant of mutual protection or by relationship or by marriage. صھر means, relationship; nearness with respect to kindred; a kinsman or kinswoman of a man’s wife; and of a woman’s husband or the father or brother or other kinsman of a woman’s husband and the father or brother or other kinsman of a man’s wife; the sacred tie of relationship by marriage (Lane & Aqrab).

40:68.

Commentary:

The clause خلقکم من ضعف which literally means, He created you from weakness, really means that man has been created weak or in a state of weakness. This form of expression has been used to emphasize man’s weakness, the words من ضعف signifying that he is the very embodiment of weakness. A parallel expression has been used in 21:38 where the expression خلق الانسان من عجل i.e. man has been created of haste, means that impatience and haste form a part of man’s nature. The implication of the verse may be that from extremely insignificant beginnings the Arabs will rise to a very high political and spiritual stature through the Holy Prophet, and then after having attained the heights of glory and grandeur will relapse into their original obscurity and weakness. Or the verse may have a general application pointing to the law of the rise and fall of nations.

12:110; 22:47; 30:10; 40:22; 47:11.

Commentary:

The verse means to say that if disbelievers have any doubt that their rejection of and opposition to the Holy Prophet will not be punished, then let them "travel in the earth and see how evil was the end of those who were before them," and who rejected God’s Prophets in their own time. Let them remember that it is God’s unalterable decree that all their plans and plots to bring the Holy Prophet to naught will end in failure and the cause of Islam will triumph over disbelief.

3:157; 7:159; 44:9.

Commentary:

This verse explains the Divine attributes "Mighty" and "Wise" mentioned in the preceding verse.

The words "He gives life and He causes death," signify that the process of construction and destruction is operating every moment in every atom in the universe.

17:45; 24:42; 59:25; 61:2; 62:2.

Commentary:

Every creature by discharging its allotted task punctually and regularly and thus fulfilling the object for which it has been created, declares God to be free from every defect, imperfection or impurity and to be its Master, Creator and Controller. See also 57:2.